So this morning I completed the Google AdWords Reporting & Analysis Advanced Exam which now makes me an AdWords Qualified Individual! To re-cap, to become AdWords qualified, an individual must complete both the AdWords Fundamentals Exam and then complete one of the three advanced exams: Google Search Advertising Exam, Google Display Advertising Exam or the Google Reporting & Analysis Exam. Being a bit of an Analytics fan, I opted to go with the Reporting option.
So, what does the exam involve? The exam was a 2 hour affair. You begin the exam by downloading Google's special browser which locks your computer down so that the only thing you can access is the exam, this is Google's idea of exam conditions and serves the function well. The exam was made up of 120 multiple choice questions. Throughout school, multiple choice was always a great thing, offering everyone a 25% of getting the question right, regardless of any other variable. Fast forward to today, and I can safely say that my fondness of multiple choice has been ebbed away by Google's challenging exams.
Within the exam interface you are able to strike out answers you do not consider correct to aid with elimination process, you can choose your answer and you can mark a question to come back to it later. These are really the only controls you will need, the rest is about ensuring that you answer every question and then have the time to re-visit the questions you marked to ensure you have chosen the best possible answer.
Tips for the Google Reporting Advanced Exam
My first tip to help you pass the Google Reporting Advanced Exam is revise. Yes, you can look at it however you like, but the truly best way to ensure that you will pass is to revise, not just the bullet points I will list below, but revise everything in the Google Learning Center for this exam, and then re-revise it using other resources. At this point I think it is worth recommending the fantastic Advanced Google AdWords book, written by Brad Geddes. Geddes is clearly an accomplished advertiser and the knowledge he shares in this book is helpful for this exam, the other exams and working with AdWords in general.
So, apart from the general revision, what are the things that really stood out for me in the exam?
Know when the question is asking about AdWords, Analytics and Website Optimiser - These three things come up on nearly every question, but if you accidently think that you are being asked about an AdWords report instead of an Analytics report, you can easily confuse yourself. It is something to always keep in mind.
Learn about the Google Website Optimiser - Before the exam, I knew that the Website Optimiser was one of the themes for the exam, however I wasn't aware of how much it appears in the exam. Thankfully I had spent the time to brush up on the ins-and-outs of the Website Optimiser and I would certainly recommend that you do as well. The best way to do this is to use the two chapters referring to this in the Google Learning Center as a groundwork and then use some other sources to make sure you understand it all very well.
Know the specifics! - This is a general one, but again can be the clincher when it comes to passing the exam. There are many themes in this exam, but I would say the most prominent of these is that many of the questions require you to know the specific answer to the question. It could be knowing how Quality Score is calculated, knowing how Conversion Optimiser works. The questions and multiple choice answers mean that they only way you can answer the question is to know the answer, there is no process of elimination in these cases.
So, the main question themes I remember?
- AdWords reports
- Analytics main reports
- Conversion tracking with AdWords
- Conversion tracking with Analytics
- Tagging links
- Website Optimiser
- Linking AdWords and Analytics accounts
- Account access
- Conversion Optimiser
- These are really only the things which stick in my mind, but as I say, the only way to truly prepare is to revise!
- Image kindly supplied by kalleboo on Flickr using a Creative Commons licence!
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