Marketing is becoming increasingly digital. This is a clear fact to all of us. Companies are allocating a fair share of their advertising spend to digital advertising and marketing. It turns out that much of those advertising dollars are spent on the Google advertising platform and constitute the bulk of Google Advertising Revenue. In the meantime, some companies require that their marketing team or department have at least one Google-Certified professional for obvious benefits, including the prestige that comes with it and the more enticing partnership possibility with Google for organizations. But, passing the Google Ads Certification exam is no cup of tea. So, if you're reading this post, odds are that you're looking for the secret to successfully taking the exams and getting certified either for personal fulfillment or for professional requirements. No matter your motivation for acing this exam (80% of total score is still an achievement by Google's standards) and getting your Google Ads Certification, while there's no unveiled secret to do so, there are some proven techniques you can use to achieve just that. In this post, I'm sharing 4 of those effective techniques with you.
1. Start With Google Ads Search
While there are many exams--Search, Video, Display, Measurement, Shopping, and Apps--one can take to become a Google-Certified advertiser, the best of them is the Search Ads Certification. This is because the Google Ads Search Certification gives an overall idea about and touch on all of the other types of available certifications. That is, the search skills, honed in the Google Ads Search program, are transferable to all of the other Google Ads programs. Another worthy reason for choosing Google Ads Search over the others is because the exam is relatively easy to pass and, hence, offers easiest path to the Google Ads Certification credentials. It sounds easier for us to just type our query into the Google search engine and confidently wait for some results to show up (and they do) than, say, to go to YouTube for the same search. Even if we do go to YouTube, we still type the query anyway. This reveals the paramount nature of the "search" tool. So, unlike you're required to do otherwise, taking the Google Ads Certification exam is more beneficial for both advertising agencies and client organisations (more exposure) and individuals (as they are more likely to pass it compared to the other Google Ads programs). This is just a suggestion. Your goals may differ from those of Google Ads Search and you might find it more relevant to take the more relevant exam for the certification you need. But keep in mind that these are harder to pass to get Google-Certified. Naturally, the more diverse your Google Ads Certifications, the better as this makes you a polyvalent advertiser. So, if you can master it all about the Google Ads Certification programs, go for it.
2. Go Over the Study Material
It is very tempting, even to those who have never read a thing about Google Ads before, to go straight to the exam section and take it under a wishful success stance. This is because no one has the time or the will to study for long hours these (our mind is wired to choose the seemingly easier paths, which do not always lead to best destinations). But not doing so can result in way more time spent trying to pass when you consider the number of trials that can be accumulated and the retake time interval (24 hours) between each unsuccessful attempt. Studying the material gives real knowledge and takes out the guesswork and the temptation to "Google" the question. Even if you could, by the luckiest shot in the world, end up obtaining the minimum score (80%), it is very unlikely. Furthermore, there's no point in having a piece of paper that you have not legally and ethically earned (you swore not to cheat but did, or did you?). So, the best way to ensure that you will pass the exam, and do so deservedly, is to put in the necessary work and study effort.
3. Consult the Supplemental Materials
Even if the overall course--study and exam--is indicated to last less than 5 hours, the truth is you will spend way more time on the course. Not to mention the fact that your motivation and energy level should be kept constantly high enough throughout the whole course. So, why would you even bother to take on additional materials, which are as, if not more, time-consuming as the primary course materials themselves? Well, this is because doing so is key to achieving mastery of the topic at hand and increasing your chances of success in the exam. By carefully consulting the purposely given supplemental materials, you'll get a deeper understanding of the topic at hand and be better equipped to answer even the trickiest question in the related the exam. I know someone who failed the test a discouraging number of times ignoring supplemental materials, although exhausting every bit of the main course materials. Upon taking some time to go over the additional materials, they aced the test the very next time and got certified. Those materials are there for a reason and it is to give you in-depth knowledge and understanding of the material. And any serious exam will go deep into it. And Google exam is a serious one. So, if you really want to succeed in it, go deep too.
4. Take Good Note for Quick Reference
As uncovered above, the main study material itself is quite extensive and our memory is fallible and will eventually let it down in the most inappropriate moments; when we need it the most: review or actual exam. So, without proper note-taking, we may feel the need to go over or sift through the whole scary thing all over again. And this sucks the boiling blood out of you. Good note-taking proves very useful in our college life only after we had realized that our long-term memory is not that very faithful after all. I can can assure you that even your short-term memory is not. This is because, if you wish, you can take the whole Google Ads course in just one day, still I bet the smallest detail will trick your memory for that very day. Taking good notes worked for me both at school and at my taking of the Google Ads Certification exam and related studies. But, I learned that good note-taking lesson the hard way, and I give it to you so you don't have to, especially for the tedious Google Ads Certification exam.
Of course, good note-taking can be a matter of taste and preferred style, but as long as the key concepts and information are noted in some comprehensive way, taste and style matter less.
Conclusion
In an era where marketing and advertising is ever valued on the Google platform and network, companies are very demanding and requiring that their marketing staff or prospects be Google-Certified. The path to to that prestigious certification has been shown in this article. All you have to do is to follow along and help yourself and your organizations achieve your respective, if not common, goals.
