What Is a Google Ads Certification?
A Google Ads certification is an official accreditation given out by Google themselves that certify that you know your stuff when it comes to using Google Ads—and in particular, the advertising channel that you’re certified in.
Since there are multiple certifications, each one assessing your ability in different channels of the Google Ads platform, or indeed in different aspects of marketing in general, a certificate will only certify that you know how to use one part of Google’s paid marketing platform.
So, for example, if you take the assessment for the display ads certification and you manage to pass, then you’re essentially a certified Google AdWords specialist in display ads. Therefore, in order to become a certified Google Ads specialist in all the channels, you will need to pass multiple assessments.
Which Google Ads Certification Is Best?
When you first realize that there are 10 available Google Ads certifications, it’s easy to ask yourself: “which Google Ads certification is best for my personal situation?”
And it’s a natural question to ask. After all, with the assessment taking up a total of 1.3 hours (unless you finish it earlier, of course), it’s natural that you would like to save yourself time that could be better spent elsewhere. This is unless your main aim is pick up all of the Google AdWords certifications, then by all means, go ahead!
On the other hand, if you simply what to know how to get certified as a Google Ads specialist in the marketing channels that are most useful to you, then knowing which Google Ad certificate best applies to you is crucial.
In our opinion, in order to truly become a Google Ads certified professional, you’ll need at the least the certificates in search ads, display ads, and video ads as these are the most basic of the ads channels. Then if you wish to specialize in, say, shopping ads, then the shopping ads certificate is essential.
For more details on this topic, we suggest checking out our dedicated blog post!
How Long Does It Take to Get Google Ads Certified?
This largely depends on the level of your experience with the Google advertising platform and how familiar you are with the various advertising channels available. What we mean is that if you’re already rather familiar with Google Ads, then you get Google Ad certified in under an hour, as you’ll probably breeze through the assessment.
And if you wish to become Google Ad certified in as many channels as possible, or you wish to pick up all of the certificates that Google offers, then you could finish all of them in a simple matter of days if you already know how to use Google Ads.
On the other hand, if you’re a beginner, the process is obviously going to take far longer as you will also need to learn how to use the Google paid advertising platform before being able to get certified. The Skillshop Google Ads courses explain how long the course and the certification should take, so you can get a good idea of how much time the process takes.
However, if you commit to becoming Google Ads certified in only one channel (for example, search ads), then the whole process would take anywhere from 8-10 hours. This will depend on which certificate you decide to do as not all of them take the same amount of time to accomplish.
How Much Does It Cost to Get Google AdWords Certified?
Wondering about the cost of getting certified in Google Ads? Well, brace yourself as the cost to get certified in Google Ads is… nothing!
Yes, you’re reading that right: the certificates provided by Google are all completely free of charge. This also includes all of the related material, including the Google Ads course that leads up to every assessment.
So, if you were wondering how to get Google Ads certified for free, the answer is really simple: simply complete the assessment of your certificate of choice on the Google Skillshop website!
To do this, we will walk you through the whole process in a section below.
Benefits of Google Ads Certification
There are a handful of benefits that you can gain from getting Google Ads certified. So, if you’re wondering to yourself, “is becoming a Google Ads specialist worth it?” then you better pay attention to this section, as knowing what benefits you can enjoy from becoming Google Ads certified helps make the whole process more worthwhile.
The following are a few of the benefits that you can gain from getting certified to use Google Ads:
- Resume Boost: having your Google Ads certification on your resume shows prospective employers and clients that you’re certified in the Google paid marketing platform. This is a naturally attractive addition to your Google Ads specialist resume as not only does it show that you’re officially certified in Google Ads, it also shows that you actively take steps to become an accredited marketer, possibly making it an effective way of getting Google Ads clients for your services.
- Acquiring a New Skill: if you’re not yet familiar with Google Ads, then the required steps of how to become a certified Google Ads specialist will necessarily teach you new skills. However, if you’re already a professional marketer, then applying for the certificate might serve as a useful refresher of certain concepts—or you might even learn something new!
- Google Partners Requirement: one of the requirements of becoming a Google Partner is becoming Google Ads certified. The Google Partners program offers advertising agencies certain benefits, including promotional offers, consumer insights reports, as well as being included in a directory of marketing agencies.
If you want a much more complete list of pros and cons in order to arrive at your own conclusion regarding the question, “is Google Ads certification worth it?“, we highly suggest reading our blog post dedicated to the subject.
What Jobs Can You Get with Google Ads Certification?
