The Google Guarantee is the green badge shown on Local Services Ads. Earning it means Google has verified your license and insurance and run background checks. For professional services such as law or accounting, the equivalent badge is Google Screened. It is a verification mark, not a quality rating.
Briefly explained
- A badge on Local Services Ads, not on your website or profile.
- Earned through license, insurance and background checks.
- Backed by a limited, Google-funded reimbursement for customers.
- It gets you considered. Your star rating still decides who gets called.
What does it take to earn?
Three documents, and every one of them has to stay current.
- A valid license for the categories that require one
- General liability insurance, with the certificate kept up to date
- Background checks on the business, and depending on category, on the people doing the work
Lapses are the usual reason a badge disappears. An expired insurance document pauses the ads whether or not the policy was renewed in reality.
What does the guarantee actually promise?
That Google may reimburse the customer, up to a lifetime cap it sets, if they are unhappy with work booked through the ads.
Read that carefully, because it is widely misunderstood:
- It covers the customer, not you
- It applies only to jobs booked through the format
- Google sets the terms and the cap, and can change them
- It is not a warranty on your workmanship, and it does not replace yours
Why does it change how often people call?
Because it is one of the few signals a stranger can act on before anyone picks up the phone. Someone choosing between names they do not know treats third-party verification as a shortcut.
It sits at the top of the page, on the format most likely to be seen first on a phone. That position does more than the badge itself, but the badge is what gets you the position.
What it is not
- Not a quality certification. Nobody inspected your work.
- Not a substitute for reviews. The badge gets you considered; the rating decides.
- Not permanent. It lasts as long as the paperwork does.
- Not transferable to your website as a trust mark.
What do the terms mean?
- Google Screened: The professional-services equivalent of the badge.
- Lifetime cap: The maximum Google will reimburse a given customer.
- Verification: The license, insurance and background check process.
- Responsiveness: How fast you answer leads. It affects ranking in the format, not the badge itself.
Owner questions
