Google Ads Certifications, Explained
Google’s free Google Ads certifications on Skillshop. Which ones exist, how the 75-minute exam works, the 80% passing score and what they prove.
Google offers free certifications for its ad platform through Skillshop, its training site. You study online, take a timed exam and get a certificate. The certification lasts one year. Here is how it works, using Google’s own help pages.
These exams are separate from Google’s Digital Marketing certificate program. For that one, read our Google Digital Marketing certificate review.
Which certifications exist
Google’s Skillshop training page says you can “Get Google Ads certified in Search, Display, Measurement, Video, and Shopping ads.” Skillshop’s Google Ads page links to the same five. Google’s certification help page also lists Google Ads Apps.
Some certifications also count toward Google Partners, Google’s program for agencies:
| Certification | Counts toward Google Partners |
|---|---|
| Google Ads Search | Yes |
| Google Ads Display | Yes |
| Google Ads Video | Yes |
| Shopping ads | Yes |
| Google Ads Apps | Yes |
| Google Ads Measurement | Not on Google’s list |
The Partners column comes from Google’s certification help page. On Skillshop, the Shopping exam is labeled “AI-powered Shopping ads certification.”
What it costs
Nothing. Google describes its Skillshop courses as “free online courses designed by Google product experts” on its training page. Skillshop’s help page says: “Foundational certifications continue to be available free of charge.”
How the exam works
Google’s About Google Ads certifications page sets the rules:
- Time: “You will have 75 minutes to take an assessment.”
- No breaks: “You won’t be able to pause the timer once it starts.” If you leave the assessment, it ends.
- Passing score: “You will need to have a score of 80% or greater on the certification assessment.”
- Retakes: “If you don’t pass an assessment, you can retake it one day later.”
- Languages: “Google Ads certifications are available in 22 languages.”
Google doesn’t state the number of questions on that page.
The free certifications are taken on your own. Skillshop’s help page says: “Foundational certifications are not virtually proctored.”
How long it lasts
“Your Google Ads certification will remain valid until the product area certification expires (one year),” Google says. To renew, you retake and pass the assessment for that product area.
Google is strict about the word “certified”: “After the expiration date, you won’t be able to refer to yourself as ‘certified’ until you pass the assessments again.”
Foundational vs. Professional
Skillshop has two levels. Here is how its help page describes them:
- Foundational certifications are the free ones above. They “focus primarily on conceptual and strategic knowledge.” Google says they “serve strategists who spend less day-to-day time managing campaigns.”
- Professional certifications are for hands-on users. “Skillshop developed Professional Google Ads Certifications in Display, Search, and Video.” They “serve Google Ads users who spend more time implementing and managing campaigns,” and they are “virtually proctored to ensure higher exam integrity.”
The Professional level isn’t open to everyone. The page’s January 2024 update says: “Professional Certifications are currently available only to a limited audience.” It also says: “In the future, these exams will require a fee.” And Google’s certification help page notes that Professional certifications don’t count toward the Partners badge.
What a certification proves
- Google recognizes you. “Your Google Ads certification recognizes that you’re a certified online advertising professional,” Google says. You also get “a personalized certificate that you can print.”
- You can show it. “You’re allowed to mention your certification on your resume, business cards, LinkedIn profile” and other profiles.
- It’s yours alone. “You may only refer to yourself as certified if you, personally, have passed the certification assessments.” A coworker’s certification or your agency’s badge doesn’t count.
- Agencies need it. To be a Google Partner, an agency needs “a minimum of 50% of your account strategists certified in Google Ads (capped at 100 users),” per Google’s Partner requirements. If you want to work at a Partner agency, that is a requirement the agency has to meet.
What it doesn’t prove
- That you’ve run real campaigns. By Google’s own description, the free level tests “conceptual and strategic knowledge.” Passing doesn’t show you’ve managed a budget or improved results.
- That you know other channels. Each exam covers one Google Ads product area. None covers email, SEO or social media ads.
- That you hold a degree or a license. Google issues it about its own product. Read Certificate vs. certification to see how that differs from a school’s credential.
A free, one-year certification is a low-risk way to learn Google Ads basics. Before you pay for a longer program, use our checklist: Is an online certificate worth it?
The short version
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Cost | Free (Foundational level) |
| Areas | Search, Display, Video, Shopping ads, Measurement, Apps |
| Exam time | 75 minutes, no pausing |
| Passing score | 80% or higher |
| Retake | One day later |
| Proctored | No (Foundational); Professional level is proctored, limited access |
| Valid for | One year; renew by passing again |
