Our PPC specialist passed the updated Google Advertising Professional exam this week, continuing qualified status for another year. The qualification provides a genuine reassurance for clients that a Google PPC supplier is an expert in the field, and can provide the best campaign performance possible.

We’ve been creating and managing PPC campaigns for a number of years now, with accounts ranging from £10 to £1000 daily budgets, covering single day promos to 365 day permanent programmes. The Google Adwords system is constantly being refined so it makes sense that the professional qualification is an annual requirement – and we’re always happy for the opportunity to put our skills to the test, and officially prove them.

Tips on passing the exam

If you’re thinking about becoming qualified for Adwords here are some hints and tips on how to prepare for the GAP exam, and some issues that crop up in the exam itself.

Alternatively, if you’d like a qualified expert to take care of it all for you – get in touch.

1) The Google Learning Centre

Google’s Learning Centre is the first place you should visit if you’re thinking about taking the exam, as it provides a valuable and comprehensive resource for the system as a whole. The centre is updated regularly with the latest new features, and splits the modules into relevant sections – great for revising through one stage at a time.

Lessons can be taken in text, interactive video or quiz format, depending on your particular learning preference. While all three have their benefits and should be explored, I personally find the quizzes the most useful – they are presented in largely the same style as the exam itself, and offer clear explanations when you get a question wrong. In the pressure-free environment of the quiz, getting answers wrong is often the best way to learn.

2) Are you experienced?

No matter how much time you spend in the Learning Centre there’s no substitute for the real world experience of managing a campaign to see the mechanics of the Adwords system in action (It’s actually a prerequisite of the qualification to manage an account for at least 90 days).

Some of the questions in the new exam relate to case-study style scenarios and optimising campaigns based on fictional client requirements – neither of which can be researched through the Learning Centre.

3) Don’t just stick to what you know – look at the bigger picture

Just because you’ve run some campaigns it doesn’t mean you know PPC inside out. Google Adwords is an expansive system, and the exam covers every aspect of it whether you’re familiar with it or not. It doesn’t matter if you don’t create and manage mobile ads or you’ve never looked at the Local Business Listings – they’re on the exam so you need to know how they work.

If you’re severely lacking knowledge in a particular area you’re likely to fail the exam, no matter how strong you are elsewhere on the system.

4) Beware of ambiguous wording

While there aren’t any ‘trick’ questions on the exam, there is a fair amount of ambiguous wording and numerous occasions where several answers initially seem to be the right one. This is frustrating – especially when the clock is ticking down right above the questions throughout the exam – but it’s not an insurmountable issue. Just make sure you read the questions and all available answers clearly, and don’t be complacent with any of your choices.

5) Use the ‘check back’ function

Every question on the exam has a ‘check back’ option that allows you to return to it at any point. The obvious use for this is when you’re completely stumped, but it should also be employed when you think there’s a chance that one of the other answers might be appropriate (…the ambigious wording problem again). A question that might seem tricky at first glance might be glaringly obvious when you go back to it later.

6) Use the available time wisely

The exam runs for 1:30 and contains 110 questions. Some questions literally take 10 seconds while others can take a couple of minutes to run through the possible answers. Either way, there’s plenty of time and you should have some spare once you’ve answered all the questions. Use this time to think through your ‘check back’ questions, and generally run through your submissions to make sure you’re happy.

Tags: gap exam, google adwords professional, google qualified, green media ppc, Pay-per-click, ppc, ppc exam, ppc newcastle

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