Google Ads Certification Guide: How to Pass the Exam and Become a Google Ads Certified Specialist

Whether you want to get the Google Ads certification for the first time or retake the exam to update your certification, this article will walk you through everything you need to know about it. We will explain why a Google Ads certification is helpful, how to prepare for the exam, how to get certified, and make your certificate count towards your company’s Partner badge.

Quick Links

What is a Google Ads Certification

What is The Google Ads Certification For

How to Pass the Google Ads Exam

Simple Tips to Pass the Google Ads Exam

How to Learn and Train For The Certification

Certification Requirements for the Google Partner Badge Status

How to Make Your Certifications Count Toward Your Company’s Google Partner Status

Google Ads Certification FAQ

What is a Google Ads Certification

The Google Ads certification is a professional accreditation offered by Google to individuals. To get this certification, you need to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in Google Ads’ basics and advanced aspects.

Google Ads certification is available for six topics:

Google Ads Search
Google Ads Display
Google Ads Video
Shopping ads
Google Ads Apps
Google Ads Measurement Certification (does not count toward the Partners badge)

What is the Google Ads Certification for

Google Ads certification has both personal and corporate benefits. They are:

Training for the exam, you can discover how to use Google products to their full potential. Once you are certified, you can showcase your expertise. You can add the Google Ads Certification to the Certifications section on LinkedIn, and it will be searchable for recruiters looking for PPC experts.
By getting Google Ads Certification, you help your company earn the Google Partner or Premier Google Partner badge because Certification is one of the three requirement categories for the Partner badge (along with Performance and Spend requirements).

How to Pass the Google Ads Exam

Step 1: Choose the assessment

Go to Skillshop and choose the assessment you want to complete (for example, Google Ads Search certification). From the activity list, select Google Ads Search Assessment.

For your reference, Skillshop is a free training platform provided by Google. If you want to grow your skills in Google’s tools and solutions, it will be useful for you.

Step 2: Log in to Skillshop

Click Log in to launch, and choose your Google account. We recommend using your private account in order not to lose access to your certification if you change jobs.

Step 3: Pass the exam

All exams have a time limit of 75 minutes, but the number of questions varies. All questions are multiple-choice.

Let’s see what each assessment looks like.

Google Ads Search Assessment

50 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 80%

Here are the topics you need to learn for the Google Ads Search Assessment:

How to develop a Google Search strategy
How the Google Ads auction works
How to use ad extensions
How to implement automated bidding strategies
How to use Search audiences
What is the Optimization score and how to increase it
How to plan campaigns using Performance Planner

Google Ads Display Certification

49 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 80%

What you need to know for the Google Ads Display Certification:

How to develop a Google Display strategy
How to identify campaign types on Google Display ads
How to use Google Display Audiences
How to implement automated bidding strategies
How to work with Performance Planner

Shopping ads Certification

46 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 80%

What you need to know for the Shopping ads Certification:

How to promote online and local inventory with Shopping campaigns
How to use local inventory and local catalog ads to drive online and in-store traffic
How to use Showcase Shopping ads
How to implement Automated bidding strategies
How to work with Performance Planner

Google Ads Video Certification

50 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 80%

What you need to know for the Google Ads Video Certification:

Know video ads formats
Use YouTube video formats to grow awareness, increase consideration and drive action
Use YouTube to drive direct response

Google Ads Apps Certification

49 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 70%

What you need to know for the Google Ads Apps Certification:

Create and optimize App campaigns to meet a specific marketing goal
Understand the Apps ecosystem
Define App campaign goals
Understand App campaign results
Optimize the app experience
Expand app reach across markets

Google Ads Measurement certification

(This certification does not count toward the Partners badge.)

50 questions, 75 minutes

Minimum score: 80%

What you need to know for the Google Ads Apps Certification:

How to translate your marketing objectives into measurable marketing goals
How to set up conversion tracking to effectively measure sales, app downloads/installs and/or leads
How to analyze and act on insights from your conversion tracking data
How to choose the right attribution model for your business goals
How to work with Google My Business

Step 4: Get your certificate

All your certificates (both current and expired) are stored in the My Profile section in Skillshop. To allow other users to view the certificate data, open public access to this page.

Here is an example of the Google Ads Search certificate:

Simple Tips to Pass the Google Ads Exam

Limitate distractions. Remember: you can’t put your exam on pause. So turn your phone off, make sure your computer is plugged in, put a glass of water on the table, close all unnecessary tabs and put your notes by side.
Pace yourself. There is enough time for the exam; most people end up with extra time. You don’t need to rush, think each question well through.
Get some rest before. It’s an extra challenge to make the test when you are overwhelmed with other tasks. Get enough sleep. Drink water. Make a walk outside before the certification.
Don’t overestimate the assessment. It costs you nothing, and you can retake it the next day if you don’t pass. Don’t make mistakes just because you are too nervous.

