Career Preparation Guide for Google Advertising

Roles
This comprehensive guide is designed to help you land and excel in both non-technical and semi-
technical advertising roles at Google. It covers everything from crafting tailored resumes and mastering
the STAR interview method to developing technical skills like SQL and Python. The target roles include
Account Strategist, Ads Solutions Consultant, Customer Success Manager, Technical Account Manager, Ads
Solutions Architect, and Product Specialist. Each section below delves into strategies, examples, and
resources, with interactive worksheets at the end of each chapter to apply what you’ve learned.

Google’s hiring process is rigorous and holistic – they look for role-related knowledge, problem-solving
ability, Googleyness (cultural fit), and leadership even in non-managerial roles. This guide emphasizes
authoritative best practices (gleaned from Google’s own materials and industry experts) to make you a
standout candidate.

Part I: Non-Technical Advertising Roles

The roles in this category focus on client relationships, sales growth, and campaign strategy using Google’s
advertising products. They require strong communication, marketing acumen, and knowledge of digital ad
platforms, but do not demand deep coding or engineering skills. The key roles we’ll target are:

• Account Strategist: Often in Google Customer Solutions, managing a portfolio of advertisers to

drive growth via Google Ads products. It involves building client relationships and hitting sales and
performance targets 1 .
• Ads Solutions Consultant: A role in Google’s gTech or services team, working with top accounts to
implement and optimize Google’s ad products (e.g. Google Marketing Platform tools). This is slightly
more technical, focusing on custom solutions and ensuring best-in-class usage of Google’s ads suite
2 .

• Customer Success Manager (CSM): Focuses on customer retention and product adoption, often for
Google Marketing Platform clients or Cloud. A CSM drives long-term product usage, training, and
strategy for large advertisers or agencies 3 .

Each of these roles requires excellent client-facing skills, a strategic mindset for advertising, and familiarity
with Google’s ad platforms. Next, we’ll prepare your resume and cover letters to highlight these qualities.

Resume and Cover Letter Templates for Key Roles

Crafting a Google-Ready Resume: Google receives millions of applications, so your resume must
immediately demonstrate impact and relevance. Use a clean, one-page resume (Google recruiters suggest
non-technical roles stick to one page 4 ) with a simple format. Prioritize quantifiable achievements and
use the X-Y-Z formula recommended by ex-Google HR head Laszlo Bock: “Accomplished [X] as measured by
[Y], by doing [Z]” 5 . This means each bullet should highlight what you achieved (X), the metric or outcome

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(Y), and how you achieved it (Z). Focusing on concrete results (revenue growth, ROI improvement, campaign
performance metrics, etc.) will set you apart 6 7 .

• Tailor for Each Role: Customize your resume for each specific job. Mirror the language of the job
description and emphasize relevant experience. For example, for an Account Strategist role,
highlight any experience in managing advertising clients, improving campaign performance, or
hitting sales targets (e.g. “Managed 15 client accounts with an average 20% increase in ROI QoQ
through optimized Google Ads campaigns”). For an Ads Solutions Consultant, emphasize technical
advertising projects (e.g. “Led implementation of Google Marketing Platform tools – integrating
Campaign Manager 360 with client CRM, resulting in 30% efficiency gain”). For a Customer Success
Manager, showcase client retention, onboarding, or training achievements (e.g. “Onboarded 10
enterprise clients to new ad platform, achieving 95% adoption rate and +15% spend growth YoY”).
Use strong action verbs and keep each bullet concise and impactful.

• Include Relevant Skills and Certifications: Create a “Skills” section that lists pertinent skills (Google
Ads, Analytics, salesforce, etc.) and Google certifications (Google Ads Search, Google Analytics IQ,
etc. – more on these in the Certifications section). This shows immediate credibility. Also mention
language fluency or other useful skills (e.g. data analysis, Excel, presentation skills) that align with
the role.

• Formatting Tips: Save your resume as PDF, use standard fonts, and ensure it’s typo-free 8 9 .
Use bullet points rather than big blocks of text for readability 10 . Google’s recruiters spend seconds
on an initial scan, so make key numbers and keywords jump out (percentages, dollar amounts,
growth metrics in bold if appropriate). Avoid generic objectives – dive straight into value you bring.

Cover Letter Strategies: While Google does not always require cover letters (and in fact many recruiters
may not heavily weigh them 11 ), a well-written cover letter can personalize your application and highlight
your motivation. If you choose to include one, keep it to one page and tailor it to Google and the specific
role:

• Show Passion for Google’s Mission: Google values employees who connect with its mission. In your
cover letter opening, express why you’re excited about Google’s products or mission “to organize the
world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. For example, “I am inspired by
Google’s mission and its culture of innovation, and I’m excited to contribute by helping clients
succeed with Google’s advertising solutions.”

• Highlight Your Unique Value: Use the cover letter to tell a brief story of your career and how it led
you here. Identify 2–3 key strengths or achievements relevant to the role and describe them in a
narrative form. Align them with Google’s needs. Demonstrate alignment with Google’s values and
innovation culture – as one professional cover letter guide notes, “Your Google cover letter should
capture your unique value and passion for innovation. Demonstrate how your skills align with Google’s
mission... Convey your eagerness to contribute to a team that values creative problem-solving.” 12 This
means you should not just repeat your resume, but explain why Google, and how your specific
accomplishments (like leading a complex ad campaign or launching a new programmatic strategy)
prepare you to excel at Google.

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 • Customize for Each Role: Mention the role by name and address some of its key responsibilities. For
an Account Strategist, you might write about your experience formulating data-driven marketing
recommendations for clients and your excitement to do that at Google with products like Google
Ads. For a Customer Success Manager, you might discuss how you’ve driven product adoption and
helped clients achieve success metrics in previous roles, tying that to Google Marketing Platform
expertise. Showing that you understand the role’s focus (e.g. account growth, technical consultation,
client training) is crucial.

• Tone and Details: Keep a professional yet enthusiastic tone. Google’s culture is somewhat informal,
but it’s safest to err on the side of professional. Avoid overly formal language; speak in the first
person and be genuine about your motivations. Quantify an achievement or two to reinforce your
credibility (e.g., “in my last role, I increased a key client’s programmatic ad ROI by 25% by
restructuring their campaign approach”). Close the letter by reaffirming your interest in the role and
the company, and that you look forward to the opportunity to discuss further.

Template Outline – Resume (Non-Tech Role):

• Header: Name – Contact Info (Email, Phone, LinkedIn). No need for full address.
• Professional Summary (Optional): 2–3 sentence snapshot of your experience and goals, tailored to
the role. (E.g. “Digital advertising strategist with 5 years of experience in managing client ad
campaigns. Proven track record in driving double-digit revenue growth through data-driven Google
Ads strategies. Seeking to leverage consultative sales skills as an Account Strategist at Google.”)
• Experience: For each role (in reverse chronological order) list Job Title, Company, Location, Dates, and
3-5 bullet points of accomplishments in X-Y-Z format. Emphasize results related to the Google role:
managing budgets, improving KPIs, collaborating with teams, solving marketing problems. Use
metrics (increase in CTR, number of clients managed, revenue managed, etc.) 6 7 . Recent roles
can have more bullets, older roles fewer.
• Education: School, Degree, Year. Include relevant academic achievements or coursework (marketing,
analytics) if recent or if you lack much work experience.
• Skills/Certifications: Bullet list or brief section of relevant skills (tools, languages) and certifications
(Google Ads certified, etc.). For non-technical roles, include things like Google Ads, DV360, Google
Analytics/GA4, The Trade Desk, Excel, Tableau or Data Studio, etc., as well as soft skills like Client
Communication, Strategic Planning if space allows (though focus on hard skills/tools here).

Template Outline – Cover Letter (Non-Tech Role):

• Greeting: “Dear Hiring Manager” or address the specific team if known (e.g. “Dear Google Hiring
Team”).
• Paragraph 1 (Hook & Fit): Introduce yourself with a strong hook that mentions the role and your
excitement. E.g., “I’m writing to express my interest in the Account Strategist position at Google. As
an advertising account manager with over 4 years of experience driving growth for clients, I am
drawn to Google’s cutting-edge ad products and mission of client success.”
• Paragraph 2 (Your Background & Key Achievement): Highlight one or two major accomplishments
that align with the role. E.g., “In my current role at XYZ Agency, I manage a book of 12 clients where I
achieved an average of 30% improvement in ROI across their campaigns by leveraging
programmatic platforms and data analysis. I frequently collaborated with cross-functional teams to
optimize campaign performance, a skill I would bring to Google’s client strategy team.”

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 • Paragraph 3 (Why Google & This Role): Explain why you want to join Google specifically and how
you can contribute. Reference Google’s culture or specific initiatives if genuine. E.g., “I am inspired by
Google’s innovative culture – for instance, the way Google’s insights (like those on Think with Google)
inform smarter marketing. The Account Strategist role resonates with me because it blends data-
driven analysis with client advocacy, something I have enjoyed and excelled at in my career. I am
Google Ads certified and have hands-on experience with DV360, which I know are core to this role.”
• Closing: Reiterate your enthusiasm and readiness. E.g., “I would love the opportunity to bring my
passion for digital advertising and proven client success record to Google. Thank you for considering
my application; I look forward to the possibility of discussing how I can contribute to the team.”
Follow with a formal sign-off (“Sincerely, [Name]”).

Worksheet – Resume & Cover Letter: Use the prompts below to refine your application materials.

• List 3 quantifiable achievements from your past work that you will include on your resume (e.g.,
“Increased [metric] by X% through [action]”). Make sure each follows the “Accomplished X by doing Y
resulting in Z” structure 5 .
• Identify at least 5 keywords from the Google job description and ensure they appear in your resume
or cover letter (e.g. “client relationship management”, “Google Ads optimization”, “data analysis”).
• Draft a tailored cover letter opening that connects one of your proudest achievements with
Google’s mission or the specific team’s goals. For example, reference how your experience aligns
with “Google’s commitment to data-driven marketing solutions” in a way that feels genuine.
• Have a friend or mentor review your resume for brevity and impact – remove any bullet that
doesn’t clearly tie to skills needed at Google or that lacks a measurable outcome. Aim for each bullet
to show a result or impact.
• Proofread everything twice (or more). Use a tool or person to catch typos or formatting issues, as
Google is detail-oriented with applications 9 .

STAR Storytelling for Behavioral Interviews

One of the most effective techniques for answering behavioral interview questions is the STAR method:
Situation, Task, Action, Result. Google interviews (especially for non-technical roles) put a lot of emphasis
on behavioral questions to assess your past experiences and how you handle various scenarios. Questions
often start with, “Tell me about a time when…”. Using STAR ensures your answers are structured and
impactful 13 14 .

Understanding the STAR Framework:

• Situation: Set the context for your story – describe the background or challenge briefly (who, what,
where, when).
• Task: Explain what you were responsible for in that situation. What goal or problem were you
addressing?
• Action: Detail the specific steps you took to handle the task or solve the problem. Focus on your
contributions and behaviors.
• Result: Share the outcome. Quantify it if possible (numbers, percentages) and highlight what you
accomplished or learned.

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Each part of STAR should be concise: a sentence or two for Situation/Task, a bit more for Action, and a
sentence or two for Result. A complete STAR story might be 4-6 sentences long, forming a mini narrative
with a clear beginning and end 14 15 .

Real-World Example (STAR Answer):

Question: “Tell me about a time you had to improve a campaign that was underperforming.”

• Situation: “In my previous role as a campaign manager at XYZ Agency, I handled a major e-
commerce client’s holiday ad campaign that was underperforming mid-way through Q4 – sales were
15% below target at the halfway point.”
• Task: “I was the account lead, so it was my responsibility to identify the cause and turn the
performance around quickly to meet the client’s revenue goals.”
• Action: “I analyzed the campaign data and found that mobile conversion rates were low. I worked
with our creative team to quickly produce mobile-optimized ad creatives and with the client’s web
team to streamline the mobile checkout process. I also reallocated 25% of the budget from
underperforming display ads to Search and YouTube, where we’d seen better ROI. Throughout, I
communicated updates to the client daily and implemented an A/B test on landing pages to
incrementally improve results.”
• Result: “As a result, the campaign’s performance improved significantly – by the end of Q4, we
exceeded the sales target by 10%. The client saw a 20% higher conversion rate on mobile and was
extremely satisfied, leading to a renewal of their contract for the next year. This experience taught
me the importance of agility and data-driven optimization in campaign management.”

This answer uses STAR to concisely convey a challenge and your impactful response. Notice the inclusion of
specific numbers (15% below target, reallocated 25% budget, 10% above target at end) – these add
credibility. Google interviewers appreciate when you quantify results and clearly articulate your thought
process.

