Google Advertising Professional is No More

I received an e-mail today from Google announcing a few changes to the Google Advertising Professional (GAP) program.

First and foremost, the title Google Advertising Professional is no More. It's now Google Qualified Individual. No more calling it GAP.

"Based on feedback from you and our advertisers, we are refining our Google Advertising Professionals naming in order to reduce confusion between our two qualification levels: Individual and Company. (Company level qualification was previously only available in the United States.)

Starting this month, anyone qualified at the individual level will see a new "Qualified Inidividual" logo appear in the Pro Center tab of My Client Center (MCC). Please replace your old logo with this new one on your website and other marketing collateral. Don't forget to link your Google Advertising Professionals logo to your Professional Status page, which profiles your business information and Google's validation of your Qualified title."

Also, Company Qualification has been launched in EMEA countries.

Learn more about the requirements here.

Two other features were also highlighted in the e-mail. They are:

"Program Features for Qualified Professionals

Professional Status Page

Get more out of your qualification by linking your logo to your Professional Status page. The Professional Status page is a Google-hosted page which validates your qualification, and can be customized with your business information. Link your Professional Status page to your program logo, your website, and in any place that you want to promote your qualification. To activate your Professional Status page, login to My Client Center and click the 'Pro Center' tab. Click 'My Profile' and fill out your business information. Your Professional Status page will then be activated and your unique URL will appear in the main page of the 'Pro Center' tab.

Google Local Business Listing

Let more potential clients find you on Google Local. We are happy to offer Google Advertising Professionals in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan one-click access to the Google Local Business Center via the 'Pro Center' tab in My Client Center. Complete your business listing information to be included in the "Google Advertising Professionals" category in Google Local. Tip: Use your Professional Status page as your URL in your Google Local listing so prospects can see your Qualified status and business information."

Good stuff for the GAP, err, GQI community.