Search engine giant Google is clamping down on advertising agencies after its customers received poor returns on their online marketing.
Stafford Masie, country manager of Google SA, says the company has launched an agency certification programme to address this, and hopes to educate and standardise the online advertising industry.
Masie notes that clients are billed incorrectly by agencies and adds that the digital marketing industry is fragmented.
Google also found the larger advertising companies would outsource to smaller agencies to deliver the service because they do not have the sufficient skills and agility needed. Google did not reveal the specifics of which agencies it is working with.
The company is set to enforce quality control over the agencies that it has agreements with by early next year. Masie says the digital marketing industry has a bad reputation and the good digital agencies in SA have to deal with the sector's damaged reputation.
Google hopes to improve capability and understanding between the agencies and its clients, he adds. “Having worked closely with certain customers and agencies over the last year, it has become apparent there are some search engine marketing companies offering Google online marketing services without having the required skills.”
One of the main benefits of the certification is the credibility aspect. Masie points out that certified agencies will be able to verify their Google skills are of a high level and are recognised. Google believes this will assist customers to evaluate agencies better.
Free certification
Masie says the certification itself will not cost the agencies anything, but the idea behind the concept is for Google to build reference agencies.
In a blog on the Bizcommunity Web site, Google says it intends to train digital marketers and agencies on Google tools, search engine optimisation and keyword search advertising.
Google currently has five agencies that fall under it on a contract basis. These agencies will act as flagships to cover Google's 40 direct sales operation clients. Masie emphasises the deal that Google has with those agencies is not exclusive, as it is inviting all agencies wanting to engage with it to take part in the training and become a Google-certified agency. A training schedule is yet to be revealed.
Improving credibility
“A certification that recommends the minimum levels of skills an agency should have enables agencies with the relevant skills and ability to distinguish themselves from those agencies that don't. It provides customers with a means of selecting skilled agencies leading to increased confidence that their digital marketing campaigns will be a success,” explains Masie.
When asked what Google hopes to achieve with the strategy, he says: “We hope to have a certification that has been defined, in conjunction with local agencies, that is fair, has a positive effect on the market, and makes online marketing more attractive to companies and attracts more marketing budget to online.”
Masie says the details of the certification process have not yet been finalised. “We have our own ideas of what the certification should include, but it isn't only up to us. We will be working with local agencies to get more independent industry insight and we are aiming to announce the details of the certification early in 2009. The certification will only pertain to Google's online marketing tools.”
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