Becoming a digital advertising expert takes time, and it’s important to get off to a good start. Only 50 percent of marketers say they’re confident in their knowledge of digital advertising,¹ despite the wide range of educational materials available – sometimes “more” isn’t the same as “better.” You’ve told us that you want quick, bite-sized training in more interactive formats. And we heard you.

We’re pleased to announce Academy for Ads, a new digital training platform designed to help you learn how to use Google’s ad products in a mobile-first world. We built Academy for Ads to promote learning on-the-go, whether you’re on a laptop, a desktop, or a mobile device.

Grow your Google product know-how
Guided by input from our team of product experts, Academy for Ads courses cover the topics that matter most to Google advertisers – from AdWords basics and the essentials of campaign management to bid strategies, reporting, optimization, and more ways to successfully advertise with Google.


Learning paths, Assessments, and Achievements
We’ve organized the courses into “Learning paths” that you can walk through at your own pace. At the end of each path, take an Assessment and earn an Achievement to show that you know your stuff. Earning an Achievement for AdWords helps prepare you to take the AdWords Certification exam in Google Partners, or try deeper education offerings such as AdWords Academy.
A few example Learning paths:

• Digital concepts: Learn the essentials of online ads, including third-party ad-serving, programmatic buying, remarketing, and more.
• Get started with AdWords: Learn the basics of AdWords and prepare for the AdWords Certification exam offered by Google Partners.
• Get started with AdWords Display: Learn how you can show ads to your online audience via the Google Display Network.
• Get started with Video for Brand: Get an overview of digital video landscape and the benefits of Google’s online video offerings, including Google Preferred. Learn how Google's advertising solutions map to awareness, consideration, and brand lift, along with more detailed steps on implementation and policy.
• Get started with DoubleClick Bid Manager*: Learn your way around Bid Manager, what it offers and how you can use it to manage your online marketing campaigns.

Academy for Ads also offers training for DoubleClick clients, with Learning paths covering Bid Manager and Ad Exchange – and more to come.

Get started
If you already use Google Partners, you can sign in through the Partners portal at g.co/learnwithpartners — or, you can go directly to g.co/AcademyforAds to sign up and start sampling courses and Learning paths. We’re constantly adding more content, so if you like what you learn, keep coming back for more.

Posted by Tracy Bizelli, Head of Academy for Ads

1. 6 Fundamentals to Managing Digital Marketing in 2015, TFM Insights (January 2015)

We've just released two videos to help you make the most of My Client Center (MCC) features released over the last few months.

First, learn about the different permission levels available to users at the MCC-level, how you can invite users, and how you can edit their level of access:



Next, check out the changes to reporting within MCC, including how to customize with segments, filters, columns, as well as how to add email-only users to scheduled reports:



For additional resources on MCC, including FAQs on the new optional-login accounts feature, visit the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Katie Miller, Agency Team

We recently launched Google for Agencies in the US, a new site to inspire creative ideas and provide access to the programs, tools and resources to bring these ideas to life -- all in a single location.

Here’s a glimpse at what you’ll find on Google for Agencies:

• Examples of best-in-class campaigns from the past year, showing how the palette of Google media solutions can be used to achieve client goals in innovative ways.
• One-click access to relevant training programs -- the Google AdWords Certification program, targeted to agencies and advertisers managing $10K or more of spend each quarter, and Google Engage for Agencies, targeted to developers, consultants and small agencies working to bring small businesses online.
• Links to the agency blog, newsletter and Twitter pages, making it effortless to find and subscribe to updates to keep you ahead of the digital curve.
• A redesigned Agency Toolkit, showcasing the tools to drive client success, whether you’re planning a strategy, developing creative solutions, implementing targeted plans, or proving performance.

Google for Agencies is part of the re-launch of our advertising site, aimed to improve the user experience, as well as centralized case studies, training and resources by audience, ad type, product or brand. In addition to Google for Agencies, the re-launch includes new advertiser, experienced advertiser and publisher, as well as search, display, video and TV ads.

The site is currently live in the US, and will roll out to other countries in the coming months.

Posted by Katie Miller, Agency Team

With the right training, Google Analytics can provide a wealth of data to help plan highly targeted marketing campaigns and perform deep optimization on them after they're launched. Google is currently releasing a faster, more powerful version of Analytics that will help drive more in-depth and insightful analysis.