STAR Story Templates: It’s helpful to prepare a few STAR stories in advance that cover different
competencies. Common themes for non-technical Google roles include: leadership, teamwork, dealing
with ambiguity, conflict resolution, meeting challenging goals, failure and learning, influence, and
client service. Below are a couple of template outlines with example scenarios relevant to advertising roles.
You should fill in with your own experiences:

• Example 1 – Dealing with a Difficult Client:

Situation: Describe a time you had a challenging client or stakeholder (e.g., upset about campaign
results or demanding a certain outcome).
Task: Your role was to manage the relationship and achieve a positive outcome (retain the client, fix
the issue).
Action: Explain how you addressed the client’s concerns – perhaps by analyzing their campaign to
find issues, setting up an emergency meeting to reset expectations, providing additional support or
insights, etc. Highlight communication skills and empathy.
Result: Share the end result – did you turn the client’s satisfaction around? Maybe you improved
their campaign performance by X%, or delivered a solution that retained their business (e.g., “Client’s
trust was restored and they increased their quarterly spend by 15% after seeing our improvements”).
Also note what you learned about client management.

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 • Example 2 – Leading a Project or Initiative:
Situation: Set the scene for a project you led (e.g., implementing a new tool, launching a new ad
product for your team or client). Perhaps “Our agency decided to adopt Google Analytics 4 for all
clients, and as the strategist I was tasked with leading the rollout.”
Task: Explain your goal or responsibility (“I needed to coordinate the implementation for 5 client
websites within 3 months and train a team of 8 on using GA4, on top of my regular client duties”).
Action: Detail what you did – maybe you created a project plan, collaborated with Google support or
engineers, ran training sessions, and solved technical issues (this shows initiative and organizational
skills).
Result: What happened – e.g., “We successfully implemented GA4 tracking on all sites ahead of
schedule; data accuracy improved (20% more conversions tracked) and our team was able to provide
new insights to clients, leading to upsell of analytics services to 2 clients. My manager recognized
this accomplishment in my performance review.”

Prepare 4-6 STAR stories from your own history. Structure them in writing as above, and practice speaking
them out loud. Google interviewers will often ask follow-up questions, so know your stories deeply – be
ready to dive into more detail on what you did, or to discuss “what you learned” (Google likes reflective
learners). Also be prepared to adjust on the fly: listen carefully to each question and select the most relevant
story.

Tip: It’s wise to have at least one story for each of the following: a success you’re proud of, a failure or
mistake (and what you learned), a conflict or disagreement (and how you resolved it), a time you took
initiative/lead, and a time you had to adapt to change or ambiguity. Advertising roles can have unique
twists on these, e.g., “Tell me about a time a campaign failed to meet expectations” (failure), or “Describe a
situation where data contradicted your intuition – what did you do?” (adaptability/data-driven decision).

Worksheet – STAR Storytelling:

• Write down 5 potential behavioral questions you might be asked (e.g., “Tell me about a time you met
a tough sales goal,” “Give an example of a creative campaign strategy you proposed,” “Describe a time you
had to explain an advertising concept to someone unfamiliar with it.”). For each, jot a one-line reminder
of a story you could use to answer it.
• For each STAR component of your top 3 stories, write 1-2 bullet points. Ensure each story clearly
illustrates a positive trait (e.g., resilience, creativity, leadership) that Google values. Remember to
highlight your actions and results the most.
• Practice delivering one of your STAR stories aloud or to a friend. Afterward, have them ask you “What
was the result?” or “What did you learn from that?” to make sure you naturally include the Result and
any takeaway. Refine your story if you missed those elements.
• Ensure at least one story shows your analytical skills and data-driven approach (for example,
using data to optimize a campaign) since roles at Google often value analytical thinking even on the
business side.
• Reflect on a STAR story where you demonstrated “Googleyness” – e.g., a time you fostered
teamwork, showed integrity, or exhibited a growth mindset by learning from failure. Having this in
your back pocket can address cultural fit questions.

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Behavioral and Case Study Interview Q&A

In Google’s interview process for these roles, you’ll typically face a mix of behavioral questions,
situational/case questions, and possibly some role-play or product-focused questions. We’ve covered
structured behavioral answers using STAR. Now, let’s prepare for common questions and the less
predictable case scenarios.

Common Behavioral Questions (and How to Answer): Google’s behavioral questions often map to their
competencies. Here are a few examples frequently reported by candidates, with guidance on approach:

• “Why Google?” – This almost always comes up. Be genuine and specific. Talk about Google’s culture
of innovation, its products’ impact, or its mission. Perhaps mention something like being motivated
by Google’s scale and the chance to influence millions of users or thousands of businesses. Tie it to
yourself: “Google’s commitment to users first and data-driven decision making resonates with me, as
I’ve seen the power of those values in my own projects.” Avoid generic praise; mention teams or
initiatives if relevant (e.g., you followed Google’s advertising blog or admire how Google leads in ad
tech).

• “Tell me about a time you didn’t meet your sales or performance targets.” – This question
probes resilience and improvement 16 . Using STAR, describe a concrete scenario (maybe a quarter
you missed quota or a campaign that under-delivered), take accountability, and focus on the actions
you took to course-correct. For instance: Situation – missed target; Task – needed to analyze and
improve; Action – you identified root causes (e.g. low product adoption or misallocated budget) and
implemented a plan (additional training or reoptimization); Result – while that period’s target was
missed, you achieved improvement (say, improved client satisfaction or laid groundwork that led to
exceeding next quarter’s targets). Emphasize learning: Google loves to hear how you used a setback
to grow.

• “Describe a challenging team project and how you handled it.” – Here, choose a situation where
there were obstacles (tight deadline, conflicting ideas, etc.). Focus on how you collaborated,
demonstrated leadership or empathy, and achieved a positive outcome. For a non-tech ad role, an
example could be coordinating a cross-functional team (designers, analysts, sales) to deliver a big
client pitch in a short time. Share how you organized tasks, resolved conflicts (if any), and delivered
successfully. Highlight teamwork and communication.

• “How do you handle feedback or criticism?” – Show that you value feedback and use it
constructively. Example: mention a time a client or boss gave you tough feedback (maybe a client
wasn’t happy with a strategy deck initially). Explain how you listened, asked questions to fully
understand, and then took concrete steps (revised the work, sought mentorship, etc.) which led to
an improved result. Google wants adaptable, coachable employees.

• “Tell me about a time you persuaded a client or colleague to try a new approach.” – Ads roles
often involve influencing others (clients to adopt a strategy, internal teams to support your idea).
Outline a story where you used data and communication to convince someone. Perhaps you
introduced a new beta feature of Google Ads to a hesitant client: you might describe how you
prepared a small test, showed projected results, addressed their concerns, and eventually won them
over, resulting in success. This demonstrates initiative and persuasion skills.

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 • “What’s a Google product or advertising campaign you admire?” – Sometimes interviewers ask
something like this to gauge your industry interest. Be ready with a favorite Google Ads campaign or
feature. It could be an insight like “I loved how the “Year in Search” campaign leverages Google’s own
data to tell a compelling story.” For product, maybe “I’m a big fan of Google Analytics 4’s event-based
measurement – it’s a game changer for cross-platform insight.” And crucially, say why – tie it to
effectiveness, innovation, or how it inspires you to work there.

Case Study and Scenario Questions: For advertising roles, case questions test your problem-solving and
strategy skills. These are not as rigid as consulting case interviews, but you should approach them
systematically. Interviewers may pose hypothetical client situations to see how you think. For example:

• Market/Strategy Cases: “A client is spending $X on Google Ads but isn’t seeing results – what would
you do?” Here, structure your answer. Think aloud: ask clarifying questions about the client’s
business and goals (e.g., are they aiming for online sales, leads, awareness?). Then outline areas
you’d examine: targeting settings, keyword or audience relevance, ad creative, landing pages,
conversion tracking, etc. Propose a few logical steps: “First, I’d review their campaign structure for
alignment with their key audiences; next, check if conversion tracking is properly set up (maybe the
issue is actually measurement); then analyze metrics – is the clickthrough rate low (indicating ad
creative issue) or is CTR fine but conversions low (pointing to landing page or targeting issues)?
Based on that, I’d recommend adjustments – for instance, if search keywords are broad and low CTR,
refine them or improve ad copy with more compelling calls-to-action. If conversion rate is the
problem, maybe implement retargeting or optimize the landing experience.” It’s about showing a
methodical, data-driven thought process.

• Analytical Cases: You might get something like, “If an advertiser’s CPA (Cost per Acquisition) has
increased 20% month-over-month, how would you investigate and what actions might you take to
address it?” This tests both your knowledge of metrics and your approach. A good answer: break
down the CPA formula (CPA = Cost/Conversions). Discuss checking if cost increased (maybe bids rose
or competition increased CPC) or if conversions fell (maybe tracking broke or site issues). Suggest
diving into channel or campaign-level data – perhaps one channel’s performance dropped
dramatically. Then propose specific remedies: if cost is higher, optimize bids or targeting to reduce
spend on low-performing segments; if conversions dropped, troubleshoot conversion tracking or
improve conversion rate via landing page tests. Show that you know various levers (bids, budget
distribution, keywords, ad creative, audience targeting, etc.) and would use data to pinpoint the
cause.

• Role-Play Scenarios: Occasionally, Google interviewers (especially for customer-facing roles) might
do a mini role-play, like “Imagine I’m a client who is hesitant to use YouTube ads; how would you
convince me of their value?” Be prepared to step into a consultative persona: ask the “client”
questions about their objectives, address their concerns by highlighting benefits (reach, cost,
targeting) and perhaps cite a success example or data point. Show enthusiasm and knowledge as if
you were already in the role.

• Product or Technical Scenarios: Even non-technical roles could get a light technical scenario: “A
client’s website isn’t integrating well with Google Ads conversion tracking – how would you handle
it?” You aren’t expected to code, but you should demonstrate you’d collaborate with technical teams
and understand high-level what’s needed (e.g., ensure the conversion tag or GA4 tag is correctly

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 implemented, maybe using Google Tag Manager; coordinate with the client’s web developer to test
it). Emphasize communication and problem-solving, not that you’d personally fix code (unless you
have that skill, which could be a bonus to mention carefully). The key is not to panic – you can always
say the first step is to gather information and involve the right resources (which is a valid and wise
approach).

Glassdoor/Insider Insights: According to recent interview reports, candidates for Google Account
Strategist and similar roles have faced questions like “Imagine you have a client whose campaign is not
performing, how do you communicate and turn it around?” or “How would you prioritize a portfolio of accounts if
you have limited time?”. For the latter, a good answer might involve segmenting clients by opportunity size or
urgency and demonstrating proactive time management. Additionally, Google interviewers sometimes
throw in an off-beat question to gauge creativity or cultural fit (e.g., a Googley question like “What do you
do for fun?” or a hypothetical like “If you were product lead for Google Ads for a day, what’s one thing you’d
improve?”). For these, there’s no right answer – they want to see your personality and thought process. Be
honest and think aloud if it’s a hypothetical improvement question.

Interview Answer Formatting: When answering, especially for multi-part scenario questions, consider
using a structured approach: signpost your thoughts by saying “There are a few factors I’d consider…” or “I
see three possible strategies here...”. This way the interviewer can follow your logic. In case questions with
numbers (though less common for these roles, but if they give some data), do a bit of arithmetic out loud,
demonstrate comfort with numbers (like calculating ROI or percentage changes). However, most non-tech
interviews at Google for ads roles won’t be heavy on math on the spot – they care more about strategic
thinking and client empathy.

Managing Nerves and Time: Google interviews are typically 45-60 minutes. For behavioral questions, aim
to keep your STAR stories to 2-3 minutes unless prompted for more detail. For scenario questions, it’s okay
to take a moment to gather your thoughts. You can even say, “Let me think for a moment,” and then
proceed. The interviewers appreciate clarity and structure over rushing.

Worksheet – Interview Q&A Practice:

• Write out (or speak and record) answers for 5 common questions: 1) “Why Google?”, 2) “Why this
role?”, 3) one failure story, 4) one success story, 5) one scenario (e.g., improving a campaign).
Playback or review your answers, checking that you used the STAR structure for stories and logical
structuring for scenarios.
• Have a friend conduct a mock interview with you. Give them a list of 6-8 questions (mix behavioral
and case). Get feedback on whether your answers were clear and if you stayed on track. Specifically
ask if you are saying “um” or struggling on any particular question – that’s a sign to practice that one
more.
• Prepare 2 questions to ask the interviewer at the end (you nearly always get the chance). Good
options: “What does success look like in this role in the first 6 months?”, or “How does the team
define and measure success for an Account Strategist?” Asking about team culture or challenges is
fine too. Write these down so you don’t forget in the moment.
• Use the SAR method for quick answers: Not every answer needs a full STAR. Sometimes a quick
Situation–Action–Result is enough (especially for simpler “tell me about a skill” prompts). Practice
identifying when you can be brief versus when a detailed story is better.