First things first, let’s get one thing straight: being a Google Ads specialist is a legit job. And in fact, there are a handful of jobs that you can get once you get certified for Google Ads, all revolving around the use of the Google Ads platform for paid marketing. However, don’t be surprised that you’ll be expected to make use of other paid advertising platforms, like Facebook Ads.
Other responsibilities that you might be expected to carry out include tracking the performance of ad campaigns, compiling reports on performance metrics, offering recommendations on marketing strategies, etc. However, duties aside, we’re here to tell you what Google Ads certified jobs you can expect to find.
As a certified Google Ads professional, you have the option to either work for an employer, for example for an advertising agency or for an in-house marketing team for a big brand, or else to work on your own as a freelancer, whether that’s full-time or simply as a Google Ads side hustle. Of course, both have their benefits and their drawbacks.
Otherwise, if you choose to work with a company, you have the chance of becoming a Google Ads manager, where you can manage your own team and devise paid advertising strategies for the brand you work for. Or else, if you’re really ambitious, you can open your own certified Google Ads agency and manage ads campaigns with your own company!
Google Ads Certification Salary
One of the many considerations that you need to take into account when asking the question, “is being a Google Ads specialist worth it?“, is, of course, the salary of an ads specialist. Wondering how well you’ll be paid is a natural consideration when taking up any sort of occupation, not just becoming a PPC marketing specialist.
Well, you’ll be glad to find out that becoming a certified Google Ad specialist has its perks when it comes to getting paid: firstly, there are plenty of ways of how to earn money as a Google Ads specialist, so you definitely won’t go hungry. Secondly, while you won’t be absolutely loaded when doing this job, you will still be able to live comfortably with a very decent salary.
In fact, the average salary of a certified Google Ads expert is around $55,000. Moreover, the average hourly rate of a freelance Google Ad specialist is anywhere between $15 – $40 an hour, which is not too bad at all.
Naturally, the pay that you can expect to get can be higher depending on your level of expertise, how many hours you put in, your typical clientele, and other such factors. However, that may be difficult to judge for yourself, so we suggest reading our guide on how much you should charge for Google Ads management.
How to Get Google Ads Certified?
Are you worried that the process of how to become Google Ad certified is unnecessarily complicated and long? Far from it! In fact, in this section, we’ll show you that the process is actually quite easy.
Of course, if you’re a beginner, please take into account that you first need to learn how to use Google Ads before getting Google Ad certified. However, if you’re already using Google Ads on a regular basis, then you can simply follow the steps we’ve described below:
1. Sign Up to Google Skillshop
The first thing that you’re going to need to do before being able to take any of the assessments is opening up your Skillshop account. It’s important at this stage to not use just any email address that you might have, but your work email or the email associated with your Google Ads account.
This is important not just for the sake of having everything related to Google Ads linked to one account, but it’s also important for helping your agency joining the Google Partners program.
2. Choose a Google Ads Certification
There are 10 available Google Ads certifications on Skillshop, each one assessing a different ability when it comes to paid advertising. You’re free to do all of them, if you want to become as comprehensive a Google Ads marketer as possible, but most will simply apply for a handful of certifications that only apply to their specializations.
Familiarize yourself with the available certifications and pick the ones that resonate most with you. Once you’ve chosen the ones that you prefer, you can go on to step 3.
3. Prepare For the Assessment
Just like another exam that you’ve ever taken in your life, you will need to study for the Google Ads assessment. There is plenty of material on the Skillshop website that will help you study for the certification exam. Unless you know the Google Ads platform like the back of your hand, it’s our recommendation that you go through the provided lessons.
4. Pass the Test & Become Google Ads Certified
If you were a good student and you studied hard for your exam, then you should easily pass with flying colors. Condescending teacherly tone aside, if you manage to pass the assessment, you’ve been granted your Google Ads certification. Congratulations!
It’s a good practice, however, to download your Google AdWords certification so that you can have proof that you’re a Google certified ads specialist. Moreover, you should also consider showing off your certification as much as you can. Speaking of which…
5. Display Your Badge
As a marketer, you should also take steps in order to market yourself and your skills. One of these ways is displaying your Google Ads certificate badge on your LinkedIn profile. Moreover, you ought to also consider turning your Google profile public in order for others to be able to find you and confirm that you’re certified in Google Ads.
6. Renew Your Certification
Google Ads certificates are only valid for a year from when you first receive them. Unless you wish to stop being certified by Google Ads, it’s a good idea to renew your certificate every year in order to keep yourself up-to-date with any changes to the platform as well as to keep receiving the benefits of having the certificate.
