Elevate we are all Google certified partners, and we pride ourselves on our level of expertise and education. One of the most important parts of out business is a granular understanding of the PPC platforms that we use on a daily basis. Understanding the complex issues facing our clients allows us to better assist them in their time of need. Therefore, as a forward-thinking Digital Marketing Agency with our finger on the pulse, it’s our responsibility to be certified.We are fortunate enough to work with some fairly mature digital marketing professionals. Many of our clients already manage their own AdWords campaigns, but they still have other responsibilities that hinder their ability to get the most out of these campaigns. They need some assistance from time to time, and that’s where Elevate comes in. As educated AdWords experts, we help businesses break through the barriers of PPC and help them harness it for the betterment of their business.
While we consider the Google AdWords certification an important part of any digital marketing professionals toolbox, it does not make you an expert. If you’re considering taking your ventures into AdWords to the next level, then you should consider talking to the experts at Elevate.
TAKING THE GOOGLE ADWORDS CERTIFICATION
The current Google Partner program and certification is a free AdWords education course that has recently had a significant overhaul. It has moved away from hundreds of pages of support and help desk articles towards a fully interactive LMS software. Now, it is a much more efficient and effective Adwords educating tool, allowing you to test your knowledge.
When you navigate to the Google Partners website, there are a few entry points that can be slightly confusing at first.
When you enter the portal, you are presented with the following.
As you can see from the above screenshot, there is a fresh looking portal with a number of links to a range of different sections.
Let’s have a quick look at those in more detail, shall we?
GOOGLE PARTNERS PORTAL SECTIONS
Overview
My profile
My company
Certifications
AdWords
- Advertising Fundamentals
- Search Advertising
- Display Advertising
- Video Advertising
- Mobile Advertising
- Shopping Advertising
Analytics
Mobile Sites
Partner status
AdWords
Clients
Leads
Promotions
Insights
Community
At present, you will need to complete your Google AdWords Fundamentals and your Search Advertising exam to have the base certification. These can be found in the ‘Adwords’ subpage, located under ‘Certification’.
These Adwords exams aim to test your knowledge of basic and advanced concepts surrounding the implementation and action of AdWord campaigns. Becoming certified in these components not only proves to yourself that you’re capable of initiating an AdWords campaign, utilising the tools at your disposal to benefit the most, it also shows others that you’re competent.
Becoming certified isn’t just a walk in the park. If like me you have previously completed the exams and are just updating your qualification you should be able to work through them in a day.
But, If this is your first time completing the study and course modules then you are in for a longer education and qualification process. Taking the time out of your busy schedule might seem like a hassle at the time. Although, actually engaging with the content and requirements of AdWords will help you implement much more efficient and effective campaigns.
Also, seeing as the AdWords certification is a professional standard of accreditation offered by Google it is in your best interest to understand the material inside and out.
SHOWING OFF YOUR GOOGLE CERTIFICATION
After you complete the certifications, it’s important that you show it off. Making your certification visible is an important part of the process. Be proud of your achievement and let the right people know that you are qualified in Adwords.
There are a number of ways that you can share your status. There is an individual and company profile as well as downloadable and printable certificates. There is also the ability to integrate your qualifications with your LinkedIn profile (My personal preference).
Below is an example of what one of the certificates looks like. Print it out and stick it on your desk, tweet it or give it to your mum.
WHO NEEDS THE GOOGLE ADWORDS CERTIFICATION?
It’s beneficial for anyone dealing with the client or agency side to have their certification. It proves that you’re eager to learn, wants to expand your skill set and most importantly, qualified in a growing facet of online marketing.Here are three types of people who should be considering gaining their AdWords certification, if they haven’t already:
- You are a client/agency side and manage your company’s PPC activity, and you want to up skill and learn everything you can about PPC.
- You are client/agency side and are part of a PPC team with differing levels of expertise, and you are hungry for a raise and recognition for all your hard work. You complete all the relevant training modules and ask for more money.
- Your are client side or agency side and are trying to make a career move/change one way or another, and you want to make a significant jump in pay/position or responsibility (ideally a mix of all 3?)
WORKING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE CERTIFICATIONS
If you’re like me, then you will want to get these knocked over as quickly as possible so you can get on with the day to day operations of your PPC activity. But you may need to steal away the time depending on your workflow.
For our team here at Elevate, we have been pretty committed to getting the exams and qualifications completed.
There is a fairly easy progression through the course material for each module as they piggyback off each other. But, the reality of the matter is, is that you won’t be awarded certification if you don’t pass the exams. Taking the time to understand fundamentals and then using that to inform later exams should aid you in achieving certification.
GOOGLE ADWORDS CERTIFICATION TRAINING COURSES
ADWORDS FUNDAMENTALS
This exam covers basic and intermediate concepts, including the benefits of online advertising and AdWords, and best practices for managing and optimising AdWords campaigns.
Passing the Fundamentals exam is a must for becoming Adwords certified.
SEARCH ADVERTISING
This exam covers basic and advanced concepts, including best practices for creating, managing, measuring, and optimising search ad campaigns across the Search Network.
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
This exam covers advanced concepts, including best practices for creating, managing and optimising Display campaigns.
VIDEO ADVERTISING
This exam covers basic and advanced concepts, including best practices for creating, managing and optimising video advertising campaigns across YouTube and the web.
MOBILE ADVERTISING
This exam covers basic and advanced concepts of mobile advertising, including ad formats, bidding and targeting, and campaign measurement and optimisations.
SHOPPING ADVERTISING
This exam covers basic and advanced concepts, including creating a Merchant Center account and product data feed and creating and managing Shopping campaigns.
HOW DO YOU STAY GOOGLE CERTIFIED?
Your exam status is good for 12 months so you should be able to ride the wave of partner status until that time period is up. If you’re a keen bean, then you can also complete your Google Analytics and Mobile Sites qualifications as well.
Maintaining a comprehensive understanding of all the certifications is extremely beneficial as they all interact with each other in some form. Therefore, becoming certified in more than just one area is recommended so that you can stay on top of PPC as a whole.