The Google Advertising Professional Certification is the credential earned by an individual or a business that masters the Google Adwords product system to the standards set by the Google search engine company. The Advertising Professional Certification is created for professionals currently working with, or intending to work with, Adwords accounts. Google will provide those earning the Advertising Professional Certification with an advanced Adwords system called "My Client Center", an official logo that reads: Qualified Google Advertising Professional, and Google Advertising Professional program promotional credits.

"My Client Center" allows the advertising professional to view and manage up to 1,000 accounts at once. The promotional credits are granted for new accounts brought in. Those with the Advertising Professional Certification receive more credits than those without the qualification.

Those wanting to earn the Advertising Professional Certification must sign up for, or already have, an active Google Adwords account as well as pass the Google Advertising Professional Certification exam with 75% or higher. The exam costs 50 US Dollars (USD), is available in ten languages, and is done completely online. The exam is timed for exactly one and a half hours and the timer cannot be stopped, which means the exam must be completed in one sitting.

The preparation for the Advertising Professional Certification exam consists of eight lessons with practice quizzes. Anyone just interested in learning about the Adwords system, whether seeking the Advertising Professional Certification or not, can take the lessons. The lessons are all free of charge.

The lessons are available in the choice of either text or multimedia format. Topics covered include an explanation of what Adwords is, policies and guidelines for creating ads, creating ads with keywords, budgeting and targeting issues, and calculating the advertising return on investment (ROI). The content in the lessons is constantly updated so that even those with the Advertising Professional Certification can keep learning more about the Adwords program.