How to Pass Google Ads Certification: Our Tips
Worried that you might not be prepared enough for the Google Ads specialist test? Or would you like to know a couple of pointers on how to best prepare for the assessment? Then you better read this section thoroughly as we’re going to help you out with a handful of useful tips that you can use in order to be fully prepared for the exam.
Of course, there’s always the option of looking up the Google Ads certification answers—but in reality, what’s the benefit in that? You’ll be cheating yourself out of a perfect opportunity to learn something new!
Google themselves won’t care if you’re cheating, but simply looking up answers and completing the exam that way won’t teach you anything, and you won’t have the necessary skills required to impress future employers or clients!
1. Make Sure You Have Plenty of Battery
If you’re using a laptop rather than a desktop computer (and who isn’t nowadays?), you better be sure that your laptop has enough battery, or else make sure that it’s plugged in throughout the exam. This is because if your laptop turns off mid-exam, then the exam immediately ends and you’ll need to take it again!
Of course, having a desktop computer circumvents this problem as it’s always plugged in. However, if you live somewhere where power outages are common occurrences, then you might want to invest in a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) unit. In other words, a computer backup battery.
Depending on the unit you buy, you can have anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour of extended power. This can make the difference between failing and passing the assessment!
2. Make Sure Your Internet Connection Is Stable
Related to the previous point, make sure that your internet connection is stable and remains stable throughout the duration of the assessment. If you time out for a certain amount of time during the assessment, then the test will also automatically end and you are going to have to retake it at another time.
3. Take Advantage of the Skillshop Refresher Classes
Before applying to take the assessment for your chosen Google AdWords certification, Skillshop offers a number of optional refresher classes that you should definitely consider taking. These will take you through the main topics of the assessment and will serve as useful revision before taking the certificate exam.
4. Don’t Stress Yourself Out for Nothing!
If you’re the kind of person who stresses themsleves out over the slightest things, then this tip is crucial. There’s no better way of sabotaging your chances of success than stressing yourself out.
There’s really no reason to stress out about the Google Ads certification assessment: even if you fail the exam, you’re not losing any money as it’s completely free. Moreover, no one will be able to tell that you failed the test as the result is only available to you.
The only real consequence of failing the assessment is that you won’t be able to retake until after 24 hours have passed.
5. Slow & Steady Passes the Assessment
We know, we know: time is a precious thing, and taking an hour out of your time just to get certified by Google Ads may seem like a waste of time. However, make sure that you answer each question with the care it deserves and you don’t rush through the assessment and risk getting questions wrong simply because you didn’t read the question correctly!
FAQs
Is Google Ads certification worth it?
While Google Ads certifications won’t turn you in a master marketer over their duration, there’s hardly any reason why you shouldn’t get certified, especially if you work or plan to work with Google Ads.
The only real reason that we can think of is that experience is valued much more highly than a certificate—however, that doesn’t mean that the certificate is useless. It just means that experience is crucial in order to survive in the industry.
And if anything, the Google Ads certification offered by Skillshop are completely free, so it’s not like you’re wasting any money!
Is the Google Ads certification free?
Yes, Google Ads certifications are 100% free. Once upon a time, the Google Skillshop certifications had to be paid for, but thanks to the generosity of Big G, that’s no longer the case.
How to make money with Google Ads certification?
Making money with your Google Ads certification is actually far less exciting that you might have been hoping for: you simply need to apply for a job, just like any other job you’ve ever applied for. However, if working for someone else is the bane of your existence, then you might consider becoming a freelance Google Ads specialist. Be warned, though, that becoming a successful freelancer will take a lot of work.
Can you check if someone is Google Ad certified?
Yes, indeed, there are steps you can take in order to verify if a marketer is certified in Google Ads. And in fact, there are more ways than one to check for this information.
If the marketer in question works for a certified Google Ads agency, then the chances are that they are subscribed to the Google Partners program. One of the benefits of this program is having your marketing firm be included in a directory of companies specializing in Google advertising. If you can find their firm, then you know that the person forms part of a certified organization.
Otherwise, for a more “individual solution”, you can ask them for the completion ID of their certification, or more simply, for the URL of their certification. That way you’ll have a digital copy of the certification, as well as proof that the marketer in question is truly certified.
Can being Google Ad certified help you get a job?
Yes, actually! It might surprise you to know that there are employers who actively look for job seekers that are also certified Google Ads specialists. So, be sure to stick your Google Ads certification to your LinkedIn profile!
Moreover, this is not to mention that fact that becoming Google Ads certified also involves learning an entirely new skillset (namely, using Google Ads), so it also indirectly helps you get a job that way.