Advertising certifications are free and accessible to anyone willing to pass an online exam. They don’t guarantee experience, but their absence in a provider claiming expertise should raise questions.
Google Ads Certifications (Skillshop)
Google offers certifications by specialty: Search, Display, Shopping, Video, Measurement. They renew annually, meaning a certification earned in the past can be outdated if not recently renewed. Checking the date obtained matters as much as the certification itself.
Google Partner and Premier Partner
This status, awarded to agencies rather than individuals, requires a cumulative ad spend volume managed across the client portfolio, on top of individual certifications. It’s an indicator of real activity, not just theoretical knowledge.
Meta Blueprint
Meta’s equivalent of Google certifications, covering advertising on Facebook and Instagram. As with Google, there are several levels and specialties (media buying, measurement, creative).
Meta Business Partner
Status awarded to agencies and providers meeting certain performance and compliance criteria for managing Meta advertising accounts.
What certifications don’t measure
No certification evaluates the ability to structure a business strategy, communicate clearly, or manage a budget with judgment in non-standard situations. They validate technical platform knowledge, not strategic judgment.
How to verify them concretely
Most individual certifications are verifiable via Google’s public Skillshop profile or the Meta Blueprint badge, generally displayed directly on the consultant’s professional website. When in doubt, asking for a recent screenshot of the badge remains a simple check.
Certifications are part of the 7 criteria in our rating methodology applied to every listed profile.