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 • Check Glassdoor for recent interview experiences for your specific role. Write down any unusual or
tough questions you find and brainstorm how you’d tackle them. This prepares you for surprises and
reduces anxiety.

Role-Based Job Roadmaps and Growth Strategies

Getting the job is just the first step – Google loves candidates who think about long-term growth. In
interviews (and certainly once on the job), you’ll be expected to proactively manage your career. Let’s outline
what the job roadmap might look like for these advertising roles and how you can set yourself up for
success and advancement. Understanding this can even help you answer interview questions like “Where
do you see yourself in 5 years?” in a more concrete way.

Account Strategist Roadmap: As an Account Strategist (often an entry to mid-level role in Google’s
advertising teams), your first year will focus on mastering Google’s ad products and processes while
managing a portfolio of small-to-medium business clients or mid-market accounts. Your goals will be
around client growth, retention, and product adoption (like persuading clients to try new Google Ads
features). A typical progression:

• Year 1: Learn the ropes – complete all internal training on Google Ads and related tools, start
building relationships with your clients, and consistently meet your quarterly goals (sales or growth
targets). Focus on developing a reputation for reliable execution and client satisfaction.
• Years 2-3: Take on larger or more complex accounts. You might mentor new Account Strategists or
lead team initiatives (e.g., creating a best-practice playbook for your team). Hitting stretch targets
could position you for promotion. Google often has levels (e.g., moving from level 3 to level 4 in their
job hierarchy), which might correspond to a title change like Senior Account Strategist or Account
Manager. At this stage, emphasis is on strategic thinking – proactively identifying opportunities for
your clients (like new ad formats, entry into new markets) and possibly working with product
specialists if clients have advanced needs.
• Years 4+: You might advance to roles like Account Lead or Manager (if you start managing a team
of strategists). Alternatively, some Account Strategists move to specialized roles (for example, a
Sector Lead focusing on an industry, or into Large Customer Sales roles working with the biggest
advertisers once you have enough experience). The long-term path can also branch out: some go
into product marketing or gTech support roles, leveraging their client knowledge to help shape
Google’s ad products.

Growth strategies: To grow as an Account Strategist, continuously build your knowledge (get advanced
certifications, learn about new Google Ads beta features, keep up with digital marketing trends via Think
with Google and industry news). Also, develop soft skills – communication and storytelling are key as you’ll
present a lot of campaign strategies and results to clients. Seek feedback from peers and managers; Google
has a strong feedback culture, and showing you can incorporate feedback will help you advance.
Networking within the company is also valuable – e.g., connect with product teams or specialists on tough
client problems; this raises your profile internally.

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Ads Solutions Consultant Roadmap: An Ads Solutions Consultant (in Google’s gTech professional services)
is a semi-technical role; you start by being a go-to expert on implementing and troubleshooting Google’s
advertising products for top clients.

• Initial Role: You’ll likely handle a range of projects – from advising a client’s media team on how to
deploy Campaign Manager 360 and DV360, to custom solutions like integrating Google Ads data
with the client’s CRM. Early on, focus on technical depth: become extremely proficient in the Google
Marketing Platform stack. You might earn a reputation in a particular area (e.g., you might become
the “YouTube and Display expert” or the DV360 troubleshooting guru on the team).
• 2-3 Years In: You could become a Senior Solutions Consultant or Technical Lead on projects. At
this stage, you might lead larger engagements with strategic customers, perhaps even manage
other consultants or contractors on a project basis. Growth might also mean specializing (for
instance, becoming the go-to person for a certain product like Search Ads 360, or for a region if you
work with regional teams).
• Beyond 3-5 Years: Many in these roles transition to Solutions Architect positions or Technical
Account Manager roles (which we cover in Part II) since those are a natural progression with
increased scope. Others might move into Product Management or Product Specialist roles if they
find passion in improving the actual tools (since you’ll interact with Product/Engineering teams to
relay customer needs). Some might also become team managers in the gTech organization,
overseeing a group of solutions consultants.

Growth strategies: To progress, focus on your problem-solving track record. Document big wins – e.g.,
“Led X project that saved Y hours for the client or increased their ad efficiency by Z%.” Google values
scalability, so showing that you not only solved problems but created repeatable frameworks or tools (like
a script, a checklist, a training module) that help the wider team or multiple clients is gold. Additionally,
build relationships with cross-functional teams (sales, engineering, product). Being that bridge can position
you as a leader. Continue advancing your technical skills (perhaps learn some coding to automate solutions,
deepen your knowledge of web technologies like HTML/JavaScript since that’s relevant to troubleshooting
ad tags as mentioned in job requirements 17 ). Essentially, become both broad (knowledge across Google’s
ad products) and deep (expertise in a couple of areas).

Customer Success Manager Roadmap: As a CSM at Google (particularly for Google Marketing Platform
clients or Cloud clients), your role is to ensure customers get value and continue to grow usage. It blends
account management with strategic consulting.

• Starting Out: You’ll typically be assigned a set of customers (often large advertisers or agencies).
Initially, get to know their business deeply. You might run onboarding sessions, product trainings,
and regular business reviews. A key metric is likely product adoption and customer satisfaction
rather than direct sales (though growth in usage often leads to growth in spend, which is indirectly a
metric).
• Mid-level (Senior CSM): With experience, you become trusted advisor to your clients’ senior
stakeholders. You might lead initiatives like quarterly business reviews with C-suite, advising on
industry trends, and coordinating internal Google teams to solve customer problems. Possibly you’ll
mentor junior CSMs.
• Long-term: The CSM path can lead to roles like CSM Lead (managing other CSMs), or Strategic
Partner Manager, or transitions into Sales or Product depending on interest. Some experienced
CSMs might become Customer Experience Program Managers internally, crafting processes that
improve customer engagement at scale. Since the CSM role has you at the intersection of customer

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 goals and Google’s products, a subset move into Product Strategy or Go-to-Market roles for new
ad products, using their frontline insight to guide product development.

Growth strategies: Customer Success at Google is about relationship-building and thought leadership.
To grow, focus on how you can deliver measurable outcomes for your clients – e.g., if you can claim credit
for “helping Client X increase usage of DV360 by 50% leading to $Y more in spend, via a campaign
optimization project and executive training” – that’s a huge win. Internally, advocate for your customers by
summarizing their needs and presenting to product teams (this gives you visibility and demonstrates
leadership). Become very knowledgeable about not just Google products but also the broader martech/
adtech ecosystem so you can advise holistically. Pursue any opportunity to speak or present (internal
summits, client conferences) – being seen as an evangelist for Google’s solutions can set you up as a natural
leader in the org.

General Growth Tips (all roles):

• OKRs and Performance: Google uses Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Once hired, align your
personal goals with team OKRs every quarter. This ensures you are working on what matters and
gives you talking points in performance reviews.
• Continuous Learning: The digital ads field evolves quickly (new features, privacy changes like cookie
deprecation, etc.). Show that you stay ahead. E.g., in 2024–2025, mastery of topics like first-party
data usage post-cookie, or automation (Google’s machine learning bidding strategies), is valuable.
As a growth strategy, perhaps volunteer to lead a training session for your team on a new feature –
this demonstrates initiative and deepens your knowledge.
• Mentorship and Networking: Pair up with a mentor in Google (the company encourages
mentoring). A mentor can guide you on unwritten rules of career progression. Also, network laterally
– knowing people in different teams (Product, Marketing, Sales) can lead you to interesting projects
or roles and also helps you better serve your clients by quickly finding internal experts when needed.
• Be Data-Driven in Your Role: Much like you prepare metrics for your resume, track your
performance on the job. If you’re an Account Strategist, maintain a dashboard of your accounts’
growth. If you’re a CSM, perhaps track the product adoption metrics of your clients. Not only will this
help you do your job better, it arms you with evidence when it comes time for promotion evaluations
(you can clearly show your impact).
• Demonstrate Googleyness: As you progress, how you achieve results matters too. Collaborate, be
inclusive, and help others. Google promotions often take into account peer feedback. Being known
as someone who elevates the team, not just themselves, will smooth your advancement.

Worksheet – Career Roadmap:

• Sketch a rough 5-year timeline for yourself. Identify what role you want to start in and where you’d
like to be in 5 years (e.g., “Start as Account Strategist, aim to be a Sales Manager or Product
Specialist in 5 years”). Research one person on LinkedIn who has made a similar journey for
inspiration.
• For your target starting role, list 3 skills to excel in the first year (e.g., for Account Strategist:
Google Ads expertise, presentation skills, client relationship building). Then list 3 skills or
experiences to gain in years 2-3 (e.g., lead a project, get certified in additional products, mentor
others).

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 • Think of one stretch project you could volunteer for early on that would both help your team and
get you noticed (e.g., creating a knowledge-sharing hub, automating a report, organizing a client
workshop). Write a brief plan for how you could execute it.
• Write down a potential answer to “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” that reflects an
understanding of a career path at Google (e.g., “In five years, I see myself having grown from an
Account Strategist to leading strategy for larger global clients or perhaps coaching a team of
strategists, leveraging the expertise I’ll build in Google’s ad solutions and client management.”). This
will help in interviews and also serve as a personal roadmap.
• Identify a personal development goal for yourself (e.g., improve public speaking, learn advanced
SQL, etc.) that will help in the long run. Commit in writing to a resource or course at Google or
outside that you will use once hired to pursue this goal.

Skills and Tools Knowledge Matrix for Digital Advertising

Success in Google’s advertising roles requires proficiency in various platforms and tools. Below is a
breakdown of key platforms – what they are, why they matter, and how deeply you should know them for
each role. Think of this as a knowledge matrix to assess and improve your skills:

• Google Ads (AdWords): Google Ads is the core platform for search, display, and video advertising on
Google’s networks. For all non-technical roles, this is mission-critical. As an Account Strategist or
CSM, you should be expert in Google Ads campaign creation, keyword strategy, bidding, and
optimization features. Know the major campaign types (Search, Display, YouTube, App, etc.), and
metrics (CTR, Quality Score, Conversion Rate). You’ll be expected to advise clients on Google Ads
daily. Role depth: Account Strategist – Expert (primary daily tool); Ads Solutions Consultant –
Expert, especially for troubleshooting or advanced features; Customer Success Manager – Strong
proficiency (you may not execute campaigns but must guide strategy and interpret performance).

• Display & Video 360 (DV360): Part of Google Marketing Platform, DV360 is a demand-side platform
for programmatic advertising across exchanges. It allows precise audience targeting, real-time
bidding, and cross-channel campaign management 18 19 . DV360 knowledge is crucial if you work
with large advertisers or agencies using programmatic buys. Role depth: Account Strategist –
Moderate (helpful if your clients use it; many mid-market clients might not, but knowing the basics
of programmatic gives you an edge); Ads Solutions Consultant – Expert (often your job is to
support clients in DV360 usage and custom solutions, like implementing advanced targeting or
solving delivery issues); Customer Success Manager – Expert (especially if you’re a CSM for Google
Marketing Platform, you’ll drive adoption of DV360 and need to know it inside-out, as noted by
responsibilities focusing on DV360 and Campaign Manager 360 20 ).

• Campaign Manager 360 (CM360): Google’s enterprise ad management and ad serving platform.
It’s used for ad trafficking, centralized reporting, and floodlight conversion tracking across multiple
channels 21 22 . CM360 is often used in conjunction with DV360 (CM serves the ads, DV360 buys
the ads). Role depth: Account Strategist – Basic familiarity (you should know what it is and how
conversions are tracked, even if you won’t use the interface daily); Ads Solutions Consultant –
Strong (likely you’ll help with implementing floodlight tags, solving trafficking issues, etc.);
Customer Success Manager – Strong (for GMP clients, ensuring the client uses CM360 properly for
tracking and getting value from its reports will be part of your advice).

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• The Trade Desk (TTD): A popular third-party demand-side platform (not a Google product, but
widely used in the industry). TTD is known for programmatic buying across display, video, etc.,
similar in concept to DV360 but independent. While you won’t be using TTD in a Google role,
familiarity shows industry breadth. Clients or agencies might mention TTD in comparing
capabilities. Role depth: Account Strategist – Nice to have (it impresses if you can speak to how
Google’s programmatic stack compares or integrates with others); Ads Solutions Consultant – Nice
to have (you might work with clients who use multiple DSPs); CSM – Moderate (agencies especially
might use TTD alongside Google’s DV360; understanding its basic features and data can help you
position Google’s offerings or troubleshoot data disparities). If your background is in programmatic
trading, leverage that knowledge to demonstrate you can bring a holistic view.