How to Learn and Train for the Certification

Skillshop

Google has a free online program for training and certifications—Skillshop. On the Google Ads page, you will find training sections for six assessments.

The Skillshop page contains links to free courses and study materials to prepare for the tests fully. The approximate time to get ready for each assessment is between 2,5 and 5 hours. Every training is broken down into short modules so that you can study at your own pace.

If you don’t have a Skillbox account yet, you need to sign up with your Google Account. We recommend using your private email so that you won’t lose access to your Skillbox account if you change jobs. If you need to change your first and last name in your Skillbox account, edit your Google profile.

You can make your Skillbox account public and share your achievements and certifications. To do this, go to the My profile section and turn the Public toggle to On. Now you can copy and paste the URL of your profile page to send to others.

Curated Playlists on YouTube

If you are more of a visual type, you can profit from curated playlists of Google Ads video lessons on YouTube. For now, there are 49 video tutorials available.

Google Ads Help

Read official Google Ads tutorials and make notes that you can use later during your certification exam.

PPC Blogs

Read blog posts for PPC marketers. Here are the most authoritative ones:

Searchengineland.com (the Google Ads section)
Searchenginejournal.com (the PPC section)
Ppchero.com

Also, you can find useful content to prepare for Google Ads certification on our blog.

If you are new to Google Ads, start with the basics. Here are some links:

If you are more advanced, look through the articles for pros:

Also, you can learn current trends in PPC by listening to PPC podcasts. Here are 20 best of them.

Whatever you read or listen to, make sure to make notes and practice everything new to you in your account.

Certification Requirements for the Google Partner Badge Status

As we have already mentioned, certifications are one of the requirements for the Google Partner badge.

In February 2022, Google launched a new Google Partners program. If you’ve earned a Partner or Premier Partner status before February 2022, you will keep your badge until the program launches.

According to the new rules, your Google Partners registered Ads manager account should have a minimum of 50% of your account strategists certified in Google Ads, with at least one certification in each product area with campaign spend (Search, Display, Video, Shopping, or Apps).

Account strategists are employees of your company who manage Google Ads campaigns on behalf of your clients. You can inform Google of how many users in your company are account strategists and should be certified by going to the Company details page from your Partners program tab.

How to Make Your Certifications Count Toward Your Company’s Google Partner Status

To make your certification count toward the company’s Google Partner badge, you need to link your Skillshop and Google Ads accounts.

Go to the Edit profile page of your Skillshop account. You can use this link.
Go to the “Associate one or more of your Google Ads or YouTube accounts to your Skillshop profile” section and click Connect to Ads Account.
Accept the Data Sharing Agreement.
Log in with the email address you are using to access your Google Ads manager account.
Now you should see your updated linking status on the User table in the Partners program section.

Google Ads Certification FAQ

How much does the certification cost?

The Google Ads certification is free.

How long does a Google Ads Certification assessment last?

Each assessment lasts for 75 minutes.

How often can I retake the assessment?

If you don’t pass an assessment, you can retake it 24 hours later.

How many questions does each exam contain?

The number of questions for each exam varies, but it ranges from 46 to 50.

How many mistakes can I make to pass the assessment?

The passing score is 80%. For the Apps Certification, you need 70%.

What format do the questions have?

All questions are multiple-choice questions.

Can I review or edit my answers?

No, once you answer, you can’t go back.

Can I pause the timer?

No, you aren’t able to stop the timer once it starts.

What happens if I close the browser or my computer shuts down?

You’ll need to retake the assessment.

What are the available languages for the certification?

The Google Ads certifications are available in 29 languages: English (UK and US), French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish (plus Latin American Spanish), Portuguese (plus Brazilian Portuguese), and others.

How long are the certifications valid, and how to stay certified?

The certifications are valid for one year. After that, you need to retake it to remain certified.

What does a Google Ads Certificate look like?

The certificate has your name on it, the assessment title (Google Ads Search, Google Ads Display, etc.), the issue and expiration dates, and an ID.

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The PromoNavi Team

PromoNavi is a digital marketing platform that helps advertisers reduce time spent on everyday tasks and boost their PPC performance. With PromoNavi, you can automate keyword research, competitor analysis, PPC reporting, get optimization insights, and stay alert on possible issues in your accounts.

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