From 2008 to early 2010, I worked as a search engine marketer in a small business development company. One of the major projects I worked on with clients was developing effective AdWords campaigns and then educating the clients on how to keep these campaigns running smoothly. One of the frequently asked questions I received was, “What if I need help? Can I get in touch with Google?”
At that point I had to explain that, while Google did have a lot of written documentation and could be contacted by email if you knew where to look, it was essentially impossible to reach them by phone unless you were investing thousands of dollars each month. My clients were none to happy, and I’m sure several joined the giant mob of people demanding phone support. Well, Google has given into the masses and added free phone support.
In truth, the addition of phone support is late in the game. Phone support was available in Yahoo Ads (which is now a part of MSN’s Ad Center) from the early days, and MSN had dedicated support from 2008. Both MSN and Yahoo also provided expert advice to help the more squeamish and uneducated get rolling on their advertising platforms.
Google’s services seem to be following along those same lines; the phone support is pitched as having access to a team of AdWords experts, and not just a resolution group for customer support problems or technical difficulties. The Google AdWords number, 1-866-2Google, will be available to all U.S. AdWords customers who can provide their customer ID (located at the top of each AdWords page when users are logged in) from 9am to 8pm Eastern Time. Phone service will be provided in different regions and languages in the coming months.
[via the Official Google Blog]