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Google’s analytics platform for websites and apps, crucial for measuring
user behavior and campaign outcomes. GA4 (the newest version) is event-based and integrates well
with Google Ads (audience sharing, conversion tracking) 23 . Role depth: Account Strategist – High
(you should comfortably read GA reports, understand attribution models, and even guide clients on
linking Google Ads to GA4 for better conversion data); Ads Solutions Consultant – High (likely
helping clients with analytics tagging and data analysis; maybe using GA4 to troubleshoot funnel
drop-offs or measure full funnel performance); CSM – High (driving adoption of GA4 could be part of
your mandate if you’re in GMP, and helping clients get value from analytics to inform their ad
strategy is key). Also be aware of Google Analytics 360 (the enterprise paid version) if working with
very large clients.

• Adobe Analytics (Omniture): A leading non-Google analytics platform used by many enterprises.
Google roles won’t require using Adobe Analytics, but you’ll encounter clients who use it.
Understanding how it differs from GA (Adobe is click-stream based, highly customizable, but not
automatically integrated with Google Ads) can help you collaborate with client analysts. Role depth:
Account Strategist – Basic (know it exists, maybe know one or two key terms like “eVar” or report
suite, to not be lost in a conversation); Ads Solutions Consultant – Moderate (if a client tracks
conversions via Adobe, you might need to ensure Google floodlight or conversion tags align with
their Adobe tracking, possibly requiring some integration solutions); CSM – Moderate (if your client
uses Adobe for reporting, you should be able to interpret their reports or help them reconcile data
between Adobe and Google’s platforms).

• Integral Ad Science (IAS), DoubleVerify, etc.: These are ad verification and brand safety tools.
They ensure ads are viewable, not fraudulent, and aligned with brand safety. Google’s ad platforms
can integrate with IAS/DoubleVerify for monitoring. Role depth: Account Strategist – Basic
familiarity (especially if working with brand-oriented advertisers; know terms like viewability rate,
IVT (invalid traffic), brand safety categories. You might get questions from clients like “How do we
ensure our Google campaign meets IAS standards?”); Ads Solutions Consultant – Moderate (you
might assist in implementing IAS tags or troubleshooting discrepancies between Google’s metrics
and IAS reports); CSM – Moderate (part of ensuring customer success might be advising on third-
party measurement – e.g., helping a client set up IAS tracking on YouTube campaigns and
interpreting the reports).

• Google Marketing Platform (GMP) Suite Overall: This includes DV360, CM360, Search Ads 360,
Analytics 360, Optimize, etc., as an integrated stack for enterprise. As a whole, be sure you
understand how these pieces connect (e.g., Search Ads 360 for managing large-scale search

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 campaigns across engines, if relevant; Tag Manager for tag management; Optimize for A/B testing).
For non-technical roles, broad knowledge is a plus. Account Strategist: likely only pieces like Tag
Manager and Google Optimize in passing. Solutions Consultant/CSM: expected to know the full GMP
offering well enough to advise clients on when to use what. For instance, note that CM360 + DV360
complement each other – one manages creative and tracking, the other handles bidding and
inventory 24 18 .

• Excel/Sheets & Data Visualization: Don’t overlook advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills (pivot tables,
vlookup, basic scripting) – day-to-day you might crunch performance data. Also, familiarity with
Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) is important for creating client-friendly dashboards, which we
will cover more in Part II. For now, note that being able to efficiently analyze and present data is part
of the toolkit.

Now, assess your current proficiency in each. If you find a gap (for example, maybe you’ve never used
DV360 or GA4), plan to close it through online courses or hands-on practice (many platforms have demo
accounts or free training). Google’s Skillshop (see next section) offers free training for Google Ads, GMP
products, and Analytics – use it. Also consider getting at least conversational in competitor tools (like a basic
free course or reading documentation for The Trade Desk or Adobe Analytics) to enrich your perspective.

Worksheet – Tools & Skills Self-Assessment:

• Create a table (on paper or spreadsheet) listing these tools: Google Ads, DV360, Campaign Manager
360, The Trade Desk, GA4, Adobe Analytics, IAS/Ad Verification. Add columns for “Knowledge Level
(1-5)” and “How to Improve”. Rate yourself 1 (no exposure) to 5 (expert) honestly. For any tool rated
3 or below, write one action to improve (e.g., “Enroll in Skillshop DV360 course” or “Watch a The
Trade Desk Edge Academy intro video”).
• Pick one of the tools you are least familiar with and spend 1 hour this week learning it. For example,
if you haven’t used DV360, go to YouTube or Skillshop and find an introductory tutorial on DV360
interface and capabilities 18 . Write down 3 new things you learned.
• For Google Ads (which you likely have some experience with), challenge yourself to learn a new
feature you haven’t used. Perhaps it’s setting up a Performance Max campaign, or using automated
bidding strategies. Write a short note on what it does and how it might help an advertiser. Being able
to talk about the latest features in an interview shows you’re up-to-date.
• Ensure you understand at least at a high level two key industry concepts: Programmatic
Advertising (automated buying via DSPs – you should be able to explain how DV360 or TTD fits into
that) and Attribution (how credit for conversions is assigned, e.g., last-click vs data-driven
attribution). Write a brief explanation of each in your own words. This will help in interviews and on
the job when these topics come up.
• If possible, set up a dummy Google Ads account (or use your existing one) and play around with
features – create a sample campaign (you don’t have to run it) to familiarize with the interface
changes. Similarly, you can sign up for a free Looker Studio account and practice connecting a data
source (even a Google Sheets with sample data) to make a simple chart, since client reporting is
often part of the job.

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Google Certifications and Skillshop Learning Path

Google’s official certifications can significantly boost your credibility for advertising roles. They prove to
employers (and yourself) that you have mastered the fundamentals of Google’s ad products. Google’s
Skillshop is the online training hub where you can take free courses and certification exams for these
products.

Key Google Certifications for Advertising Roles:

• Google Ads Certifications: There are multiple product-specific certifications under Google Ads. As
of 2025, the major ones include: Google Ads Search, Google Ads Display, Google Ads Video, Google Ads
Apps, Google Ads Shopping, and Google Ads Measurement. Each corresponds to a facet of Google Ads.
For non-technical roles, Google Ads Search and Google Ads Measurement are particularly
important (Search covers the core of keyword advertising and optimization; Measurement covers
Google Analytics, attribution, and optimization of ROI). Display and Video are also very relevant if
your target clients use those channels (which many do). Aim to earn at least 2-3 of these
certifications. They are not too time-consuming (each exam might be ~75 questions, 1.5 hours). All
skillshop courses and exams are free 25 , so the main investment is your time.

• Google Marketing Platform Certifications: Google also offers certifications for its enterprise tools.
For example, there’s a Display & Video 360 Certification and an Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ)
which now covers GA4. If you aspire to Ads Solutions Consultant or CSM on GMP, having the DV360
cert and the GA4 (Analytics IQ) certification will be highly beneficial. Skillshop provides training for
these as well. There may also be certifications for Campaign Manager 360 (Google has a training
exam called Campaign Manager Brand Specialist), and Search Ads 360. While not all candidates will
have these, having one can set you apart especially for a semi-technical or GMP-focused role.

• Google Creative Certification: For completeness, Google has a creative certification (for Google
Web Designer and dynamic creative in DV360). It’s niche and only pursue if you have interest in ad
creative development or if a role explicitly mentions creative strategy.

• YouTube and Other Niche Certs: The Google Ads Video certification covers YouTube. If applying for
a role heavily involving YouTube ads, ensure you get that. There are also Google certs for Google My
Business (now Google Business Profile), etc., but those are less relevant to these roles.

• Google Analytics Certification: As mentioned, Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) is

available via Skillshop. Passing this exam demonstrates your analytics prowess. GA4 is the focus now
(universal analytics is deprecated as of 2023). Definitely consider obtaining this, as it’s widely
recognized and directly applicable to measuring campaigns.

• Other Relevant Certs: Google Tag Manager has courses (no formal cert exam, but being skilled with
GTM is a plus). Also, consider non-Google certs if you have time: Facebook Blueprint for Facebook Ads
or Amazon Advertising certifications – these won’t help for the job at Google directly, but show you’re a
well-rounded digital marketer. However, prioritize Google’s own certifications first.

Learning Path Strategy on Skillshop:

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Skillshop can be a lot to navigate due to many courses. Here’s a structured approach:

1. Start with Google Ads Search Certification – it covers core concepts of auction, Quality Score,
bidding, etc., which are foundational. Complete the learning modules on Skillshop for Search Ads,
then take the exam. The learning modules include practice questions that are very similar to the
exam. Note: passing score is usually around 80%. If you fail, you can retake after 24 hours. But aim
to pass first try by studying all modules (and maybe taking notes).

2. Next, Google Ads Display and Video – if you’re targeting roles involving YouTube or GDN, do these
next. The Display cert will teach you about audience targeting, remarketing, and Display Network
specifics. The Video cert delves into YouTube ad formats (skippable, bumper, etc.) and best practices
for video campaigns. As an Account Strategist or CSM, knowing these is important since many clients
run multi-channel campaigns.

3. Google Ads Measurement – this certification overlaps with Analytics. It covers how to measure ROI,
how conversion tracking works, attribution models, and tools like Google Analytics and Google Tag
Manager. This is extremely relevant, as being able to speak to campaign measurement and
attribution is critical in client conversations (e.g., explaining how Google Ads attributes conversions
or how to use GA4 funnel reports).

4. Analytics IQ (GA4) – Dive into the Google Analytics courses on Skillshop. GA4 introduces some new
concepts (event-based tracking, new interface). The certification exam for Analytics IQ will cover how
to set up GA4, interpret reports, use Google Analytics data for marketing decisions, etc. For roles like
Solutions Consultant or CSM, expect that you’ll be dealing with analytics a lot, so this is time well
spent.

5. DV360 (Display & Video 360) – If you plan to be in a role with programmatic emphasis (Solutions
Consultant, CSM for GMP), proceed to DV360 training. Even if you don’t take the official certification
(which is a longer exam often taken by people at partner companies), at least go through Skillshop’s
DV360 learning path. You’ll learn about campaign setup in DV360, different deal types (Open Auction
vs Private Deals), optimizations, etc. This knowledge directly maps to job duties where you might
advise on programmatic strategy. According to Google job descriptions, being able to “provide
guidance and best practices to apply ad products and technologies to achieve advertisers' business
goals” 26 includes programmatic solutions, so DV360 expertise is implied.

6. Campaign Manager 360 – There might not be an easily available exam for individuals (Google has
an internal certification for partners), but do utilize any available training (Skillshop has some
courses on CM360 basics). Understand how to create placements, upload creatives, set floodlight
tags, and run reports. There are Google Help Center articles (which you can read as study material)
on these topics. Even if you just grasp the basics, it will help in technical discussions.

7. Other Google Marketing Platform Tools – If time permits, familiarize with Search Ads 360
(especially if you’ll talk to marketers doing search at scale or across Bing, etc.), and Looker Studio
courses (Looker Studio is free, and training will help you create dashboards – this might not have a
formal certification, but it’s a skill we cover more in Part II).

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 8. Plan Your Schedule: Perhaps dedicate 1-2 weeks per major certification, depending on your free
time. Many candidates find that doing one course and exam per week or two is manageable while
working. Since they’re free, you can spread them out or intensively do them back-to-back. Just
ensure you retain the knowledge – after each course, maybe write a short summary of key points or
discuss what you learned with a colleague or friend (teaching someone else is a great way to solidify
knowledge).

9. Use Skillshop Effectively: Skillshop tracks your progress. A tip: if you pass one exam, you get a
badge. Share it on LinkedIn – not only is that good personal branding, but sometimes recruiters at
Google notice those things. Also, note that certifications expire (usually annually). So keep track and
plan to re-take them when needed to stay current.

10. Beyond Certifications – Practical Application: While certificates are great, practical experience is
even better. To truly impress, combine the two. For example, after you get certified in Google Ads
Search, maybe apply those skills by optimizing a small campaign (even for a friend’s business or a
personal project) to have a real example to talk about in interviews. If that’s not feasible, use the
knowledge in hypothetical but specific scenarios when talking to interviewers (“Through the
certification I picked up a new trick with automated bid strategies – I’d be excited to apply that
insight for clients by doing XYZ.”).

