VideoVoo: Online Video Marketing

AdWords guide to those who want to take the AdWords exam after a short self-training. Now that there are more and more Google AdWords video ads in the content network (not in search yet, but I am very much looking forward to them in the video search results), you may wish to dip your toes into the Google AdWords Qualified Individual or GAP exam.

On the AdWords forum one of the guys asked

“Does anyone know anything about what’s included in the test? Is it EVERYTHING in the learning center? Because I don’t know much about coding, so the API isn’t making much sense to me, besides what it actually does. “

And here is my short (and subjective) reply:
the answer is yes and no. Yes, anything might be turned into a question, and no, you don’t need to code, but you do need to know what API stands for and what it could be used for (why is it potentially useful).
The good news is that there are no open questions, so most of the time you need to pick the one good answer in a multiple choice test (not always, pay attention to multiple good/ bad answers). There are many questions that are testing certain data/ ad parameters/ basic info (rote learning), others scratch your marketing skills on the surface (e.g. what keywords do you find best for the following ad and campaign goals, what is the conversion rate of the following campaign etc.), some queries are way too easy (e.g. what does CPC or CPM stand for), others require a quick look at the learning center material (keep the printed learning center chapters at hand, and have some print screens of the account dashboard if you feel uncertain). The allotted time is enough - and ideally, you will have some minutes left to go back to some questions and correct them (make note of them during the test). But it is not enough to start learning the material - so go through the course at least once!

The best preparation is to actually manage (even a smallish) campaign for a while, at least for a few weeks, to get used to where you can set parameters, how you can get campaign reports (incl. placement reports on the URLs of the content network sites), check the My Change History, use cross channel tracking, Analytics, etc.

I suggest the following AdWords Exam preparation procedure:

1. Play around with a campaign for at least 4 weeks (even a daily budget of $1-2 is OK for practice)
2. Go to AdWords Learning Center.
3. Have a look at the learning center quiz: just a quick loot at it gives you some idea about the exam.
4. Go through Chapter 1 quiz. Breeze!
5. Never mind, read chapter 1 and copy paste the lines that contain new info in a separate AdWordsTest doc (hopefully very few things). If you are an audiovisual type, like me, you will make good use of the slide shows. Very clear, hygienic presentations with no sense of humor or humans involved, but crystal clear.)
6. Repeat these steps through all chapters: start with the quiz and then check the chapter. It is more interesting than the other way around, I think.
7. (optional, good for teams: Make up your own quiz questions, and throw them at each other.)
8. Pay special attention to those questions where you were uncertain in the quiz (not where you scored low, as you may have been lucky - mark the queries where you were not sure)
9. Print the chapters, and place them around you chapter by chapter as if you were sitting in the middle of an AdWords course swamp: you may wish to peep into the necessary chapters just to make sure.
10. Print your customized AdWordsTest doc with your own highlights: you have skimmed the most important info for you and just for you - the blank areas.
11. Get some dashboard print screens (MCC, account, campaign, keyword level, etc.).
12. Ready? No!
13. Have some chocolate and water - or other goodies.
14. Now: Go!
15. Check your score immediately: got it? Great! Not? Sorry. Remember what areas you scored least for future improvement.
16. Wait a few days till your unique Google AdWords Qualified Individual certificate arrives (it is a URL not a paper poster, so don’t be too excited.)
17. Accept the simple fact that Google does NOT keep a register of Google AdWords Professionals. There are only informal lists that record the GAPs worldwide. Like Who is a GAP.
18. Accept the fact that GAPs are usually not very appreciative of having a GAP certificate, nobody will look up to you just because you have passed an administrative exam. It is more for your clients than for insiders. What matters is who your clients are, and if you regularly shake hands with the big guys of search industry, like Matt Cutts, Danny Sullivan or Vanessa Fox, or give sexy keynote presentations at SES Strategies.
19. Was I still happy when I got it? Of course I was. I felt like Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova: the first female GAP in Hungary. Did it take long? No. :)
20. No twentieth point. (OK, US has the most GAPs currently, followed by the UK, the Netherlands and Germany)

PS: Be prepared that the test questions may or may not have been updated (just like the learning center material): about 1-5 questions may make you uncertain based on your experience. If you should bump into out-dated questions, choose the answer that best reflects the current features of AdWords. Give feedback at the end of the test and point out such gaps (sic!) (if applicable).

PS 2: The exam is not for the filthy rich. It is in fact a cheap exam, so don’t get a heart attack about failing the GAP test. You can try it once or twice a month.

PS 3: My experience as an AdWords trainer shows that those who do not speak English at intermediate level can still try to take the exam (min. pre-intermediate level) - based on the limited language focus of the AdWords learning materials. But have a dictionary with you, and familiarize yourself with the technical terms at least.

As the exam and the material is constantly changing I am glad to get your up-dated feedback any time in the comments.