It is 2018. The start of a new year. New resolutions are probably in your head to lose weight, learn a new language or to finally throw away the Halloween pumpkins on your doorstep. Whatever your resolution may (or may not) be, for PPC advertisers, the new year brings with it the dreaded and mundane Google Partners certification tests.
Even though it is a great learning tool to ensure you are up-to-date with Google’s best practices, its presentation gives people flashbacks to taking the SATs. Starting in 2018, Google hopes to change that with its new Academy for Ads site.
What is Academy for Ads?
To start, Google has handed off its AdWords certification program to Intellum, a learning software company based in Atlanta which strives to make learning programs that are similar to the look and feel of consumer apps like Fitbit. When you first go to the new Academy for Ads site, you’ll see that this isn’t your granddad’s AdWords certification course. Here is a quick comparison of the first look of the old experience (on the left) and the new experience (on the right):
The new Google Academy for Ads is a brighter and livelier experience, incorporating more images to help the user not only navigate the site but also learn the concepts more efficiently.
The Academy for Ads experience offers the following improvements:
Not Losing Your Account When You Leave a Company
In the past, if you created your Google Partners account with your company email, you could lose access to certifications if you were to go to a different company.
Google has rectified this issue with the use of a Recovery Email. Under “My Profile” you can set up the recovery email, so if you were to lose access to the company/email you registered with, your Academy for Ads data and certifications will transfer with you – no matter where you go!
Step By Step Tutorials
For many activities, Academy for Ads will show you, step-by-step, how to do various tasks – like setting up a campaign for the first time. Something that most of us wished we had the first time we created an account.
Interactive Tutorials
There are images that, when clicked on, reveal more information about their topic. Interaction like this helps the user stay engaged with the training.
Assessments & Achievements
Besides taking Certification Exams, you can take Assessments on various subjects. Assessments are quizzes which review the training course you went over for a particular subject (like Customer Match).
Once you have gone through all the courses in a subject, you can take the Assessment. If you pass the Assessment, you will earn an Achievement which you can show off to all your friends and co-workers.
Make them even more jealous by printing it off and putting it on the work fridge.
With Academy For Ads, Google & Intellum have updated the bland, but useful, Google Partners into something new and exciting for newcomers and professionals alike.
The new experience creates a learning portal that retains the user’s attention and makes them want to develop their SEM skills further in a fun, rewarding way.
Now if only they could make my New Years resolutions this fun – or just get rid of the pumpkins on my front porch. Check out Academy for Ads today!
What have your experiences been with Academy for Ads? We’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on Twitter at @RocketClicks or contact us directly.