Skillshop & Learning Tips: Remember that all Skillshop courses and exams are free 25 , so take
advantage of them thoroughly. If you find text-heavy lessons tedious, mix it up with video tutorials –
Google’s YouTube channels (Google Ads, Analytics, Google Cloud) have lots of webinars and short videos
that cover similar content. For instance, watching a “Getting started with DV360” video can complement the
reading.

Also consider the Think with Google site for more strategic insights. While not a certification, reading Think
with Google articles gives you up-to-date industry perspectives and Google’s research (this can provide
great talking points or examples to bring up in interviews, showing you’re plugged into the latest trends).

Worksheet – Certification Planner:

• List the certifications you plan to achieve before interview time. Set target dates for each. E.g.,
“Google Ads Search – by June 15; Google Ads Measurement – by June 30; GA4 (Analytics IQ) – by July
15” etc. Create a checklist to track completion.
• For each certification, note one key insight you learned that could be relevant in an interview. For
example, “Google Ads Search: learned about the Quality Score components and their impact on ad
rank 27 , can discuss how I improved QS in past campaigns.” Writing these down will help you recall
specifics during interviews.
• Take at least one practice assessment or quiz on Skillshop (most modules have knowledge checks).
If you score below 80% on any practice, review that section. Write down any concept you got wrong
and clarify why the correct answer is correct.
• If you have peers or friends in the industry, form a small study group – even just to discuss tricky
concepts like attribution models or programmatic terms. Explaining to others is a great test of your
own understanding.
• Plan a way to showcase your certifications on your resume or LinkedIn. E.g., under Skills or
Education, list “Google Ads Certified (Search, Display, Measurement), Google Analytics Individual

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 Qualified”. On LinkedIn, you can add these in the Certifications section with the issue date. In an
interview, be ready to mention them when asked about your proficiency (it shows proactiveness and
credibility).

Campaign Planning Templates and Client Pitch Decks

In advertising roles, you will frequently be involved in planning campaigns for clients and pitching your
ideas either to win new business or to persuade existing clients to try new strategies. Demonstrating
competence in campaign planning and in creating compelling pitch decks is key. Let’s break down how to
structure a campaign plan and a client pitch, with templates and tips.

Campaign Planning Essentials: A well-structured campaign plan ensures that the client’s objectives are
met with a clear strategy and execution roadmap. Whether you’re planning a small Google Ads campaign or
a multi-channel quarter-long strategy, include these elements:

1. Background & Objectives: Start by stating the client’s situation and goals. For example: “Client ABC
is a retail e-commerce company looking to increase online sales by 20% in Q4.” Clarify the primary
KPI (sales, leads, ROI, etc.) and any secondary goals (e.g., increase brand awareness, test a new
market). Include context such as past performance or market conditions if relevant (e.g., “Last year’s
holiday campaign yielded $500k sales; goal is to exceed that by focusing on higher ROI channels”).

2. Audience & Insights: Define the target audience segments. Use any data available – customer
demographics, interests, remarketing audiences, etc. If you have insights (from Google Analytics or
client research), summarize them. For example, “Targeting high-intent audiences: 1) past purchasers
(60-day), 2) cart abandoners, 3) lookalikes of top customers. Noticing mobile users have 30% lower
conversion rate, so mobile experience will be optimized.” Google loves data-driven planning, so
referencing any Think with Google consumer insights or industry benchmarks could be impressive
(e.g., “According to Think with Google, 70% of shoppers turn to YouTube for inspiration – hence
including YouTube ads to influence consideration”).

3. Strategy & Channels: Outline which advertising channels and campaign types will be used and why.
For a Google-focused plan, this might include Search Ads (to capture intent), Display/YouTube (for
awareness and retargeting), maybe Discovery or Gmail ads for reach, etc. If multi-platform, mention
other channels like Facebook, but since you’re at Google, you’d emphasize Google’s ecosystem.
Articulate the role of each channel: e.g., “Use Search Ads for bottom-funnel (bid on high intent
keywords like ‘buy [product] online’), use YouTube with 15-sec video ads to showcase product
benefits to a broad demographic of [target age], and Display retargeting via DV360 to re-engage site
visitors with personalized creatives (dynamic product ads).” Tie strategy to objectives: higher funnel
channels for awareness, search for conversion, etc.

4. Budget & Flighting: Provide a breakdown of budget allocation across channels and timeline. For
example, “Total proposed budget: $200,000 over 3 months. 50% to Google Search, 30% to YouTube,
15% to Display Retargeting, 5% to experimental channels (Discovery). Front-load spend in November
for Black Friday push (40% of budget in Nov, 30% Dec, etc.).” A table or chart can help visualize this.
Google Ads planning might involve daily budgets, so ensure the numbers make sense (and consider
seasonality or specific campaign dates).

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 5. Creative & Messaging: Outline the core messaging and creative approach. Not as deep as a creative
agency would, but you should note what kind of ad content will be used: “Text ads will highlight free
shipping and holiday sale; video ads will tell the brand story with a holiday theme; display banners
will use dynamic product feed to show personalized products. All creatives will include call-to-action
‘Shop Now – Holiday Sale’.” If the client has brand guidelines or past campaigns, mention aligning
with those.

6. Measurement & KPIs: Define how success will be measured. This section is critical to demonstrate
accountability. “Primary KPI: Cost per acquisition (CPA) $10 on Search, $15 on YouTube/Display.
Secondary KPIs: CTR above 5% on brand keywords, view-through conversions from video, etc. Will
track conversions via GA4 and use Data-Driven Attribution to credit touchpoints appropriately.” Also
mention any test/learn objectives: “We will run an experiment to test responsive search ads vs.
expanded text ads to see which performs better, measuring lift in conversion rate.” It shows you
incorporate optimization and learning.

7. Timeline & Execution Plan: Provide a simple timeline of major phases (campaign setup in Week 1,
launch date, mid-campaign optimization check, final reporting). If multiple waves (like separate
promotions), outline when each will run. Also note stakeholders: “Creative assets needed by [date],
tracking setup by [date] (collaborating with web dev team for GA4 events), campaign launch on
[date], weekly performance check-ins, final report on [date].” This demonstrates project
management thinking.

8. Risks & Dependencies: Advanced but impressive to include – call out any assumptions or external
factors. E.g., “Assumes website will have refreshed landing pages by launch (if not, conversion impact
could suffer).” Or “Risk: competition is heavy in Q4 raising CPCs; to mitigate, we have a buffer in
budget and will focus on high-converting times of day.” Such foresight is valued.

Many Google roles won’t require writing formal campaign plans for each client (especially if you handle
many clients), but the thinking process is valuable. And for big pitches, you indeed might formalize it in a
document or deck.

Client Pitch Decks: When presenting to clients (existing or prospective), visual storytelling is key. A typical
pitch deck for an advertising strategy or business review could be structured as:

• Title Slide: Client name, your team, topic (e.g., “Q1 Growth Strategy Proposal – [Client Name] &
Google” and date). Maybe include both logos (Google and client’s).
• Agenda: Brief outline of what will be covered (objectives, insights, strategy, etc.).
• Client’s Goal Recap: Show you understand their business. One slide on their goals/challenges (e.g.,
“Increase online subscriptions; Expand to new market; Maintain cost per lead <$20”). Could include a
graphic or a quote from the client brief if available.
• Insight/Data Slide: If you have any compelling data insight (could be from their past campaign
performance or an industry insight from Google). For example, present a chart of last quarter’s
performance highlighting an opportunity: “Mobile traffic is 2x desktop but converts half as well – big
opportunity if we improve mobile experience or targeting.” Or an insight like “Search interest for
[client’s product category] has grown 15% YoY 28 , indicating rising demand we can capture.” Data
grabs attention and sets rationale for your strategy.

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 • Strategy Overview: A summary slide of the big idea. E.g., “Our Strategy: Target high-intent users
with Search and complement with YouTube to build brand affinity, leveraging Google’s machine
learning for smart bidding to maximize conversions under $10 CPA.” This could be a diagram or flow
chart showing user journey: (User sees YouTube Ad → searches brand → clicks Search Ad →
converts, and gets retargeted with Display for upsell). Visuals help here.
• Tactical Plan Details: A few slides breaking down channels. Perhaps one slide per major channel:
Search, YouTube, Display. Each with key tactics (bullets like “Keyword themes: [list], Ad approach:
responsive search ads with 3 variations; Bidding: Target CPA $10 using Google’s automated
bidding”). For YouTube: target demographics or customer match lists, ad formats (e.g., 6 sec bumper
for broad reach, 15 sec skippable for story), etc. Include visuals like sample ad mock-ups if you can
(or at least placeholders).
• Timeline & Budget Allocation: Show a visual timeline bar or calendar and a pie chart or bar chart of
budget split. Clients love to see how resources are allocated. This could be combined or separate
slides depending on complexity.
• Expected Results & KPIs: Project outcomes if possible. For instance, “Expected reach: 1.2M
impressions, ~50k clicks, ~5k conversions (~$40 average order value = $200k revenue) given a $50k
spend, at estimated CPA of $10.” Providing rough forecasts shows you’ve done homework (just be
careful to base them on reasonable assumptions). Also, list the KPIs you will report on regularly.
• Google Support & Unique Value: Especially if this is a pitch to use Google’s platforms, mention any
Google-specific support or tools: e.g., access to beta features, support from Google’s analytics team,
or case studies of other clients who succeeded (if you have permission or public examples from
Think with Google). Sometimes Google teams pitch alongside agencies or directly to clients by
touting Google’s measurement capabilities or the integrated nature of GMP.
• Call to Action/Next Steps: Conclude with what you want from the client. In a proposal, that might
be approval to proceed, or agreement on budgets. In an ongoing engagement, it might be a recap
of agreed actions (e.g., “Launch campaign on Feb 1; next meeting Feb 15 to review initial results”).
Thank them and open for discussion.

Design and Narrative: Keep the deck visually clean. Google’s style often uses white background, simple
charts, and Google colors sparingly. Use screenshots (for example, if explaining a new ad format, insert an
image of how it looks). Use the client’s brand elements if possible (to show you customized it). Ensure the
narrative flows – each slide should logically follow the prior. Practice delivering the deck as a story, not just
reading bullets.

Remember the goal of a pitch is not just to inform, but to persuade. You want the client excited about the
plan. So highlight benefits to them: e.g., “This approach will position [Client] as the top brand in front of
high-intent customers at the very moments they’re searching, giving you a competitive edge” – such
framing resonates.

Real-World Tools & Examples: Many planners use templates or tools for campaign planning. Google might
have internal templates for media plans. Externally, you can find planning templates (even Google Sheets or
Slides templates) to practice. For instance, Google’s marketing toolkit or Think with Google might have case
studies showing parts of a plan (e.g., how a brand used a “Now-Next-Later” framework for strategy 29 ).
While not directly your output, reading those can inspire how to frame timelines or strategies in uncertain
environments.

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Worksheet – Campaign Planning & Pitch:

• Take a company or product you’re familiar with (could be your current or past client, or even a
hypothetical one) and write a one-page campaign plan for a goal (e.g., increase leads by 20%). Use
the structure above: objectives, strategy, channels, etc. Don’t worry if you lack real data – make
reasonable assumptions. This exercise will help you internalize the planning process.
• Create 3 slides of a mini pitch deck based on that plan: 1) a title/objective slide, 2) a strategy
overview slide, 3) a sample tactics or timeline slide. Aim for clarity and visual appeal (you can use
PowerPoint/Google Slides or even draw on paper). This will get you comfortable with presenting
information succinctly.
• Draft an email summary of a campaign plan (since not always will you present in person;
sometimes you send docs). In 2-3 short paragraphs, summarize the key points of a plan. This helps
you practice distilling complex plans into executive summaries – a useful skill for client
communication.
• If you have access to past pitch decks (maybe from your work or online examples), analyze one:
identify how it structured the story. Note one thing you thought was effective and one thing you’d
improve.
• Brainstorm 2 questions a client might ask after seeing your plan (e.g., “Why allocate more to
YouTube when our focus is sales?”). Write down confident responses. Being able to handle Q&A on
your plan is as important as making the plan – this demonstrates expertise and instills client
confidence.

Industry Reference Glossary (Key Terms and Concepts)

The digital advertising industry is rife with acronyms and jargon. Google will expect you to be fluent in these
terms, and you should be able to understand and explain them to clients. Here’s a glossary of important
terms (with brief definitions) relevant to the roles we’re targeting. Familiarize yourself with each:

• Ad Rank: In Google Ads, the value that determines your ad position in the auction. It’s calculated
using your bid, quality score, and expected impact of ad extensions and formats. Higher Ad Rank
means your ad can show higher on the page.

