Becoming a Google Ads certified professional is a great way to promote and demonstrate your knowledge and skills when it comes to managing Google Ads campaigns. Today we’re going to walk through the steps you’ll need to take to study, prepare and take your Google certification exams.
Here’s what we are going to cover:
What is Google Ads certification?
Have the Google Ads exams changed?
What happens if I fail a Google Ads exam?
How should I study for the Google Ads exams?
How difficult is Google Ads certification?
What are the exam questions like?
What are the benefits of being a Google Ads certified professional?
How do I take the Google Ads exams?
How do I find my certificate?
Other common questions about the exams
Get the Google Ads Certification Resources
In a hurry? You can also download the resources included in my post (plus some sample exam questions). Get my Google Ads Certification Resources PDF.
Download the Certification Resources
What is Google Ads certification?
You can become a Google Ads certified professional by passing one or more of Google’s certification exams. Currently, there are five different certifications you can achieve. They cover search, display, video, shopping ads and measurement.
Here’s a quick summary of the exams:
All of the exams are free to take.
You have 75 minutes to answer all of the questions.
You need to get 80% of the questions correct to pass.
Each certification is valid for 12 months once you’ve passed.
For some reason, the exams are slightly different in length, ranging from 46 questions to 50 questions. Here’s a summary:
Search exam = 50 questions
Display exam = 49 questions
Video exam = 50 questions
Shopping ads exam = 46 questions
Measurement exam = 50 questions
Once you’ve passed at least one of the exams, you can promote the fact that you are a Google Ads certified professional. This will demonstrate your expertise in the areas covered by Google’s exams – from search to measurement. And if you’re super keen, you can take all of the exams and show off your Google Ads superpowers!
Have the Google Ads exams changed?
If it’s been a while since you’ve become certified in Google Ads (previously AdWords), things have changed a little. Previously, you had to pass the fundamentals exam and at least one of the specialization exams (search, display, video, mobile and shopping).
And if you haven’t taken one of the exams recently, then I recommend scanning through the topics that are likely to be covered. Here we can see the ‘study’ section for the search exam:
You will notice the last two topics are ‘Boost Performance with Optimization Score’ and ‘Increase Conversions with Performance Planner’. When I recently sat the exam, a number of questions covered these topics.
What happens if I fail a Google Ads exam?
Don’t worry. There is no penalty for failing one of the Google Ads exams. All you need to do is wait one day before you can retake the exam. And since there are five different exams, you could take one of the other exams while you’re waiting.
How should I study for the Google Ads exams?
Learning resources for the exams are provided inside Google’s Skillshop learning platform. Each of the certifications has study resources.
These study resources are primarily text-based. However, you will find they include some interactive elements to keep things interesting. Google has some other resources that are worth checking out, but these are not specifically designed to help you pass the exams. I recommend Google’s Get Started with Google Ads series on YouTube and their list of best practice resources.
And if you’re looking to gain practical skills and gain important knowledge for the search exam, then you can join my Google Ads Fundamentals course. Delivered in bite-sized video lessons, it’s a popular starter and refresher course and it covers everything you need to launch successful search campaigns.
How difficult is Google Ads certification?
Since becoming certified is about passing one or more of the certification exams, it comes down to how familiar you are with Google Ads. If you’ve been running ads since it was called Google AdWords, then you’re probably in an excellent position to take the exam. If you’ve never managed a Google Ads account, you’ll need to study to pass the exams.
Compared to previous versions of the exams, I found more scenario-based questions and the questions generally seemed longer and wordier. I also found that about two-thirds of the questions I answered were focused on strategy and optimization, with the remaining portion of questions focused on particular features or steps you would need to take inside your account.
What are the exam questions like?
The majority of the questions are either single-choice or multiple-choice, so you will need to select the best possible answer (or two answers for the multiple-choice questions). There are also a handful of questions that ask you to place the answers in the correct order or match answers to the correct options.
Here’s an example of a typical question:
And here’s an example of a question where you need to match answers to the correct options:
The questions cover a broad range of topics from fundamentals, best practices, the steps you need to follow in your account to create ads, to questions covering particular features, like Dynamic Search Ads and the Performance Planner.
Here are some practice questions to give you a feel for what you might find in the Google Ads Search exam. They’re similar to the actual exam questions, but they’re not the actual questions. You'll be asked five questions, but just like the real exam, you might get different questions if you retake it. I’ve included a few easy questions and a few hard ones to give you a feel for things…
Google Ads Search Practice Quiz:
What are the benefits of being a Google Ads certified professional?
You can say that you’re a Google Ads certified professional, you can add your certification to your LinkedIn profile and you get a certificate that you can print and display in your office. You even have the option to share a link so that potential clients can verify that you’re certified.
However, the real benefit of being a Google Ads certified professional is that it actively demonstrates your knowledge and skills in managing Google Ads campaigns. It’s a great way to highlight that you’re qualified and confident using Google’s advertising platform.
How do I take the Google Ads exams?
You’ll need to head to Google Skillshop to take the Google Ads exams. If you already have a profile, then once you log in, you should be good to go. If you’re new to Google Skillshop, then you'll need to follow the steps to create your profile.
Once you’re inside Google Skillshop, you can search for each of the certifications or you can select ‘Browse’ (the icon with two horizontal boxes on the top left corner) and then select ‘Google Ads’ to view all of the certifications. Once you’ve selected one of the certifications, look for the ‘Assessment’ option to take the exam.
Good luck!
How do I find my certificate?
Once you’ve passed an exam, you can print your certificate and I recommend using Chrome for the best results. Here’s what the certificate looks like in Safari and Firefox (for some reason there’s a missing image using these browsers):
And here’s a PDF of the certificate when printed using Chrome:
Here are the steps you’ll need to take:
Log into Google Skillshop.
Click your profile icon (on the top right corner) and select ‘My Profile’.
Select the certificate you would like to print and then select ‘Print’.
Select the paper size for your certificate and choose ‘Landscape’ for the layout.
Save the certificate as a PDF and print the certificate on your printer. That’s it!
Other common questions about the exams
How do I get certified in Google Ads?
You’ll need to study for one (or more) of the Google Ads exams and then head to Google Skillshop to take the exam when you’re ready.
What is the cost of Google Ads certification?
It’s free to take the certification exams.
How long does it take to get Google Ads certified?
You have a maximum of one hour and 15 minutes to complete each of the Google Ads certification exams.
How do I get a Google SEO certification?
Google doesn’t currently provide a dedicated certification in SEO. However, general topics relating to SEO are covered in their Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course.
How do I get a Google Analytics certification?
You’ll need to pass the Google Analytics exam. Learn more about becoming Google Analytics certified.
Get the Google Ads Certification Resources
In a hurry? You can also download the resources included in my post (plus some sample exam questions). Get my Google Ads Certification Resources PDF.
Download the Certification Resources
