As I said in a previous post, I was going to take the Google AdWords Display Advertising Advanced Exam, and here I am, just took it (and passed it =)).

I already explained my experience with the first 2 exams I took in order to become Google AdWords Individual Qualified; the tips I mentioned on taking those exams are perfectly applicable to this exam. It’s just the same format with different content.

So, what different tips can I add?

• The exam evaluates exactly the study guide they give you. Stick to it.

• There are a lot of questions related to YouTube and all the possible ways to advertise there, so pay attention to this part and practice with all YouTube’s tools.

• Be sure to understand the different video ad’s formats.

• Be sure that you understand placements targeting (automatic and managed), CPM and how it competes against CPC, when it has to.

• Understand the Quality Score on the Display Network, and dominate all the different ad’s formats available for the Display Network, specially using the Ad Builder tool.

• Practice with the Ad Planner. It’s an awesome tool, incredible useful, and it’s also tested on the exam. You have nothing to lose here.

• The exam has also the same “case studies” type of questions where you have to think, analyze and take your time. (Review my previous post where I expand on this)

As you can see, the test is 98% Display Network and YouTube advertising; the other 2% is composed of questions related to the Search Fundamentals and Search Network, with which you shouldn’t have any problems because if you are taking this test you already took (at least) the Advertising Fundamentals exam.

The exam is 110 questions, to be answered in 120 minutes.

You pass with a 70% instead of 85% like the Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam or 80% like the Search Advertising Advanced Exam. You liked this, right?

Well, that’s it, study hard, practice, and trust the study guide, because everything is there.

Good luck.

After passing the Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam and the Search Advertising Advanced Exam I have become a  Google Adwords Individual Qualified and I want to share with you my experience with those 2 exams so you can get an idea of what to expect. Here we go.

These tips are equally applicable to both exams:

You are not going to able to cheat:

Have you ever taken any certification exam before? Cisco? Anyone? Well, I have, and if you have, you should know that in order to take those kind of exams you would normally go to an authorized testing center where they take your cell phone away and put you in room under surveillance, so you “don’t cheat”.

This case is different, you take this exam in the comfort of your house or office, and you can have all the “support materials” that you want, so, why do I say you won’t be able to cheat?

The exams are between 110 – 120 questions, and you have 120 minutes to finish it. If you do the math, you have about 1 minute to answer each question. So if you thought that you were going to have time to Google or research, think again… you should take your exam knowing and understanding all that’s in the study guide.

One more reason why cheating is going to be hard is the type of questions that you are going to see. It doesn’t matter how much time or support material you have; if you don’t dominate the subject, if you don’t master your stuff, you won’t be able to do the analysis required to answer many of the questions.

Study, Study, Study:

There is no need to buy expensive books or take seminars. All the material that you need to pass your exams is online at the Google Certification Program.

I would recommend you to read the study guide 3 times: 1- Read it all, no stopping, but thinking about it, 2- Read it all, and practice every concept explained, 3- Read it all, fast, refreshing and closing.

There are a lot of straight forward questions, but there are also a lot case studies questions that you’ll have to analyze and give your best answer.

Don’t forget to practice:

Don’t think that by learning all the theory by heart you’ll pass the exam.

You do need to practice and the questions are made to evaluate that. So do all the “try it now” sections and play with the platform until you feel comfortable.

Take advantage of the exam interface tools

When you start taking your exam there are two tools that I found incredible useful. Use them:

1. Mark/Unmark: On the bottom right corner you will have a button with an “M”. When you are not sure about the answer for a specific question, hit the “mark button”. At the end, when you finish you will be able to review just the marked ones, that way you’ll focus on the specific questions that you were doubtful. Remember, 120 questions are a lot, when you get to the 80th you won’t remember which ones you had to review, unless you marked them.
2. Strikethrough: If you right click an answer it will become gray and strickenthrough. This is very useful because the best way to find the right answer is to discard the wrong answers. Specially when most of them look alike. With this tool you help yourself visually, so use it.

Take next exam fast:

This would be my last advice.

When you take the first exam you are not certified. You will become certified when you take one of the other 3 advanced exams. I would advise you to take the Search Advanced (the one I took). It’s the natural step and it has a lot that overlaps with the study material you already know.

So if you do decide to take it, do it fast. Your brain is trained, the fundamentals are fresh, you are on fire. Take 1 day to rest and start you new study right away. Depending on your AdWords experience and the time you dedicate to study, you should be ready for the second exam between 1-3 days.

Don’t make yourself have to review again all the material from the first exam.

I would love to hear you opinions and comments.

Good luck…

Update (09/22/2011): I just took and passed the Google AdWords Display Advertising Advanced Exam. Here is my review, check it out.