• Attribution Model: The rule or set of rules that determines how credit for conversions is assigned to
touchpoints in conversion paths. For example, Last-click attribution gives all credit to the last
clicked ad; Data-driven attribution (a feature in Google Ads/Analytics) distributes credit based on
actual contribution as measured by Google’s algorithms. Understanding attribution helps explain
how Google counts conversions and helps you optimize across the funnel.

• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.
Commonly used in web analytics (like GA4). High bounce rate might indicate poor landing page
relevance for the ad traffic.

• CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): The cost to acquire a conversion (total spend divided by total
conversions). Often used as a target metric (Target CPA bidding). Lower CPA means more efficient
spend. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is similar but can include non-ad costs too.

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• CPC (Cost Per Click): The amount paid for each click in a pay-per-click campaign (like Google Search
Ads). There’s max CPC (your bid) and actual CPC (what you actually pay, often lower). CPC is
influenced by competition and quality score.

• CPM (Cost Per Mille): Cost per thousand impressions. A common buying model for display and
video advertising (e.g., YouTube CPM or DV360 deals). For instance, a $2 CPM means $2 for 1000 ad
views. CPM relates to reach and is often used in brand awareness campaigns.

• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of ad impressions that result in a click. (Clicks/
Impressions * 100%). It measures how compelling your ad is to users. A high CTR often signals
relevant ads; a low CTR might indicate need for better keywords or ad copy.

• Conversion: A desired action by the user (purchase, sign-up, etc.) that is tracked. Conversion Rate =
Conversions / Clicks (or sessions). Conversions are tracked via tags (like Google Ads conversion tag
or GA4 events). Ensuring proper conversion tracking is often part of the Solutions Consultant/CSM
role.

• CRM (Customer Relationship Management): System for managing a company’s interactions with
customers (like Salesforce). In advertising context, CRMs often hold offline conversion data or
customer lists that can be integrated with Google Ads (via Customer Match). For instance, uploading
CRM email lists for retargeting. You might liaise on CRM integration in technical roles.

• DSP (Demand-Side Platform): Software platform that allows advertisers to buy ad inventory
programmatically across multiple publishers/exchanges. DV360 and The Trade Desk are examples.
DSPs use real-time bidding (RTB) to purchase impressions. Advertisers set targeting and bids, and
DSPs algorithmically place bids in auctions 30 .

• SSP (Supply-Side Platform): The publisher-side counterpart to DSP. It allows publishers to sell their
ad inventory programmatically (e.g., Google Ad Manager is an SSP for Google). While you may not
directly use SSPs in these roles, understanding that SSPs feed inventory to exchanges which DSPs
bid on is useful context.

• Floodlight Tag: A tracking pixel used in Campaign Manager 360 to track conversions and user
activity on a site 31 . It’s analogous to a Google Ads conversion tag but for CM360. Solutions
Consultants often help implement floodlight tags for comprehensive tracking in multi-channel
campaigns.

• Impression: An instance of an ad being served (viewed). In some contexts, a “served impression”

might not guarantee it was seen (due to being below the fold, etc., hence viewability metric). You’ll
discuss impressions mainly for display/video, where CTRs are low and impressions measure reach.

• KPI (Key Performance Indicator): The primary metrics by which success is judged. For a
performance campaign, KPIs might be CPA or ROAS; for a brand campaign, KPIs might be
impressions, reach, or brand lift surveys. Always clarify KPIs with clients.

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• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue generated per dollar of ad spend (Revenue/Cost). For
example, 5:1 ROAS means $5 revenue for each $1 spent. It’s essentially the inverse of cost/sale, used
commonly in e-commerce to gauge efficiency. Google Ads has a Target ROAS bidding strategy as
well.

• Quality Score: A 1-10 score in Google Ads for each keyword, reflecting the relevance and quality of
your ads and landing pages to the user’s search. It’s based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and
landing page experience. QS affects Ad Rank – higher quality can lower your CPC for the same
position. It’s a lever to optimize in search campaigns.

• Programmatic Advertising: Automated buying and selling of online ad inventory through

exchanges, typically via DSPs and real-time bidding. It contrasts with direct buys (manual, network
buys). DV360 is Google’s programmatic tool, and understanding programmatic is essential for
Solutions Consultants/CSMs in particular. It enables data-driven, audience-targeted campaigns at
scale.

• Remarketing (Retargeting): Targeting users who have previously visited your website or engaged
with your content. Google offers remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA), display remarketing, and
customer match. A very common strategy to improve conversion rates by re-engaging warm
prospects.

• Lookback Window: The period in which a conversion is attributed to an ad after a click or

impression. For example, a 30-day click-through conversion window means if a user converts within
30 days of clicking the ad, it counts. Understanding this helps in analyzing data and setting
appropriate windows based on sales cycle.

• Viewability: A metric (often from IAS/DoubleVerify) indicating what percentage of ads were actually
viewable to users (per MRC standard, e.g., at least 50% of ad pixels in view for 1 second for display, 2
seconds for video). Google’s Display Network and YouTube provide viewability stats; advertisers
often require a viewability threshold (like only paying for viewable impressions via vCPM bidding).

• Brand Safety: Ensuring ads don’t appear alongside content that can harm the brand’s reputation
(violence, hate speech, etc.). Tools like IAS/DoubleVerify, as well as Google’s own controls (placement
exclusions, sensitive category exclusions) are used. As a CSM or Strategist, you must be aware of
brand safety concerns, especially for large brands.

• Third-Party Cookie Deprecation: The phasing out of third-party cookies in browsers (e.g., Chrome
by 2024/2025) which affects remarketing and tracking. Google’s ads ecosystem is adapting (with
solutions like Privacy Sandbox, first-party data emphasis). In CSM roles particularly, you might need
to prepare clients for a world of privacy-centric marketing, as seen in job descriptions focusing on
“Third-Party Cookie Deprecation readiness” 32 . Being conversant in this topic shows forward-
thinking.

• BigQuery: Google Cloud’s data warehouse that can handle massive datasets. Many advanced
marketing teams export their analytics or ad data to BigQuery for advanced analysis. Knowing
BigQuery isn’t expected for non-tech roles, but if you mention it in context (“Our team exported log-

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 level DV360 data to BigQuery to analyze frequency overlap across campaigns”), it shows technical
curiosity. (We’ll cover technical skills more in Part II.)

• gRPC / API (Application Programming Interface): How different software talk to each other.
Google Ads API, for instance, allows developers to manage accounts programmatically. You likely
won’t need to use APIs directly in non-tech roles, but being aware that they exist (and maybe that
you can pull reports or make bulk changes via API tools) is good. If in an interview a question
touches on scaling or automation, you could mention “via the API or scripts” as a way without
needing to know the technical details.

• OKR (Objectives and Key Results): While more of an internal term, Google uses OKRs to set goals.
For instance, your team might have an Objective “Improve client adoption of measurement
solutions” with Key Result “90% of clients have implemented GA4 by Q4”. Showing familiarity with
OKRs can hint that you understand goal-setting frameworks – useful if asked about how you set
goals or measure success.

This glossary isn’t exhaustive, but it covers many of the terms you’ll encounter. Use it as a study reference. If
any of these definitions are unfamiliar, spend extra time reading up on them (Google’s support pages or
forums like the Google Ads Help Center can be useful for definitions in context).

Worksheet – Glossary Mastery:

• Go through the list above and mark any terms you could not confidently explain to someone else.
For each, write a one-sentence definition in your own words (not just memorizing the text above). The
act of rephrasing will help retention.
• Quiz yourself: take 10 random terms from the list, cover the definitions, and try to recall them. Do
this until you can get all right. You might have a friend quiz you, or use flashcards.
• For 5 key metrics (e.g., CTR, CPA, ROAS, Conversion Rate, Quality Score), think of a real or
hypothetical example with numbers. E.g., “If we had 100,000 impressions and 5,000 clicks, our CTR
is 5%. If those 5,000 clicks led to 100 sales on $10,000 spend, CPC was $2, Conversion rate 2%, CPA
$100, ROAS 5:1.” Working through numbers cements understanding and prepares you to do quick
math in interviews if needed.
• Take a term like Quality Score or Attribution and anticipate an interview question around it: e.g.,
“How do you use Quality Score in account management?” or “What’s your take on data-driven
attribution vs last-click?” – practice an answer aloud for 30 seconds. This ensures you’re not just
defining, but also applying concept knowledge.
• Ensure you know the abbreviations expansion for each acronym (some interviewers might ask
“What’s a DSP?” expecting “Demand-Side Platform”). Jot down any you’re unsure of and memorize the
expansion (and meaning).

(Continue to Part II for Semi-Technical Roles – focusing on technical skill development, platform knowledge, and
translating your experience into technical expertise.)

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Part II: Semi-Technical Advertising Roles
Moving into the semi-technical side, roles like Technical Account Manager, Ads Solutions Architect, and
Product Specialist at Google require a blend of client-facing skills and technical acumen. In these positions,
you’ll be the bridge between business needs and technical solutions. This part of the guide will help you
understand these roles, develop the foundational technical skills, and prepare to showcase technical
prowess in the context of advertising.

Overview of Semi-Technical Roles (TAM, Ads Solutions Architect, Product Specialist)

Let’s clarify what each of these roles entails and what Google looks for in candidates:

• Technical Account Manager (TAM): In Google’s context, TAMs are often found in Google Cloud or in
technical services for enterprise products. A TAM is essentially a post-sales technical advisor who
ensures customers successfully adopt and optimize Google’s products. For advertising clients (e.g.,
large advertisers using Google’s ad platforms), a TAM would help troubleshoot technical issues,
coordinate across technical teams (product, engineering) and the client’s team, and ensure the
client’s tech stack is integrating well with Google’s solutions. TAMs have to understand the client’s
infrastructure, guide them through technical changes (like new API integrations, data pipelines), and
often handle crisis management if something breaks. Think of TAM as a part project manager, part
support engineer, part consultant. At Google, TAM interviews focus on technical knowledge of
relevant systems and your ability to handle scenarios bridging tech and business (questions often
cover technical, business, and crisis categories 33 ).

Example: A Google Cloud TAM might help a client set up BigQuery exports of their Google Ads data or advise
them on how to architect their analytics pipeline. A marketing-specific TAM (if in gTech) might oversee a big
client’s implementation of Google Analytics 360, ensuring data flows correctly and suggesting best
practices.

• Ads Solutions Architect: This role is akin to a senior solutions consultant – an architect designs and
consults on system-level solutions. In advertising, an Ads Solutions Architect works with large
customers to implement complex integrations of Google’s ad products. They might design how an
advertiser’s first-party data is ingested into Google’s platforms (via Cloud). They are expected to have
a high level of technical aptitude, often coding or scripting is involved, and deep knowledge of
web technologies (HTML, JavaScript, APIs). One Ads Solutions Architect described it as “providing
specialized technical consulting and solution architecture support to Google’s customers”, especially e-
commerce or big advertisers 34 . They often build custom solutions (maybe using Google Cloud,
writing SQL or using BigQuery ML for advanced analysis, etc.) to solve marketing problems. It’s a role
at the intersection of advertising technology and software architecture. They collaborate with sales
teams, but are more engineering-minded – sometimes prototyping or troubleshooting code.

Example: An Ads Solutions Architect might create a custom attribution model using BigQuery for a customer,
or help a client design a data pipeline that combines their CRM data with Google Ads performance data,
effectively acting as an architect of their marketing data ecosystem. They might also advise on

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implementing Google’s Ads APIs for custom tools, or integrating Google ads with the client’s mobile app or
backend systems.

• Product Specialist (Ads/GMP): A Product Specialist in Google’s ads context often sits in the gTech
(Google Technical Services) or support organization. This role focuses on a specific Google product
(or set of features) – for instance, you could be a Product Specialist for Google Ads Policy, or for
Shopping ads, or for Google Marketing Platform. The role involves deep expertise in that product,
working on escalated issues, feature rollouts, and providing feedback to product teams. For
example, a Policy Product Specialist may help enforce and clarify Google Ads policies, troubleshoot
policy-related issues for top advertisers, and train internal teams on policy updates 35 . A Shopping
Product Specialist might ensure that merchants and partners correctly use Merchant Center and
Shopping ads, solving complex feed issues and relaying needs to engineering. In all cases, Product
Specialists are more internally focused than TAMs or Architects – they improve the product and
support processes, though they may also communicate with customers on tough cases.

In an interview for a Product Specialist, expect questions on both technical problem-solving and how you’d
handle ambiguous troubleshooting. They may test your knowledge of the product domain (for example, if
you claim expertise in Google Ads, they might pose a complex scenario of ads disapproved for policy and
ask how you’d resolve it). Also, since Product Specialists often work with global teams and possibly on
support tickets, demonstrating attention to detail, communication skills, and a user-first mindset is
important.

