Preparing for the Google Exams
Once signed up to the Google Partners platform, it’s time to turn your attention to preparation. Exam preparation can be approached in a number of ways depending on how you learn best.
If You Fail to Plan You Plan to Fail
The exams are free to take, and they can be retaken after 7 days. This does not mean that they should be approached with a casual attitude. The exam questions will be difficult and the clock will be ticking. It is prudent to study thoroughly. If you fail, without knowing your weaknesses, your only recourse may be to reread the entire learning center in the hope you can find your blind spot. This is where we can help :)
You can sit the Google AdWords exams online, whenever you want. There is no scheduled exam date upon signing up for the program; you just sit it when you’re ready. The flexibility is very convenient. However, it’s important to remain focused with the study material. You will need to decide on a study schedule and stick to it.
Don’t take the test before you are ready, there’s nothing worse than an exam fail to fill you with self-doubt.
Hands-on Experience
It’s important to comprehend the inner workings of AdWords. If you don’t have access to a working account, at least sign up for one and create a campaign, ad groups, ads, keywords, etc.
Once signed up to the Google Partners platform, it’s time to turn your attention to preparation. Exam preparation can be approached in a number of ways depending on how you learn best.
Exam Question Style
The AdWords exams are famously known amongst industry professionals to be trickily worded. Regardless of whether you have worked with AdWords for many years, or if you are new to AdWords, you can guarantee there will be some questions on the exam that could ‘catch you out’. (We know this is not MCQ best practice, but it's an unfortunate facet of the Google Exams.)
Exam Question Types
The exam is multiple choice. This can give many candidates a false sense of security about taking and passing the exam. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because it’s multiple choice, it will be obvious which answers are correct or incorrect. I can assure you that that the answers to some of the exam questions are generally not blatantly obvious.
‘Distractor’ Options
A good MCQ is designed to have a distractor option. A ‘distractor’ is an option that is cleverly worded as a viable option. A good distractor wouldn’t be obvious to a person not fully versed in the topic.
‘Single Best Answer’ Questions
You will encounter questions on the exam where you feel there should be more than one correct answer. However, there is only an option to select one answer.
When you encounter one of these questions, read through the question again to ensure that you have fully understood what is being asked. Then choose what you think is the most correct option.
This is very common issue! Google looks for the “best” answer to a scenario, not all possible answers to it.
True/False Questions
The good news is there's a 50/50 chance of getting this correct even if you know nothing on the topic. Don't rely on this, as there aren’t so many of these style of questions in the exams.
You cannot skip or mark questions for later review
Upon starting the test, you will need to choose the correct answer option before you can move to the next question. You cannot skip questions or mark them for review at a later point in the test. Once you click ‘Confirm answer’ you will move to the next question, and you cannot navigate back.
You cannot pause the exam
Once you have started the test, it cannot be paused, so make sure you have taken a “bio break”, have your coffee or cold drink prepared, and have your notes by your side. During the exam, the two-hour countdown is provided in the bottom right corner of your screen. You will see a status bar in the bottom left of the screen showing your percentage of questions completed.
