While the Fundamentals Exam was unpredictably easy, the Advanced Search Exam was harder than anticipated. Fortunately, I managed to score a 92% *phew*. Following the same tips on the learning center as mentioned in the Fundamentals Blog, a few additional tips are noted below:
1. Exercise More: Most of the test was related to more practical knowledge of the Adwords Tools, their interfaces and indepth knowledge of optimization strategies. For Search Advanced Exam candidates it is highly recommended to emphasize more on Best Practices sections of all the relevant chapters. One thing that is pretty much evident from the exam is that you are not to rely on the Learning Center completely to pass, as the test is based on more realistic experience rather than theory.
2. Important Chapters & Topics: Most of the questions were related to the following chapters and topics: -
There were most questions related to ad text policies. A question that came up was somewhat like this:
1) Which of the following ad text is acceptable:
a) **cheap** flowers
b) Buy flowers now!
c) All Free, free, free
d) Best Flowers in Town
b. Ad Formats Guidelines and Best Practices: There were no questions related to video or image ad formatting (I believe they are all on the Display Advanced Exam). However there were some questions related to ad text for different ads like the question below for mobile ads:
1)Which Keyword combinations are best for mobile ads:
a) Long, Descriptive
b) Short, General
c) Short, Descriptive
d) Long, General
c. Managing Keywords: If you have cleared the fundamentals exam this is just for brushing up your concepts on managing and organizing keywords. Know the difference between the standalone keyword tool and the account keyword tool. In addition to that also know what happens when your negative keywords overlap with your regular keywords.
d. Language & Location Targeting: This is an important part of the Search Advanced Exam. There were a couple of questions which were similar to the quizzes in the e-learning examples given in this section. Make sure you know what the Google Insight Search Tool does, how and when can you use it.
e. Location Extensions: Use it and understand it’s relation to Google Places. I recall a question asking when and where does google show the business address with the ad? Only users who have used this feature would be able to answer this question.
f. Invalid Clicks: This is one of the most important chapters that I’d like to stress on for the Search Advanced Exam. The learning center gives you ample information on it. What are the legitimate causes of invalid click activity coming from one source? How does Google tackle with these? Are they billed in your billing credits? What should an advertiser do when he/she is finds some suspicious invalid click activity in their campaigns? etc are some questions you should know the answers of. Know where you can access Invalid click credits too.
g. Google Analytics: If you are an enthusiastic adwords learner, you should know the basics of Google Analytics by now and how it helps in determining what kind of traffic your website generates. Make sure you know the various reporting tools and features e.g. Top Landing Pages, Site Overlay etc.
h. Adwords Tools: Sometimes the tools get a little confusing if you are a novice user. Make sure you have used the tools frequently for your campaigns. You might be blacked out with a question like which tool helps in estimating the cost per click of a particular keyword and which tool helps in showing competition of a keyword with other competitors. I would also particularly emphasize on the My Change History Tool (know what it displays and what it doesn’t). Also make sure you know the differences between the Targeting, Optimization and Tracking Tools and which tools serve what purpose. Know what a Reach and Frequency Report is and what its purpose is.
i. Adwords Editor: Don’t just read about it, use it on a campaign and know what it does. I recall a question like: If many users were to access your account what feature should you use prior to viewing your account data.
j. Conversion Tracking & Conversion Optimizer: Understand the two types of conversions (conversion 1-per-click and conversion many-per-click) and their real life examples to get a better picture. If you cannot enable the conversion optimizer what could be the possible reasons for it? After enabling the Conversion Optimizer, you notice a decrease in traffic, why? The trouble shooting section of the conversion optimizer shows the answers to these.
k. Optimization: It is highly recommended to thoroughly read this section of the learning center. There are questions related to how you can create an effective campaign structure, promote multiple companies and websites etc and what are the recommended strategies. If you have these on your tips then you won’t have to worry about trick questions that have more than one answer that seem right.
l. MCC: There were questions relating to the access levels of the users. A question came up looking like this: -
1) John wants to grant standard access to his client. What should he be cautious of?
a) User can delete/disable the account?
b) User can view Reports
c) User can grant access to other users
In addition to that, it is also important to know the benefits of using MDS on your MCC Account.
m. API: Most of the adwords users don’t use the adwords API, but it is important to know how we can use it. Understand the benefits of using the Adwords API tool, Developer’s benefit of using it and what Developer Tokens are and what is their purpose. In addition to that, also know what the sandbox environment is and what its core benefit is.
n. Fundamentals Basics: Don’t forget the basics, there was a question related to the definition of CTR, Quality Score etc (some bonus questions to make you pass)…
3.
Relax before taking the test: Make sure that you have had a good night’s sleep before giving the test and do it only if you are confident. The test duration is 3 hours and you have 109 questions to attempt. Mark for review the questions that you are doubtful of. It would be handy if you have taken notes of important material. The passing score is 80%, so don’t take this easy.
Lastly, Good Luck!
