Mastering Amazon advertising isn’t something that happens overnight.
With a range of ad types, targeting options and budgeting strategies, not to mention the A9 algorithm and A+ Content to contend with, knowing how to approach Amazon ads and run campaigns in the right way can feel totally overwhelming.
Taking a trial-and-error approach isn’t feasible. Not only is this a guaranteed way to burn through large chunks of your budget, but it also means that you’ll be missing out on potential sales to competitors while you figure out targeting, ad formats and bidding strategies.
Thankfully, there’s another way to develop your proficiency in the form of Amazon Ads Certification.
What is an Amazon Ads Certification?
As the name suggests, Amazon Ads Certification is a certificate that demonstrates your competence within the Amazon Ads ecosystem for a particular ad product or solution.
Certification is offered via the Amazon Learning Console to both new and existing advertisers and is available in English, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.
Amazon Ads Certification isn’t a single certificate, however. There are six individual learning pathways within the Amazon Learning Console. Each pathway is essentially an online learning module dedicated to a specific topic, such as Sponsored Ads or Amazon DSP.
Once you choose your desired pathway, you’ll have access to a range of course materials which cover that topic in more detail. Each pathway is split into a series of mini-courses, each of around 15 to 30 minutes duration on average.
The Sponsored Ads courses for example include an introduction to Sponsored Ads types, targeting, campaign set-up, how to assess campaign performance, campaign optimisation and retail readiness optimisation.
While you don’t have to complete each course to take the assessment, it is advisable as the final assessment will reference each of those topics.
You can choose to take the certification assessment at any time. Pass that test and you’ll be awarded an Amazon Ads certification for that learning pathway.
The Benefits of Becoming Certified
As with any qualification, successfully completing the Amazon Ads certification assessment demonstrates that you have the desired level of proficiency and expertise in that specific area of Amazon Ads.
For new and inexperienced advertisers, this training can be invaluable. Working through each of the courses provides a structured introduction to running Amazon Ads campaigns for your business.
With no fees payable, it’s essentially free training that you won’t get elsewhere.
As well as acting as a good introduction to Amazon’s Ad products for those who want to have a solid understanding of ad types and campaign management before they begin spending money, Amazon Certification can also help your career prospects.
If you’re keen to manage Amazon campaigns for other businesses for example or looking for a promotion within your marketing team, successfully acquiring a certification for all pathways in the Learning Console is a good way to prove you understand Amazon Ads and meet Amazon’s standards for campaign set-up and management.
Certification comes with a digital badge which you can share on your social profiles, add to your qualifications on LinkedIn, display on your company profile page or website and include on your CV.
The Amazon Learning Console
Course material, assessments and accreditation are all accessible via the Amazon Learning Console.
This is a free online portal which plays host to a wide range of learning materials. It’s home to Amazon’s training courses, assessments for accreditation, webinars, videos and boot camps for advertisers and ad managers keen to sharpen their skillset.
The Learning Console forms part of the Amazon Ads Educational Alliance, which offers free training and development opportunities to students and aspiring digital professionals.
All materials within the console, including assessments and interactive courses, can be accessed from any digital device on demand.
You’ll need to have an account to access the Learning Console. This is the same email and password you use (or plan to use) to manage your Amazon Ads.
If you haven’t already created an Amazon Advertising account, you’ll need to sign up before you can access the learning console.
How to Take the Assessment
In order to receive an Amazon Certification for any of the six learning pathways, you’ll need to successfully take the assessment. Each pathway has an end of module assessment which asks questions related to the topic being studied.
Questions on the Sponsored Ads assessment will relate to things like how to set up a campaign, the different types of Sponsored Ads available to advertisers, how to assess campaign performance and so on.
It’s easy to take the assessment:
- Log into the learning centre.
- Navigate to your chosen learning pathway (for example Sponsored Ads or Amazon DSP) and click through.
- You’ll see a list of courses and then, at the end of the list a link to the course assessment.
- Click to get started.
You can take the assessment at any time, though if you are a new or inexperienced advertiser or marketer, it’s worth taking the time to study the course material beforehand to increase your chances of success.
If you don’t want to do that, just click into your chosen learning pathway, and go straight to the assessment.
Once you click to take the test, the first question will appear. Answer each question in turn and click next to proceed through the assessment.
What Will Be on the Test?
As we have seen, there are some serious advantages to acquiring an Amazon Ads Certification.
If you’re an individual business owner, the main takeaway is the confidence that you know the basics of running an Amazon Ads campaign, so you aren’t wasting money unnecessarily on poorly constructed ads with incorrect targeting.
For marketing professionals, it’s a chance to prove that you’re familiar with Sponsored Ads and can manage Amazon Ads to Amazon’s standards.
With that said, you might be asking yourself, ‘what’s going to be on the test?’ to gain an advantage and ensure a passing grade. While we aren’t going to list the questions here – cheating isn’t permitted and kind of defeats the purpose of becoming certified in the first place – there are a few topics that are certain to crop up.
So, what are they? They’re questions related to the courses contained within the learning pathway.
In the Sponsored Display Ads pathway, there’s an entire 29-minute course dedicated to strategy and another 20 minutes dedicated to Sponsored Ads reporting.
Targeting is another 22-minute component. So, it’s a good bet that there will be more than one question directed at each of these topics.
As an example, you could be asked:
- If advertiser A has been using Amazon Ads for the last six months and has a well-researched keyword list, should they use manual or automatic keyword targeting?
- Which of these images is most suitable as a main product image?
- Which of the following terms is an example of an exact match for the keyword ‘large dog beds?
If you’ve taken the time to study each element in detail and ensure you understand it before moving on to the next, you shouldn’t have any problems answering the assessment questions.
Test Rules
If you’re ready to take the certification assessment, there are a few test rules to keep in mind:
- You’ll only have 120 minutes to complete the test in full.
- A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the test and receive Amazon Ads Certification.
- If you run out of time, it will automatically be marked as a fail.
- You should also keep in mind that if you fail the test, you won’t be allowed to take it again for another 24 hours.
Tips For Passing
The key to acing any exam is to be prepared. Make sure you put in the time beforehand to study and digest each topic by watching the included videos and downloading course material.
Unless you are already an experienced Amazon Ads manager, don’t be tempted to take the assessment without working through the course material first. Some of the questions can trip up the uninitiated.
You should have ample time to submit a response to each question. Read through the question carefully before choosing your answer.
You can’t go back and review or change your answers after you submit them, so take the time to understand what’s being asked first before committing to an answer.
If you don’t want to achieve Amazon Ads Certification before launching your next campaign, or find that it doesn’t equip you with the advanced knowledge needed to maximise your campaign performance, schedule a consultation with our Amazon Ads professionals today.
