Google and Agencies

30.03.2009 Posted in Search

This week Ben and I were invited to Google’s London office to hear more about their latest plans for closer working with search marketing agencies like ourselves. A non-disclosure agreement prevents me from mentioning any details of what was discussed, but we found the overall tone of the messages very encouraging.

When Periscopix was first founded, there was no agency support whatsoever (come to that, there were no quality scores, client centres, content network or many of the other features that have since become central parts of the AdWords system). Google was just establishing a presence in London and Dublin. Since that time, both offices have undergone astronomic growth. Managing this in a reasonably seamless way poses substantial challenges, but in my opinion Google has done a pretty respectable job of keeping on top of these.

Companies with a market share as dominant as that of Google often deliver less-than-perfect service because many of the pressures and incentives that exist in more competitive markets do not apply. I know we deliver a good chunk of their income but nevertheless it is great to see them working hard to keep us well informed and involved in their own planning processes.