Becoming a Google Partner has a whole host of benefits for both digital marketing agencies and the clients they represent. Obtaining the Partner badge, Google’s “seal of approval”, is a great boon for any agency, as it is seen as a stamp of quality. However, guarding the door to this sought after accolade are a pair of exams, one of which is not as straight forward as you might think.
In order to qualify for this accolade, two exams need to be tackled. Firstly the Advertising Fundamentals, and then either the Advanced Search or the Advanced Display exam. Being the ace Adwords experts that we are, we expected the Fundamentals exam to be an absolute breeze. It turns out that Google doesn’t want to give those Partner Badges away lightly.
Take a look at these four questions below:
- What is one benefit of not using a predetermined budget for AdWords advertising, compared to radio, print, and TV advertising?
- How does adding placements to an Ad Group affect its Quality Score for the Search Network?
- Under the new match type policies, if you use the exact match keyword [red shoe], will your ad appear for plurals and misspellings?
- What is one way to limit a user’s access to only a specific number of accounts in the MCC?
Not as straightforward as you might have expected for a Fundamentals exam; Google is looking for a great deal more than just a basic understanding of Adwords, which admittedly is not what we were expecting! The aim of the Fundamentals exam is not simply to test whether you are a competent Adwords user, but whether you truly understand the nature of Adwords advertising and Google’ best practices.
Here’s how they test you:
- Question 1 is an example of how the exam requires you to have a deep knowledge of the benefits of Adwords advertising, over other avenues.
- Question 2’s function is to ensure you have an eye for detail and are paying attention; placements are only used on the Display Network so cannot have any effect on the Search Network. If you’re not paying close attention to the exact wording of the questions, it’s easy to drop marks on these types of questions.
- Question 3 shows how vital it is to stay on top of the latest developments in Adwords. In the past, exact match type keywords would not be triggered by plurals or misspellings. Google has since altered the Adwords Policy allow this. While this example is from a past policy change, this type of question show’s how important it is to keep an eye on Adwords as it constantly evolves.
- Questions 4 delves down into the nitty-gritty of account management, something that you might not expect in a Fundamentals exam! You’ll need to ensure you know all the ins and outs of My Client Centre, not just the accounts.
With a pass score of 85% and plenty of questions like the ones above waiting to trip you up, it’s important to swot up on your Adwords knowledge, even for us here at Digital Gearbox! However, it’s important to appreciate the value of an exam that stretches you; the Google Partner status wouldn’t mean much if it was easy to obtain. Sam and I are now fully fledged Google Partners after passing both the fundamental and advanced exams and celebrated at the end of last week with some delicious chocolate cake- another benefit of becoming a Google Partner!