Similarities and Overlaps: All these roles require understanding of digital advertising at a technical level
(but they apply it differently). TAMs and Solutions Architects often directly face customers and need strong
relationship skills similar to non-tech roles, but with added technical depth. Product Specialists might be
more internally focused but still need to articulate complex issues in simple terms.

Google’s hiring criteria for such roles often include: analytical skills, coding or data skills, product
knowledge, communication, and “customer empathy”. For example, a TAM job description might ask for
“experience with SQL or Python” and “ability to translate complex technical concepts to non-technical
audiences” 36 – indicating you need to wear both hats.

How They Work Together: In practice, on a large account you might have an Account Manager/Strategist
(business lead), a CSM (adoption and growth lead), and a TAM or Solutions Architect (technical lead) all
working with the client. So if you come from an account management background, moving into a TAM or
solutions architect role means you’ll focus more on the implementation side, but your past client skills still
help as you coordinate with the business-facing teams and communicate with the client.

Career Movement: Many people start in one of these roles and shift around. For example, you might join
as a Product Specialist for Google Ads, then move to a Solutions Architect role in gTech once you’ve honed
more coding skills, or vice versa. TAMs might move into product management or engineering roles if they
develop enough technical skill, or into more senior consulting roles (like Lead Architect or Practice
Manager).

Understanding what each role does helps tailor your preparation. If you apply for TAM, emphasize times
you solved technical problems for clients and your project management; for Solutions Architect, emphasize

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design of solutions and any coding/data projects; for Product Specialist, emphasize deep product expertise
and problem-solving method.

Worksheet – Role Fit & Research:

• Make a list of your experiences that map to each role. For TAM: have you served as the go-
between for a technical project and a client? For Solutions Architect: have you ever designed or
implemented a technical solution (even a small script or a complex Excel macro counts as solution
design, or integrating two systems via an API)? For Product Specialist: do you have one product or
platform you know exceptionally well, and examples of troubleshooting or improving usage? Write
one example for each role from your past work.
• Read at least one Google job listing (or LinkedIn profile) for each role. Note down 3 skills or
requirements that are common. E.g., many TAM job postings mention project management,
communication, technical troubleshooting. Solutions Architect postings mention coding/scripting,
systems integration, cloud or database knowledge. Product Specialist postings mention analytical
ability, product knowledge, cross-functional collaboration. Compare these to your list of experiences
and identify any gaps you need to fill.
• Think about which of these roles excites you the most and why. Write a short paragraph (like a
mini personal statement) for that role. For example, “I’m passionate about the Solutions Architect
role because I enjoy designing systems and have firsthand seen how connecting data sources can
unlock insights – like when I integrated our CRM with Google Ads via scripts, improving lead
tracking. I thrive at that intersection of marketing and tech.” This clarity of motivation can help not
only in interviews (“Why do you want this role?”) but also guides what to focus on learning.
• Identify one mentor or professional connection (if possible) in a similar role. Maybe a LinkedIn
connection who’s a Google TAM or a friend in a tech consultancy. Prepare 3 questions and reach out
for a 15-minute chat to learn about their day-to-day and advice. (If you can’t find a person to talk to,
search online for interviews or day-in-the-life articles about these roles; there are some Reddit
threads and blog posts by ex-Googlers that shed light).
• Summarize: in a table or mind-map, jot the key responsibilities of TAM vs Solutions Architect vs
Product Specialist. Underline the common skills (e.g., communication appears in all; technical
knowledge in all; but coding maybe heavier in Arch/PS, project management heavier in TAM). This
visual comparison will help you remember nuances and speak to them if asked, say, “What do you
think will be the biggest challenge transitioning from your previous role to TAM?” – you can respond
with specifics (“I anticipate deep diving into technical troubleshooting more than before, which I’m
preparing for by sharpening my SQL/Python skills…”).

Introduction to Technical Skills: SQL, Python, BigQuery, Looker Studio

To succeed in semi-technical roles, you’ll need a solid foundation in certain technical skills. Let’s break down
why each of these is important and how to get started with them:

SQL (Structured Query Language): SQL is the language used to query and manipulate relational
databases. In marketing analytics, SQL comes into play frequently – for example, extracting data from
Google BigQuery, analyzing campaign data, or combining datasets (like matching ad clicks with sales data).
Google’s internal data tools (and many external ones) often rely on SQL for advanced analysis. TAMs and
Solutions Architects should be comfortable writing SQL queries to answer business questions (e.g., “What’s

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the average order value from users acquired via Campaign X?”). Even Product Specialists may use SQL to
dive into logs or internal databases for troubleshooting.

• Relevance: Google’s marketing stack (especially Google Analytics 360 and Campaign Manager) can
export data to BigQuery, where you’d use SQL to analyze it. Also, many clients will have databases
you might need to interface with. Knowing SQL means you can self-serve data insights rather than
always relying on an analyst. In interviews, being conversant with SQL is a plus – they might ask you
to interpret a snippet of a query or solve a simple logic problem that SQL could address.

• What to learn: Focus on SELECT queries with WHERE clauses (filtering data), JOIN (combining
tables), aggregate functions ( SUM , COUNT , AVG etc.) with GROUP BY (e.g., “total conversions by
campaign”), and subqueries. Also understand basic data schema concepts (tables, rows, columns).
BigQuery’s variant of SQL (standard SQL) has some specific functions for arrays and such, but basic
SQL is portable.

• Learning resources: Google offers free BigQuery basics tutorials 37 that inherently teach some SQL.
There are also interactive websites like SQLZoo or Khan Academy SQL courses. Consider
downloading a sample dataset (Google BigQuery has public datasets, or you can use any open CSV
in a local SQLite database) to practice writing queries that answer questions.

Python: Python is a general-purpose programming language that’s widely used in data analysis,
automation, and backend services. In advertising roles, you might not need to develop full applications, but
Python can be incredibly handy for automating tasks (like pulling reports via an API, transforming datasets,
or prototyping a solution). For instance, a Solutions Architect might use Python to write a script that calls
the Google Ads API to pull spend data daily and load it into BigQuery, or a TAM might use a Python script to
parse log files to identify an issue. Python is also often used in tandem with Jupyter notebooks for data
analysis and visualization.

• Relevance: Google’s environment is very friendly to Python (many internal tools and examples use
Python, and Cloud Functions can run Python, etc.). If you’re a TAM or Solutions Architect, showing
Python skill indicates you can create custom solutions. Product Specialists might use Python to
analyze product data or automate support workflows. Additionally, familiarity with Python allows you
to understand pseudocode or to talk to developers on the client side more credibly.

• What to learn: Focus on the basics: syntax, variables, data types (especially lists, dictionaries), loops,
functions. Then for data tasks: learn to use pandas (a Python library for data manipulation) to filter
and aggregate data like you would in Excel/SQL. Also, learn how to make HTTP requests ( requests
library) since interacting with APIs is common – e.g., retrieving data from an API endpoint. You don’t
need to be a software engineer, but aim to write a script that can, say, read a CSV of ad data, do
some calculations, and output insights. Also, get comfortable reading others’ code to some extent
(since you might find existing scripts to modify).

• Learning resources: Many free ones: Codecademy for Python, Automate the Boring Stuff (an online
book focusing on automation tasks with Python – very relevant since it deals with using Python for
practical tasks like updating spreadsheets or parsing files). Google has a free Python Class online
that covers basics as well. Try doing small projects like “take this JSON from a sample API and
summarize it” to simulate tasks.

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BigQuery: BigQuery is Google Cloud’s managed data warehouse. It’s able to handle enormous data sets
(billions of rows) and is optimized for analytics queries. BigQuery often becomes the repository for
marketing data in enterprise setups (for example, exporting every impression and click log from Campaign
Manager or DV360, or all events from GA4). Knowing how to use BigQuery is crucial for Ads Solutions
Architects and TAMs who deal with data analysis or building solutions.

• Relevance: If your client asks, “Could we analyze user paths across devices?” – that might involve
querying BigQuery. If there’s a question about joining CRM data with ad data, likely done in
BigQuery. BigQuery knowledge also ties into understanding data architecture: data sets, tables, how
data is ingested (via batch or streaming). Google Cloud Cortex (a framework for marketing data)
uses BigQuery to combine marketing data sources 38 39 . In an interview, they might gauge your
familiarity by asking something like how you would handle large data analysis or if you have
experience with databases – mentioning BigQuery would be a plus.

• What to learn: How to navigate BigQuery console, write SQL (as above) in BigQuery specifically,
knowledge of BigQuery’s structure (projects, datasets, tables). Also, basics of performance:
understanding that BigQuery is columnar and charges by data scanned, so writing efficient queries
is good (like selecting only needed columns). If possible, know how to import data into BigQuery and
maybe how to export or connect a BI tool to it (like Looker Studio). Additionally, the concept of
BigQuery ML (machine learning in BigQuery via SQL) could be something to be aware of, but not
necessary to master at first – just know it exists as a capability.

• Hands-on: Google Cloud offers a free tier and public datasets. Try running a query on a public dataset
(e.g., there’s a Shakespeare works dataset you can query for fun, or more relevantly, Google
Analytics sample dataset). For example, Google has a public dataset of Google Analytics 4 data for an
ecommerce site – you can practice writing a query to get, say, total revenue by marketing channel
from that. Even if you use the GUI to explore data, that’s fine.

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio): This is Google’s free business intelligence and data
visualization tool. It allows you to create dashboards and reports by connecting to various data sources
including Google Ads, Analytics, BigQuery, etc. In semi-technical roles, you might not spend all day in
Looker Studio, but you should know how to create a dashboard to present data because you’ll often need to
help clients visualize the results of campaigns or analyses. Moreover, Looker Studio can be the end-result
interface for data pipelines you recommend (e.g., data flows into BigQuery, then is visualized in Looker
Studio for the marketing team to consume).

• Relevance: TAMs/CSMs often set up dashboards for clients (or troubleshoot them). Solutions
Architects might design the data models that feed into dashboards. Product Specialists might create
internal dashboards to monitor product performance. A strong grasp of Looker Studio signals that
you can not only crunch data but also present it in an accessible way – a key skill for translating
technical insights for non-technical stakeholders.

• What to learn: How to connect data sources (try connecting Google Sheets or a CSV to start, then
Google Analytics or BigQuery if possible). Learn to create common visualizations: trend lines, bar
charts, pie charts, tables with heatmap formatting, etc. Understand calculated fields (e.g., making a
custom metric like conversion rate = conversions/clicks). Also learn to use filters and date range
controls. Essentially, be able to whip up a basic performance dashboard (with metrics like

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 impressions, clicks, conversions by day or by campaign, etc.). Also, since it’s free, maybe practice
sharing a report (the sharing model is similar to Google Drive).

• Learning resources: Google’s Skillshop has a Data Studio course. The Looker Studio Gallery 40 shows
examples of reports others have made – great for inspiration. There are YouTube tutorials “Build
your first Data Studio report” walking through step by step (which is often easier to follow). In an
interview, if you can talk about a dashboard you built to track something, that’s concrete evidence of
analytical capability.

Integration of Skills: These skills often work together in real tasks. For instance: you might write an SQL
query in BigQuery to extract data, then use Looker Studio to visualize it, and maybe you used a Python
script to load the data into BigQuery in the first place. It’s the data pipeline: Python for data wrangling/
automation, BigQuery as storage/processing, SQL for querying, and Looker Studio for presenting.

One level deeper: also be aware of Google Cloud basics – for example, if you mention BigQuery, knowing
that it’s part of GCP and how data might get into it (via Cloud Storage or streaming) shows architectural
thinking. But if you’re new to cloud, focus on the core use.

Setting Up a Practice Environment: You can sign up for the Google Cloud Free Tier (which gives some
BigQuery free usage per month and some free storage) to practice BigQuery and even host some small
dataset. Similarly, Looker Studio is free with a Google account. Having hands-on experience, even with
dummy data, will massively boost your confidence and ability to answer interview questions that start with
“How would you…?”.

