Passed the Google Adwords Certification Exam!
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Late on December 30th, I finally got around to taking my google adwords certification exam. It has been awhile in the making, but I figured with the holidays here it was time to get it done. I had to go through 9 hours of audio at the Learning Center, run a Pay Per Click Campaign for 90 days, and also spend at least $1,000 over the course of that 90 days.
I was very nervous going into the exam, I get like that when it comes to tests for some reason. You have 90 minutes to complete the test of 110 questions. Some of the questions were pretty easy even for Adwords beginners. However, some questions intentionally try to trick you and it’s important that you understand the process to fully grasp what’s being asked. You can conveniently mark questions for later, which helps you get through the exam questions you know at a quicker pace. Provided you have enough time, you can then go back and research the questions you aren’t sure of.
It’s nearly impossible to pass this if you have not gone through the Learning Center. I would also suggest that you take the test quizes on the Learning Center page as well so that you get a better feel for the actual exam. All in all though, I think it will be a great asset to have this Certification. I get to display the Google Adwords logo on my website, and it definitely adds a solid credential for me when talkng with prospective customers. I also get to offer new clients $100 free in Pay Per Click campaigns, as long as they have not previously setup an AdWords account. A very cool selling point as well!
Below you can see the AdWords Certification logo and how it links directly to Google for vertification.
This should help to attain goals for the 2009 year.
Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates! Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients.
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Congratulations! What does getting this certification help you with? Can you send me a link to their page for information?
Thanks,
~ Jim
Jim Gaudet’s last blog post..A Realist Take on The Secret and The Law of Attraction
It gives me credibility, and therefore is a good selling point to potential customers. You can go here to learn more about the program and the certification: https://adwords.google.com/support/select/professionals/?hl=en_US
Congratulations! I didn’t know they had a certification for Google Adwords, but that sounds like it will become a must for people in SEO / marketing. Great job.
~ Kristi
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Congratulations Justin. I have been advised by friends in the online marketing industry that the certification is a mere paper. One can have this with just reading through an adwords manual online. How true is that? It’s an area I want to try out this year.
Please put up more link/study guides.
Mon
The best (and only) study guide for the Adwords Test is at the Learning Center. You have to go through 8 or 9 hours of audio if you want to pass the test. However, to get your certification you not only need to pass the test (110 questions in 90 minutes), but you also need to have managed $1,000 in Adwords Ads and have an active PPC campaign of at least 90 days as well. Aside from the $1,000, the only other requirement is $50 for taking the exam. Good luck in your venture. Definitely a worthwhile investment if you ask me:)
What happens if you fail the test? And what’s the link to go and take the test/certification? Or do you just have to create a new account.
You can take the test again. You’re only allowed twice a month if I recall correctly though. You certainly want to make sure you’ve studied though, and gone through all of the videos in the training library. To take the test, you’ll have to create an account. Good luck!
Congratulations!
This will surely open up more doors for you
Congrats. I can tell you that it is a big selling point to have this certification.
Send me and email about what you can do for me. My site is a national garage door directory. We mostly focus on link building and SEO, but I would like to hear what a good ppc could do for us.
Thanks
I to have recently been Google Adwords Certified. I was thinking about starting my own search engine optimization company. I was wondering if you had any advice and I wanted to know if you conduct any SEO on the side or is SEO your regular 9-5?
Congratulations Jerold! SEO is what I do full-time. When you’re first starting out, there are plenty of obstacles that you will have to overcome. Number 1, you aren’t going to have any clients/income. You need to make sure you’re prepared for this stretch. You will find out early on if this is something you think you’re cut out for. SEO and Adwords are two very different things though, so make sure that if you’re starting up an SEO Company, versus a PPC Management Company, that you know the differences inside and out. 95% of internet marketing budgets are actually spent on the PPC side, even though 85% of people do not even click on those ads. It’s certainly a backwards trend right now, but something I fully expect to help change:)
One thing I will strongly suggest is that you consult with a branding expert before you move forward. I made the mistake of not doing this when starting, so learn from my mistake. We’re going through a complete overhaul right now. I could write a book on what I’ve learned along the way – so if you do decide to pursue this career path, and you need help along the way just let me know!
Thank you for for valuable advise. It was most helpful. I really appreciate the heads up on the branding manager. I did not even think about that consultation.
Hello Justin
Congratzz for the certification..I need your help friend.
I have also taken the test two dayz back.Completed the requirement of the spending limit for 90 days period.
Still I have not receive any formal notification from adwords about my clearing the exam.
Please guide me, how will I get my logo.
Regards,
Sanjana
You generally need to wait 24 to 72 hours for Google to confirm it and prepare your logo.
I have given the test on 28 august, now its been three days.Why google has not send any formal confirmation.Where will the logo will come?
was it hard? I want to take it too but I’m afraid I’ll fail and waste money
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Not hard at all if you study for it. The time limit thing is the hardest part to deal with, but provided you’ve studied you shouldn’t have problems. Good luck!
Congratulations Justin
Congrats Justin on this great success, I am working as SEO since from three years in Pakistan, and now I want to take the google adword test, I have two websites and i can spend $1000 in three months on adwords, please tell me how i give test from Pakistan, Is and you have any dumps which will help us in this test, and if after three months i can not spend $1000, is my money go waste, as ppc in Pakistan is very low because of ruppee value, and if i fail first time can google give me second and third chance for test please explain thanks in advance.
Muhammad – yes, you can retake the test if need be. You do need to have an active $1,000 spent in the last 90 days though. Offhand, I am not sure how it works with search engines of another country in terms of monetary value.
Does it have to be in the last 90 days?? I thought this would not be an issue after having spent much more over the past years.
There has been a recent update for this, and no longer requires the 90 day spend of $1,000. Ad Agencies needed to have spent $100,000 over 90 days, and that number is now down to $10,000. You can read more about it here: http://www.clickz.com/3640172
I just passed the new test and met the new criteria Justin mentioned. Verify here: https://adwords.google.com/professionals/profile/org?id=07762091615861127572
Congratulations!