Intro to Tony and Google Partners, Google Digital Marketing Tips For Success

The original podcast is available on this LINK  or below this transcript.

 

Mia
Tony let’s get started. So do you just want to tell us a little bit about what it is you do and why it’s so important that SMEs understand the industry and the business that you’re in?

Tony skinner
Okay. So what I do is I help businesses with Google. And that’s generally known as digital marketing. I do a few things, but I try to keep it narrow. Lots of agencies out there try to do a lot of different things. But I prefer to specialize in a couple of things and do them really well. So I help businesses with SEO, which is search engine optimization, and Google ads. And we’re a Google partner. So with ads, we qualify the Google themselves, you talk me through becoming a Google partner and what’s involved because I’m a Google partner to not in Google ads, and another area of Google, I’m a partner. And I was really close. I’m not gonna lie to you in picking up my laptop and checking out the window, and hoping Google would forget who I was. So just wanted toTalk about the importance of working with a Google partner. Yeah, so there’s a couple of elements to that. One is that you have to fulfill all the qualifications. So there’s an education courses that you have to fulfill. So to do with display, advertising, and search, advertising, and all the different types of advertising you do with Google, so you got to get a pass, I think it’s about 85, or 90%. So it’s pretty high. And then you gotta have a spend. So if you’re not spending enough, then you can’t become a partner, because Google is a business.

Mia
And also, you did just to write the test, because that’s what you’re doing is you’re writing a number of tests to become a Google partner. But the back end of that is the studying part of it and the videos. It’s not just one or two hours, a substantial amount of work that you’re putting into it.

Tony skinner
Yeah, yeah. I think per exam, you could easily look at six or eight hours, and you got multiple exams, and then you have to hit performance targets. So you gotta have the KPI.

So if you’re not delivering effective KPIs for the campaigns, then you can lose your partnership status as well. So there’s quite a lot involved in becoming a partner,

Mia
everyone and their dog. And Paul, we’ve spoken about this, too. They say, Yeah, do digital marketing, I’m going to do a google ads for you. Now, you’re saying to us that when you’re looking at Google ads, it’s very important that you probably look for a Google partner? How do we know where the Google partner

Tony skinner
is? Yeah, it’s interesting, Google have made it more difficult to find a Google partner, they have devalued it a little bit. There is actually a web sites, if you look up Google partners on Google, funnily enough, there, you would never think that would be really, funnily enough. And you can search within that, and find a Google partner in your area and your region.

Mia
Looking I’m looking at the website now.

But if you don’t know what you’re looking for, how do you differentiate between finding someone who knows what they’re doing? And just in the discussion we’ve had now about being a Google partner? I mean, there’s a lot of work that goes behind that that’s not just 10 minutes, and you’re done kind of thing? versus somebody who, you know, how do how do we what’s question turn asked Paul, how do we understand the importance of being a lay person, that we need to find somebody who knows what they’re doing? Because you hear how often are people who throw a lot of money behind Google ads, and they don’t get the results?

Tony skinner
Well, if you have a look at my card, and on my website, I’ve got Google partner plastered all over the place. So if you’re lokking for a Google partner,go to the google partner logo on the websiite and click

Paul
I think that’s saying you do very well Tony as well. Because when I think about about you, I think, you know, I think Google partner is the thing that trips off a ton in terms of me, because I think that met you a number of times. But every time it’s very clear in my head in terms of your connection , in terms of way, really, you’re there to really add the most value, which I’m taking. So the point that you said First of all, about, you know, lots of people can be generous, but it’s important to have a specialist in certain areas. And that’s something we find ourselves in a lot of really interesting enough

Mia
you touched on something there is that the KPIs that you need to reach those key performance indicators are not necessarily set by your customer persona are actually being sent by Google. So would I don’t know if this is a fair comment to make. So Sydney Australia, would I could I be assuming that Google has got a high KPI for you versus what your customer may very well have?

Tony skinner
Yeah, they do. It’s to do with the cost per click, click through rate and all the different things and all those elements, a client that wouldn’t necessarily get down to that level of detail. So clients looking at all how many clicks Am I getting? How many conversions are getting, how much that cost me per conversion, all those sort of metrics. And Google looks at all of that, as well. So from a much higher level.

Mia
So when we talk about the SME, because this is the person who probably needs to know probably does need to add to because it becomes expensive. employing a digital person on your payroll when you’re a small company, specifically, because the market is moving so drastically all the time. I mean, we were all three of us. I think the day that I met you, we were at a networking event where someone was presenting current members now. And he was saying he was showing us how the world drastically has changed, technologically. In the last, I think he might have spoken five years I was listening, I think was maybe two years, he was showing us the advancements that the world made. So it just from the technology side of things, it just shows you again that you can’t actually just bring on a digital person who is going to be on your payroll under your books, because when are they going to have the time to be educated themselves and getting themselves when things are changing all the time?

Tony skinner
Well, it’s funny, you should mention that I’ve had in the past, students straight out of university that are done digital marketing courses, apply for jobs. And I say well bring along the books or whatever you’ve been learning on. Most of the time, they’re all out of date.

Paul
Scary, really, isn’t it?

Mia
When we come back, and I think I’m sorry, I do apologize. I think it’s a little bit too much about the Google qualification and the Google partner side of things. But I think it’s just only because I know where I have done a Google partnership in a different area. I know the kind of work that’s involved. And I know the frustration and the amount of time I took me out of my day job or a lot of three weeks to get it all done. And I just thought it was really important to touch on how important this Google partnering is. And that’s putting their credibility associated with it as well. You know, a lot of people I think there’s a misconception Some people think Google partner, you can buy your way into it. They don’t understand the amount of work that’s involved. And now you talk to me about KPIs and what have you that’s not working on my side of Google part and have any of that, but then I’m not spending as much money with them. I’m so very, very important to understand the importance of Google partner. But when we come back, let’s just talk a little bit more about Google ads, and digital marketing on the small business are now that works for everyone

Paul
You’re listening to alive 90.5