Google Ads Testing a $50 Customer Service Charge

Recently reviewing our Google Ads account for Rise Marketing Group, I had a question in the account which required Google customer service.  As I was opening up the options, I found that Google is testing a customer service beta, which charges $50 for a phone consultation. After investigating this further, Search Engine Land reported this the other month. See screenshot below.                       

Should Google Ads Charge $50 for Customer Support?

In our opinion,  Google charging someone for customer service on their platform doesn’t sit well with us for a few reasons. 

1. Google is a cash cow. Reviewing their financial statements, they print money – hundreds of millions in profit every quarter. See recent financial statements. Charging a customer $50 to answer a question to use their self service tool seems a bit excessive. 
2. Google seems to be looking for money anywhere they can. This is off the heels that Google was found inflating CPCs in order to hit revenue targets.  
3. Lastly, Google customer service is not that great, period. Especially for small businesses, which this beta is intended for. To be fair, for larger advertisers, Google does have some solid help, but for small businesses, it’s the opposite.  In our experiences, this correlates with Google’s layoffs, starting in January 2023. 
   • We find their support is not timely, and oftentimes provides poor advice. Any paid search marketer can attest that Google’s recommendations do not align well with the objectives of the customer, especially for small businesses. Case in point, we routinely have to block Google’ auto recommendations from applying to our customer accounts as they implement poor decisions that likely benefit Google more than the end customer. 
   • What we fear is that small business owners, who don’t know any better, will pay Google and ultimately get poor advice that will benefit Google more than the end customer.  In this case, Google makes money from the initial customer service fee, and the paid advice will then benefit Google moreso than the customer. 

In full transparency, we are a Google Premier Partner. We do like Google Ads, and continue to invest in their platform, but any marketer needs to put the business needs and objectives first before Google’s recommendations.

Will Google Surprise us and the Paid Customer Service Beta turn into a Good Thing? 

In our opinion, this could bode well for small businesses if either of the below hold true:

• If Google invests more in customer service, and provides an experience that far exceeds their current customer service track record.    However, for a $50 price point, I feel they will provide the same mediocre (at best) customer service. 
• If Google realizes that businesses will not pay this, and understand they should invest in their free customer service, knowing that a better experience will lead to higher ad revenue.

Need Google Ads Support?

Contact Rise Marketing Group, we’re experts in Google Ads and can give advice that benefits the end client, over Google. Further, we’re platform agnostic, sometimes Google is the answer, other times, it shouldn’t be prioritized for a marketing campaign.