Adwords Certified Digital Freelancer
I recently became certified by Google as an Adwords specialist. One of a few self-employed professionals in Bournemouth with this accreditation.
What does it mean to be a Google certified Adwords expert?
Many businesses out there are looking to use Google Adwords for their paid search marketing (also known as PPC which stands for Pay Per Click). This is because Google is the leading search engine and one of the biggest web properties in the world. Therefore almost everyone (at least in the US and UK) goes straight to Google to search for something they're looking for, be it a product, service, place or pretty much anything. That's why businesses are happy to pay to appear on the first page of Google for relevant searches, and that's why Google earns so much money!
So who should these businesses turn to for assistance with their paid search marketing? The internet is unfortunately filled with fly-by-nighters and bull-shitters (apologies) so Google makes it easier for you to know who to trust. Professionals and agencies that complete the required steps can become Certified Partners of Google so that businesses know and can trust that the individual or agency has expertise in search marketing.
What do you have to do to become certified?
I had to do two exams lasting 1-2 hours each and get a pass rate of over 80% on both to become Adwords certified. The exams quiz you on Adwords features and search marketing scenarios. As someone who has been involved in PPC for pretty much the entire 8 years of my career, this was not particularly challenging, though the way they word some of the questions is unnecessarily confusing. Anyway, it's done and it lasts a year, so next May I will have to retake the tests to ensure I keep up-to-date with the latest advancements in PPC marketing.
I'm not a Google Partner yet though :(
To become a Google Partner you have to manage at least $10,000 of Adwords spend within a 90 day period. Unfortunately my current clients do not spend this amount, but as I gain new clients and improve the ROI for investment from existing clients I am getting closer to that target.
Here is a picture of my Google Adwords Certificate (my mum's so proud).
Update!
Google have given me 9 Adwords vouchers for new customers - to the value of £90 each! Get in touch now before they're all gone.
(Google will match up to £90 advertising spend with this voucher. Full terms here).