Taking the GAP test and becoming "Google Certified"

I just took the Google Adwords Professional (GAP) exam this past Wednesday. This is the exam you must take in order to become GAP certified and display that nice little logo on your business website. I’ve been immersed in all this GAP related stuff for the past 6 weeks so I figure I can help a little by telling you the requirements. The first step in becoming GAP certified turning your existing Adwords account into a MCC (My client center) account. Google requires an ad spend of at least $1000 within a 90 day period for this new MCC account, whether the spend comes from one, or multiple accounts is up to you. Within this mandatory 3 month period you must also at some point pass the GAP exam with a score of 75% or greater. The exam I took was 104 questions, multiple choice. It was a bit more difficult than I anticipated, but that’s just probably a result of my usual “test anxiety”. I can attest that Google’s AdWords Learning Center was very helpful in regard to test preparation, but it takes time… a lot of time! You could be the most seasoned PPC manager and not pass the GAP exam, as the test involved plenty of those “fine detail” questions that can almost only be learned from the learning center. In case you’re wondering, I managed to pass the first time around. However, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t pass on the first try. Google allows you to take the test as often as you’d like, as long as it is no more than two times per a month. Study hard the first time, the test can become costly as it’s $50 every time you take it.