Search Engine Marketing Specialist Dan Cristo

Google’s Adwords Professional Certification

Overview:
I wanted to write up a quick post about Google’s adwords Professional Certification program.

Let me start off by giving a quick overview of what the program is. Basically Google has a ton of helpful information online about how to use their Adwords Pay Per Click marketing platform. The information explains the fundamentals of the system, terminology, rules, etc. - view the Adwords Learning Center information for free here.

You read through (or watch a presentation if that suits your learning style) and take a test at the end of the course. The test is a timed test, taken online and consists of around 75-100 questions. The cost is $50 for the exam, so it’s a pretty cost effective way to get a certification. You can learn more about the program here.

Requirements:(This is taken right from Google’s site)
“To become a Qualified Individual in the Google Advertising Professionals program, you’ll need to accomplish the following:

1. Sign up for the program successfully and be in good standing. This means that you’ve accepted the Rules of Use and aren’t in violation of them.
2. Manage at least one AdWords account (yours or someone else’s) in My Client Center for 90 days.
3. Build and maintain at least US$1,000 (or your local currency equivalent) total spend for your or your team’s My Client Center account during the 90-day period.
4. Pass the Google Advertising Professional Exam. We suggest that you take the exam after you meet the above requirements. However, you can take the exam at any time.

Please note that you must have met and/or be maintaining all requirements concurrently to become a Qualified Individual. So, if you have not yet passed the Exam by the time you reach the 90-day minimum managed spend requirement, you must still be maintaining that spend level (at least US$1,000 - or your local currency equivalent) when you pass the Exam.”

What do you get?
Well the coolest reword for passing the test is the right to use the logo.

You can put it on your resume, web page, wherever. It adds creditability to name and gives you the edge in an interview situation.

You also get Promotional Credits: (once again, taken from Google’s website)

“Promotional credits are one of the ways we help qualified program members bring in new business. Qualified Individuals and Qualified Companies in the Google Advertising Professionals program who operate businesses in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, the UK, Venezuela and Vietnam are eligible for these credits, which are available through your My Client Center’s ‘Pro Center’ tab.

Credits may be applied to a new client account (no more than two weeks old) being managed by qualified members. Each US$100 (or local currency equivalent) credit is good for 1-to-1 dollars worth of free AdWords advertising.”

Is the Program Worth it?
Up to this point I haven’t really told you anything you didn’t already know. So here we go, “Is the program worth taking?”. In short, ABSOLUTELY! For $50 you get credibility to your name, a resume building item, a logo and hundreds of dollars in free Adwords credits.

The only downside is the work involved in learning the material, but in the end, it’s something worthwhile anyway. The information is broken up nicely and even experienced Adwords users will learn something. The course will take around 10 hours of your time to fully read all the information.

Testing Tips:
Ok, you’ve read my endorsement and you’re all pumped to get started. Here are some testing tips.

1. Read all the information in the Learning Center
2. Make sure you understand the payment structures.
3. Pay close attention to the different ad formats: Image, Video, Mobile, etc.
4. Have a good understanding of Click Through Rates, Quality Score, Cost Per Click and ROI.
5. Print out the Policies section and have it handy.
6. Log into your Adwords account before the test, because there are a lot of questions about where tools are located within the management console.
7. Review the different tools: Keyword tool, Traffic Estimator, Ads Diagnostic tool, etc.

Good luck on the test. Feel free to add some tips or thoughts on the program in the comments below.