Jesse Nichols, Partner Program Manager for Analytics & Website Optimizer, will be hosting a series of webinars designed just for Agencies. They will focus on helping you navigate the new interface and provide analysis and implementation tips and techniques.

We are aiming to have the first webinar the week of May 9th on the Fundamentals of Analysis and Report Control in Google Analytics. If you are interested in attending any part of this webinar series, please sign up here.

Posted by Agency Blog Team

Last week we brought together top marketing executives, industry visionaries and agency leaders to discuss all things mobile at Google’s Think Mobile event.

Speaking to a room full of excited marketers, Google’s Dennis Woodside, President Americas, Mary Meeker, Partner at Kleiner Perkins, and Jason Spero, Head of Americas Mobile Advertising gave their thoughts on the future of mobile and what advertisers can do to better connect with today’s mobilized consumers.

In order to share these innovative perspectives with as many people as possible, the event was live streamed to desktop and Android and iPhone mobile devices. If you missed the live stream, you can watch the recorded session on the Google Mobile Ads YouTube channel. Additionally, be sure to visit our Think Mobile Live Stream page where you can view presentations and videos from the event.

Originally posted to the Google Mobile Ads Blog

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team

We'd like to remind you about an upcoming webinar on how to drive results with contextual targeting. The event is on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

In this webinar, learn more about how contextual targeting can drive results for your clients - e.g.:

• Contextual targeting strategies for specific marketing objectives
• The Contextual Targeting Tool, build and optimize better-performing campaigns in minutes
• Tips for boosting performance of contextually-targeted campaigns

For more details on the content being covered, visit last month's blog post. To register for the webinar, click here.

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Remarketing on the Google Display Network: Optimizing & Maximizing your Current Strategies
Tuesday, February 15th at 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
The Google Remarketing Team invites you to our next optimization webinar: Optimizing & Maximizing your Current Strategies. Building on the strategies discussed during our Remarketing Optimization and Advanced Strategies webinar, this session will expand into 'maximization'--how to ensure you're reaching as many people as possible and taking full advantage of your web traffic.

Features of the webinar will include:

• Maximization: Ensure you're reaching all of the users on your lists.
• Optimization: Learn how to ensure you are getting the most effective ROI from your campaigns.
• Case Studies/List Strategies: Hear how others in your industry are achieving great results from remarketing.

Click here to register. As a refresher or if you missed the Advanced Strategies webinar, you can view it here.

Connecting with US Hispanics Online
Wednesday, February 16th at 10am PST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST
Google is pleased to present "Connecting with US Hispanics Online," which will explore how marketers can reach US Hispanics online in culturally relevant ways. You'll gain insights to help you plan search, social, video and mobile marketing programs to directly connect with this vibrant demographic. The webinar will include:

• Highlights from Google's new primary research report: The 4 Truths about US Hispanics & Digital
• Specific strategies you can implement immediate to target the US Hispanic audience online

Click here to register.

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

The rise of the mobile web is driving one of the most dramatic consumer behavior transformations in history. Billions of people are using their smartphones to search for information, consume news, watch video, interact through social networks and engage with advertising every day. So, what does this mean for mobile marketing?

Tune in and find out what Mary Meeker, Partner at Kleiner Perkins, Google’s Dennis Woodside, SVP of Americas Operations, and Jason Spero, Head of Americas Mobile Advertising have to say about the future of mobile and what marketers can do to better connect with the mobilized, modern consumer.

The live stream will start on February 10, 2011 at 1:05pm EST and you’ll be able to watch from your desktop computer or from your mobile device. Please register for this virtual event by visiting the Think Mobile Live Stream page.

Following us on Twitter? Use the #thinkmobile hashtag as you are watching the event.

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manger

Every day, Google’s contextual engine scans billions of web pages to show users relevant ads, in real time, about the things they care about. Contextual targeting remains one of the most powerful ways agencies and advertisers can reach their audiences - precisely in the moment of relevance. It continues to deliver great campaign performance, but it’s also seeing renewed interest as a powerful complement to audience targeting.

