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Posted by: Administrator / 15.08.2011

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Tips for Passing the Google Adwords Search Advanced Exam

Posted by: Administrator / 19.05.2011

While the Fundamentals Exam relatively easy, the Advanced Search Exam is harder than anticipated.  Following the same tips on the learning center as mentioned in the Fundamentals Blog, a few additional tips are noted below:

1.       Exercise More: Most of the test was related to more practical knowledge of the Adwords Tools, their interfaces and indepth knowledge of optimization strategies. For Search Advanced Exam candidates it is highly recommended to emphasize more on Best Practices sections of all the relevant chapters. One thing that is pretty much evident from the exam is that you are not to rely on the Learning Center completely to pass, as the test is based on more realistic experience rather than theory.

2.       Important Chapters & Topics: Most of the questions were related to the following chapters and topics: -

a.       Adwords Guidelines & Policies: There were most questions related to ad text policies. A question that came up was somewhat like this:

1)   Which of the following ad text is acceptable

:a)      **cheap** flowers

b)      Buy flowers now!

c)      All Free, free, free

d)      Best Flowers in Town

b.     Ad Formats Guidelines and Best Practices: There were no questions related to video or image ad formatting (I believe they are all on the Display Advanced Exam). However there were some questions related to ad text for different ads like the question below for mobile ads:

1)  Which Keyword combinations are best for mobile ads:

a) Long, Descriptive

b) Short, General

c) Short, Descriptive

d) Long, General

c.       Managing Keywords: If you have cleared the fundamentals exam this is just for brushing up your concepts on managing and organizing keywords. Know the difference between the standalone keyword tool and the account keyword tool. In addition to that also know what happens when your negative keywords overlap with your regular keywords.

d.      Language & Location Targeting: This is an important part of the Search Advanced Exam. There were a couple of questions which were similar to the quizzes in the e-learning examples given in this section. Make sure you know what the Google Insight Search Tool does, how and when can you use it.

e.      Location Extensions: Use it and understand it's relation to Google Places. I recall a question asking when and where does google show the business address with the ad? Only users who have used this feature would be able to answer this question.

f.        Invalid Clicks: This is one of the most important chapters that I'd like to stress on for the Search Advanced Exam. The learning center gives you ample information on it. What are the legitimate causes of invalid click activity coming from one source? How does Google tackle with these? Are they billed in your billing credits? What should an advertiser do when he/she is finds some suspicious invalid click activity in their campaigns?  etc are some questions you should know the answers of. Know where you can access Invalid click credits too.

g.       Google Analytics: If you are an enthusiastic adwords learner, you should know the basics of Google Analytics by now and how it helps in determining what kind of traffic your website generates. Make sure you know the various reporting tools and features e.g. Top Landing Pages, Site Overlay etc.

h.     Adwords Tools: Sometimes the tools get a little confusing if you are a novice user. Make sure you have used the tools frequently for your campaigns. You might be blacked out with a question like which tool helps in estimating the cost per click of a particular keyword and which tool helps in showing competition of a keyword with other competitors. I would also particularly emphasize on the My Change History Tool (know what it displays and what it doesn't). Also make sure you know the differences between the Targeting, Optimization and Tracking Tools and which tools serve what purpose. Know what a Reach and Frequency Report is and what its purpose is.

i.        Adwords Editor: Don't just read about it, use it on a campaign and know what it does. I recall a question like: If many users were to access your account what feature should you use prior to viewing your account data.

j.        Conversion Tracking & Conversion Optimizer: Understand the two types of conversions (conversion 1-per-click and conversion many-per-click) and their real life examples to get a better picture.  If you cannot enable the conversion optimizer what could be the possible reasons for it? After enabling the Conversion Optimizer, you notice a decrease in traffic, why? The trouble shooting section of the conversion optimizer shows the answers to these.

k.       Optimization: It is highly recommended to thoroughly read this section of the learning center. There are questions related to how you can create an effective campaign structure, promote multiple companies and websites etc and what are the recommended strategies. If you have these on your tips then you won't have to worry about trick questions that have more than one answer that seem right.

