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Google Adwords Certification Exam - More Than Just A User Manual
July 24, 2008
Last week a colleague and I took our re-certification exams for Google Adwords and we had an 'interesting' experience. Over the last two years there have been countless improvements and additions to Adwords so I was kind of excited to come out of the trenches and learn about some of the newer offerings from Google.
The first clues that this was going to more of a brain teaser than a truly education experience were located in the quizzes which focused on such things as the Irish VAT rules and the details of billing policies etc. Now I know that this is crucial information for lots of various reasons but my question was what does this have to do with managing a Google Adwords account? I know billing issues can be a huge part of the account, and lets face it Google wants the least amount of confusion regarding how it gets paid, but I have to question the relevance of those types of questions as it relates to being Adwords certified.
The second clue was the marketing and sales 'indoctrination' that appeared in the final Learning Center module. Big news has come out of Yahoo recently regarding their affiliate errrrr certification program and quite frankly I think Google took a page from Yahoo's book when it comes to the marketing and sales aspect. I want to learn about Adwords, not how to sell it.
The third clue came when I actually took the exam. In school there were always those people who were good test takers and those who froze up during tests. Well, I was always one of those who was a good test taker but the questions were not just in-depth, they were tricky. I was actually sweating bullets trying to make sure I interpreted the tense of the words correctly because it could completely change the answer. I can appreciate trying to make sure the people who pass are truly qualified, but I kinda wondered if this was modeled after an entrance exam to Stanford.
The 'over-the-top' question came when I was presented with a question that required some calculations based on the data presented. The only problem was there was NO DATA PRESENTED. I was so flabbergasted that I actually took a screenshot of it to show to Google (should I miss passing by that one question ;) ). I made sure to put that in my comments about the test as well as a few other 'suggestions'. I still haven't heard back regarding my feedback but I am happy to report that I did pass (as well as my colleague) so if you ever happen to have any questions about the Adwords Irish VAT rules please feel free to let me know.
All posts by Brent Sharp
posted by Brent Sharp at July 24, 2008 11:27 AM
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Comments
Hmmm..surprising such questions have appeared. The Adwords are known to be tricky but a data based question with no data...;must have been a slip up on the part of the test makers. Post their reply if and when you receive it.
Posted by: SEO Company Pune at July 25, 2008 01:48 AM
We have had the same problem, and with a number of questions!
Posted by: tony at July 25, 2008 05:11 AM
Thank you
Posted by: sohbet at October 3, 2008 04:32 PM