Google Ads removing dedicated account support for majority of premier partner agencies effective from April 1

• Google premier partner agencies will not get a dedicated contact for their accounts as they were getting previously.

• However, this is not happening to all but majority of agencies.

• This comes on the heels of Partner qualification changes announced in February, which included increased required spend levels, certification requirements for staff, and utilization of Google’s Recommendations in a given account.

Some Google Premier agencies began receiving a surprise message yesterday: they will no longer have dedicated contacts for their accounts.

We were made aware of this later yesterday by Jeff Ferguson via a post on Twitter:

I just received an email from our Google Agency Reps that they are no longer providing access to dedicated reps for every Premier level partners. Right now. During all of this.”

-Jeff Ferguson, CEO, Fang Digital

Is This Happening to All Google Ad Partner Agencies?

According to follow-up questions, this will be happening to the majority of agencies, but not all of them.

The rep did not further clarify the criteria for which agencies are and are not experiencing this.

Learn more: Google Ads improves asset reporting for app campaigns

When Will Dedicated Service End?

When pressed as to whether an increase in spend would reverse this, there was no direct answer, just a reiteration that service will cease tomorrow, April 1.

Agencies affected by this can expect to receive these notifications today from their Agency Development team, if they have not already.

Why Is Google Ads Pulling This Service?

No reason was given, though the form letter stresses it has nothing to do with the upcoming changes to the Google Partners program slated to launch in June of this year.

They are encouraging affected agencies to rely on the support line moving forward, noting that “things may change in the long run.”

This indicates this may not be permanent, but currently it’s the direction Google Ads is going.

Learn more: Google gives $340 million in Google Ads credits to all SMBs

How Will This Change Likely Affect Agencies?
The biggest benefit agencies have experienced being in the Premier Partner group was the dedicated account service.

The hands-on relationship with assigned reps meant a dedicated person to contact for things like ad appeals, white listing into beta offerings, and a direct line for client questions.

This comes on the heels of Partner qualification changes announced in February, which included increased required spend levels, certification requirements for staff, and utilization of Google’s Recommendations in a given account.

We will continue to monitor updates as they become available.

UPDATE

After publication, a Google spokesperson provided search engine journal following statement.

We recently made changes to Google representative support for our small and mid-sized agency partners. These changes are not related to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. They are part of a routine review where we evaluate our support level for all agency partners. Status as a premier partner does not impact their agency representative status.

Google spokesperson