l.         MCC: There were questions relating to the access levels of the users. A question came up looking like this: -

1) John wants to grant standard access to his client. What should he be cautious of?

a)      User can delete/disable the account?

b)      User can view Reports

c)       User can grant access to other users

In addition to that, it is also important to know the benefits of using MDS on your MCC Account.

m.    API: Most of the adwords users don't use the adwords API, but it is important to know how we can use it. Understand the benefits of using the Adwords API tool, Developer's benefit of using it and what Developer Tokens are and what is their purpose. In addition to that, also know what the sandbox environment is and what its core benefit is.

n.      Fundamentals Basics: Don't forget the basics, there was a question related to the definition of CTR, Quality Score etc (some bonus questions to make you pass)…

3.       Relax before taking the test: Make sure that you have had a good night's sleep before giving the test and do it only if you are confident. The test duration is 3 hours and you have 109 questions to attempt. Mark for review the questions that you are doubtful of. It would be handy if you have taken notes of important material. The passing score is 80%, so don't take this easy.

Lastly, Good Luck!

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Tips for Passing the Google Adwords Fundamentals Exam

Posted by: Administrator / 19.05.2011

Here are a few tips for the Google Adwords Fundamentals Exam: -

• Study: Study the Learning center with particular attention to these: -

o E-Learnings


o Useful Links

o Bolded and Bulleted Text

o Videos like this one.

• Exercise: I wouldn't say it is recommended, but NECESSARY, to create an account and actually run a campaign and view results so that you can get a knack of the interface. This helps in knowing where you can access various functions on pages. Also, use the set of instructions from the learning center to help you. They are normally in yellow boxes.



• Brainstorm: Notice that there are questions to consider in the learning center (like in the image above), try answering them. You could also use these helpful flashcards to check if you have answered correctly and get familiar with terms.

o If you have time to spare get a load of information from the internet to find ways to optimize your campaign(s) or get a better understanding of adwords and business needs like this one. There are some informative blogs as well that keep you posted on the exams and new features like Dylan's Blog and Google's own adwords blog.

o Spend some time to view actual results for your campaign so that you can plan your strategy, and ask yourself questions, for e.g. if an ad is not showing or has very low Quality score what would you do? Plenty of help in adwords support. Check out these as well: -

> Here is the Google help centre section on achieving higher CTR's:
http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=21933

> Here is the Google help centre section on improving campaign performance:
http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=15245

o Here's a very useful link to understand Ad Rank and Quality Score

o You don't actually find sample questions or quizzes on the internet for free, so you could use trial versions just to get an idea of what the questions may look like. I found a quiz that seemed a little outdated but helpful, check it out.

o Tools: Make sure you understand the tools, their purpose and where they can be accessed.

• Study the Implicit stuff too: There are some things on the learning center that are not explicitly mentioned as part of the fundamentals material, but are implicit requirements for the course (like Chapter 7: Billing and Payments) and a few stuff from other advanced courses like the following. Make sure you study them as well: -

o Display Network Basics
o Google Analytics
o My Client Center
o Advertising Policies

• Revise: If you plan to take notes, make sure that they are very specific. The test is is for 180 minutes and 113 questions so you have plenty of time to review the answers. Some stuff you could note down are formula for calculating Ad Rank, QS etc. If you are pretty thorough on the subject then you may not need them, however, for people to take the test on short notice, this could be helpful. The more important chapters to emphasize are: -

o Chapter 3: AdWords Ad Formats
o Chapter 4: AdWords Targeting and Placements
o Chapter 13: Optimizing Performance
o Chapter 15: Selling and Representing AdWords

Most of the questions were from Chapter 13 & 15.

Exam Tips: Mark the questions you need to review so that you can review them later on. You don't have a deadline for the exam to worry about so just give the test whenever you feel confident enough to. Make sure you have read the entire question and all the possible answers before selecting the correct one. Lastly, Best of Luck!

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