Please join Google for an upcoming webinar to learn more about how contextual targeting can drive results for your clients. Specifically, we’ll cover:

• Contextual targeting strategies for specific marketing objectives
• The Contextual Targeting Tool, which helps you build and optimize better-performing campaigns in minutes, not hours
• Best practices and tips for boosting performance of contextually-targeted campaigns

Register here for the webinar to be held on February 23, 2011 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Marketing Manager, Google Display Network

In 2010 we introduced a new Google AdWords Certification program to equip you and your companies with more up-to-date, comprehensive, strategy-focused training and certification on the latest tools and best practices for managing AdWords accounts. Along with the revised certification program, we launched Google Partner Search, an opt-in online, searchable directory that helps advertisers identify Certified Partners to help them manage their AdWords accounts.

Over the last few months, you’ve shared feedback with us that you’d like features which make it easier to associate your individual certification with a company and more intuitive to add users to your company profile. We’re pleased to share that we’ve now released features to address each of these points of feedback.

Request to link your individual qualification to a company
Historically, to join a company in the Google Certification Program, you would need to be invited by an Administrator on your company’s account, making it difficult to join if you do not know the Administrator. To fix this challenge, we now offer a feature enabling you to search for your company and request to join yourself. If you would like to contribute your individual qualification to a company account, you may now do so by clicking on the “My Company” link and searching for the company you wish to join. Be sure to type in at least one complete word that matches the company’s name.


Companies -- easily manage Professionals and Administrators
We’ve made it more intuitive for your company to manage the Professionals and Administrators within the Company account, as well as to review requests from users requesting to join the company, with the updated Account Access page.

On the “Users” tab, account administrators can change a user’s status to either Administrator or Professional, as well as revoke access:



The “Incoming requests” tab allows account administrators to see all requests to join from individuals, and either accept or reject them. Finally, the “Invitations sent” tab can be used to directly send invitations to qualified individuals.

Add or update Google Accounts associated with your profile
We know that qualified individuals may change companies, or use multiple email addresses throughout the day. We’ve therefore made it possible for you to add multiple Google Accounts to your account, as well as to change the primary email to which you receive communication for the Google Certification Program.


For more information on the new Google Certification Program feature changes, visit the Help Center.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Late last year we announced the launch of the Agency Help Center, a new section of the AdWords Help Center designed to provide you with easy access to answers for your most common questions, as well as useful resources to help you strategically manage your businesses.

We're pleased to share that the Agency Help Center is now available in 44 languages covering all major geographic regions, including Spanish (for Latin America and Spain), Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Turkish, Greek and Czech.

To see a complete list of languages, use the drop-down tab at the bottom of the page:


We hope this site continues to offer you the support you need for account management, product adoption, media planning, and identifying best-in-class examples.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Note: Google Engage has been replaced by Google Partners, a new platform that offers an enhanced suite of resources, including free certification, AdWords promotional offers, personalized tips and insights, new leads, and the opportunity to earn the Google Partner badge. To learn more and signup, please visit www.google.com/partners Are you a US or UK-based Webmaster? Web designer? SEO? Marketing consultant? Freelancer? or offer web related services to small and medium businesses? then keep on reading...

At Google, we’re committed to the success of the digital economy and we believe that helping small business get online and thrive is fundamental to that success.

We recognize that many SMBs rely on freelancers and small agencies to create and manage their online presence as well as help them with their online marketing. To make the jobs of these agencies easier, we’ve launched a new training and incentives program called Google Engage for Agencies.



Google Engage participants will receive free access to educational resources dedicated for them and more incentives to grow their own and their clients’ businesses.

If you’re a webmaster, web-designer, digital agency, freelancer, SEO, IT consultant, or provide any other web services to US or UK-based small businesses, you can apply to join the program starting today. Please see links below for information on participation for US and UK-based agencies:
Google Engage for US Businesses
Google Engage for UK Businesses

Note: if you are an established search engine marketing firm, media agency or digital agency with a strong foundation in Google media solutions, please visit the Google Certification Program homepage to learn more about training and certification programs designed for larger agency partners.

Check out Google Engage today and learn about the benefits the program can offer your business and the SMBs you support.

Posted by Alon Chen and Esra Guler, Product Marketing