Worksheet – Technical Skills Development:

• SQL Practice: Formulate 3 practice questions that could be answered with SQL. For example: 1) “Find
the top 5 marketing channels by conversion rate,” 2) “Calculate the total revenue from customers
who saw a particular ad campaign,” 3) “How many users who clicked an ad also made a purchase
within 7 days?” Even if you don’t have actual data, outline in pseudo-SQL how you’d get these
answers (what tables, what joins). If you do have access to any real or sample data, actually write
and run the queries and verify the results.
• Python Practice: Identify a repetitive task you do or a data transformation you’re familiar with and
attempt to write a simple Python script for it. For instance, merging two CSV files of marketing data
and outputting a summary. Write down what you had trouble with and resolve it via Google/Stack
Overflow search (part of coding is debugging via internet searches!). As a specific challenge, use
Python’s pandas to compute something like average daily spend from a list of spend per
campaign.
• BigQuery Hands-on: If you can, sign up for BigQuery (or if not, imagine the process). Navigate the
BigQuery UI, find a public dataset (like Google’s GA4 sample). Write a very basic query, e.g.,
SELECT SUM(event_count) FROM \ bigquery-public-
data.ga4_obfuscated_sample_ecommerce.events_202101`` (this counts total events in January 2021
in that sample GA4 dataset). Run it and see the result. Note how long it took and how much data it
processed (BigQuery will tell you) – get a feel for it. Document these steps to remember during
interviews (“I explored BigQuery using Google’s sample analytics data and learned how to query
large tables efficiently.”).

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 • Looker Studio Creation: Think of a simple metric you’d like to track – say your personal budget or a
website’s traffic (if you have Google Analytics on a personal site or use Google’s demo GA account).
Create a one-page dashboard with at least 2 visuals (e.g., a time series of daily values, and a pie or
bar breakdown by category). Take a screenshot for yourself. The exercise will make you comfortable
with the interface. Jot down one thing you found easy and one thing confusing – as a TAM/Architect,
understanding user experience issues in tools can help you empathize with clients.
• Combine Skills Project: Outline a mini-project for yourself that touches all skills. For example: “Use
Python to pull daily campaign data from Google Ads (or simulate it), store it in BigQuery, and
visualize weekly trends in Looker Studio.” You don’t have to fully execute it if time is short or access is
an issue, but describe in writing how each step would work. This end-to-end understanding is exactly
what an Ads Solutions Architect might do for a client. If you can speak to such an end-to-end
solution in an interview (even hypothetically, but grounded in real knowledge of each component), it
will showcase your technical fluency.

By developing these skills, you’ll not only be able to do the job once hired, but also talk the talk in
interviews and on your resume. Even listing something like “Proficient in SQL and data analysis with
Google BigQuery; built interactive dashboards in Looker Studio” on your resume can trigger positive
discussion in interviews.

Platform Walkthroughs: Google Cloud, Google Marketing Platform, and Looker

In this section, we’ll do a high-level walkthrough of some complex platforms you’ll interact with. We want to
demystify them and give you talking points and conceptual understanding.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – Key Services for Marketing: Google Cloud is a broad ecosystem of
services (compute, storage, databases, machine learning, etc.). For advertising and marketing roles, you
don’t need to know everything in GCP, but you should be aware of specific tools that often feature in
marketing solutions:

• BigQuery: As covered, it’s the cloud data warehouse for analytics. Know that BigQuery can import
data from Google Marketing Platform products. For example, Google Analytics 4 has a native
BigQuery export. Also, Campaign Manager 360 and DV360 can export logs via Data Transfer to Cloud
Storage which then can feed BigQuery. There is even a Google Cloud Cortex framework for
marketing data that provides a blueprint for bringing marketing data into BigQuery 41 .

• Cloud Storage: This is basically Google’s online file storage (like Amazon S3 equivalent). In
marketing, Cloud Storage might be used to temporarily hold large export files (e.g., Data Transfer
files from Campaign Manager or DV360 arrive as daily files in Cloud Storage, then are loaded to
BigQuery). You might not be actively doing this, but understanding it helps. If someone says “our
CM360 logs are in Cloud Storage,” you know they likely come from Google’s Data Transfer service.

• Cloud Composer / Airflow: For data workflows, Google Cloud offers Composer (managed Apache
Airflow) to schedule and manage data pipelines. In advanced cases, a Solutions Architect might set
up an Airflow DAG that, say, nightly pulls data from an API and loads BigQuery, or one that
orchestrates the processing of marketing data. It’s not likely you’d start doing this on day one, but if
you’re aiming high, being aware is good. (In that architecture diagram from Google Cloud Cortex 39

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 , you see Cloud Composer orchestrating DV360/CM360 data ingestion into BigQuery.)

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Figure: Google’s reference architecture for integrating advertising data into Google Cloud – showing how
Campaign Manager/Display & Video 360 data can be automatically ingested from Cloud Storage into BigQuery
via Cloud Composer and Dataflow.

• Looker (the platform, not just Looker Studio): Google acquired Looker, a business intelligence
platform distinct from Looker Studio. It’s a more powerful, enterprise-grade BI tool where data lives
in a database (like BigQuery) and Looker provides a modeling layer (LookML) to define metrics and a
front-end to explore data. If you see references to “Looker” at Google, often it means this platform
(now part of Google Cloud). Solutions Architects or technical specialists might work with Looker

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 when a client needs robust embedded analytics or when there’s complex metric definitions. For
example, building a marketing dashboard in Looker that dozens of users can interact with, using
governed data models.

• APIs and Cloud Functions: Google Cloud also offers Cloud Functions (to run code serverlessly)
which can be used to run Python code on a schedule (like a cron job). You might not need to know
details, but conceptually, if a client asks “Can we automatically pull data from Google Ads daily and
not have to run it on our servers?” – you might envision a Cloud Function hitting the Ads API and
storing data in BigQuery. It’s that glue.

For platform walkthrough: If you haven’t, explore the Google Cloud Console (console.cloud.google.com).
Navigate to BigQuery, Cloud Storage, etc. Understanding the UI a bit and what terms like “project”, “dataset”
mean will help you articulate things better.

Google Marketing Platform (GMP) – Enterprise Advertising Suite: GMP is the unified platform branding
for Google’s doubleclick and analytics 360 suite. Let’s clarify the major components:

• Campaign Manager 360 (CM360): (Ad server) – We described it above. It’s where advertisers (or
agencies) traffic ads (upload creatives, set where ads run), generate tags (for publishers or tracking),
and collect consolidated reporting. It’s used for ad serving across multiple publishers and channels.
Think of it as the source of truth for impressions, clicks, and basic conversions when you run multi-
channel campaigns (especially when you buy through various sources, not just Google). Also, CM360
handles deduplicating conversions across channels using Floodlight tags. Understanding its role in
an ecosystem is important. For example, if a client runs ads on Google (via DV360) and on other
exchanges, they might use CM360 to have one unified tracking system. As a tech expert, you might
help integrate CM360 with the client’s site and with other platforms (e.g., ensure Facebook pixels
and Floodlight don’t conflict, etc.).

• Display & Video 360 (DV360): (DSP) – Covered above. It’s the platform to set up programmatic buys.
In GMP context, DV360 reads data from CM360 (for tracking) and also writes data to CM360 (like
which ads served). These two work in concert. Solutions people often ensure the integration (like
using the same Floodlight configuration in DV360 and CM so that conversions from DV360 media are
recorded properly). Knowing DV360’s interface in detail is not needed for interview, but
understanding that it’s one-stop for planning, executing, and optimizing programmatic campaigns is
key.

• Search Ads 360 (SA360): This is GMP’s search marketing management platform. It allows large
advertisers to manage search campaigns across Google Ads, Bing, etc., in one interface, with
advanced bid strategies and reporting. If you go for TAM in a marketing context or Solutions
Architect, familiarity with SA360 is a bonus. For example, a client might ask you, “We use SA360 to
manage our 50,000 keyword campaigns, how can we integrate that data with our internal data
warehouse?” and you’d know SA360 can also export logs or that it has an API. SA360 is being
updated (project “Nimbus”) to a new version integrated with Google Ads tech, so by 2025 it’s a hot
area.

• Analytics 360 (GA360): The paid enterprise version of Google Analytics. GA4 is now for both free and
360 versions (360 just has higher limits, SLAs, etc.). GA360 clients often have dedicated support and

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 more integration options (like BigQuery linking without row limits, etc.). As a TAM/CSM, you might
help a client configure GA4 events, set up roll-up properties, or integrate GA data with Google Ads
(which is crucial for import of conversions and audiences). Be comfortable discussing GA’s role – “GA
tracks on-site user behavior and conversions, which can be imported into Google Ads for
optimization; it also provides cross-channel attribution analysis.”

• Tag Manager 360: Tag Manager (free and 360) is a tool to manage various tags/pixels on sites
without editing code repeatedly. Many advertisers use GTM to implement their Google Ads tags,
Floodlight, GA, as well as other third-party scripts. In technical roles, you might troubleshoot GTM
setups or advise on structuring a data layer for GTM. It’s good to know the basics: triggers, variables,
tags in GTM, and the concept of a data layer (a JavaScript object on the site that holds structured
data which GTM reads to fire tags). For example, an e-commerce site’s data layer might output
purchase value and order ID on thank-you page, which GTM reads to send conversion values to
Google Ads and GA.

• Optimize 360: (A/B testing and personalization tool). Optimize (the free version was being sunset in
2023, but enterprise clients presumably still have some solution) – you might not encounter this as
much, but it’s part of marketing stack for some. Optimize allows running experiments on the site
(like different landing page versions) and integrates with GA for measuring outcomes. Technical folks
might help implement it or interpret results for clients.

• Survey 360/Brand Lift, etc.: These are more peripheral; just be aware that GMP has solutions for
brand measurement (Brand Lift surveys in YouTube), etc. Not likely crucial for a job interview unless
you specifically go for a measurement specialist angle.

How GMP integrates with Google Cloud: Increasingly, GMP and GCP are connected. For instance: -
BigQuery exports: GA4, Google Ads (via Customer Match data or offline conversions), DV360 and CM360 via
Data Transfer. - There’s an emerging concept of Ads Data Hub (ADH) in Google Cloud, where you can query
user-level data in a privacy-safe environment (especially after cookies go, ADH is a way to do advanced
analytics on Google’s log data without data leaving Google’s servers). If applying for very technical roles (like
Ads Solutions Architect), being aware of ADH is impressive – it’s basically BigQuery with Google’s event-level
data accessible under certain rules, often used for custom attribution or reach analysis.

Looker (Enterprise): If the job description mentions Looker, they mean the enterprise BI platform. Looker
requires learning LookML (a modeling language). It’s not trivial, but an Ads Solutions Architect might be
involved in building Looker dashboards for clients or enabling Looker’s connection to marketing datasets. If
you have extra time, watch an intro to Looker. However, Looker Studio (free) is often enough for initial
discussions unless dealing with heavy enterprise needs.

Platform UI familiarity: You might not get direct questions like “walk me through how to create a DV360
campaign” (unless interviewing specifically for something like a trader role), but you might get scenario
questions that imply platform use. For example: “A client’s floodlight tags are not counting conversions
properly, how would you approach it?” – to answer, you’d reference checking in Campaign Manager 360 if
the tag is active, verifying the tag firing via preview tools, checking if the site’s GTM is triggering it, etc. That
demonstrates familiarity with the platform’s troubleshooting aspects. Or a question like “How would you
help a client who wants to import offline sales into Google Ads for optimization?” – you’d mention solutions

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like offline conversion imports via GCLID, perhaps using the Google Ads API or Zapier, which shows you
know how the platform can ingest data.

In summary, to prepare: - Navigate through these interfaces if you can (the free versions or trial accounts).
For example, create a GTM container and practice adding a tag. Use Google’s demo Google Analytics
account to see GA4 reports. The more you click around, the more concrete your understanding. - Learn
where to find things: e.g., in Google Ads, where do you set up conversion tracking? In GA4, where do you
configure events and conversions? You don’t need to memorize step-by-step, just know it at a conceptual
level (“In GA4, conversions are marked from events in the Events config, and you can debug events in
DebugView” – an interviewer might nod seeing you know that much detail). - Understand the data flow: If a
user clicks an ad, how does that eventually show up as a conversion in Google Ads or Analytics? (Answer:
GCLID carries the click ID, stored via cookie or parameter, then if a conversion happens, the GCLID is sent
back via conversion tracking – TAMs often ensure this flow is working). Being able to talk through that is
very useful.

Worksheet – Platform Exploration:

• Draw a simple diagram of an ad tech stack for a hypothetical large advertiser: Include Google Ads,
DV360, CM360, GA4, BigQuery, Looker Studio, and arrows showing data flows (e.g., Google Ads
sends click data to GA4; GA4 sends conversions to Google Ads; CM360 logs feed into BigQuery;
DV360 reads conversion data from CM360; Looker Studio connects to BigQuery for a dashboard).
The act of visualizing this will help you see the big picture and pinpoint integration points (which is
what you’d work on in technical roles).
• Write a step-by-step walkthrough of setting up conversion tracking in a scenario: e.g., “Client has
a website and runs Google Ads, how do we track conversions?” Step 1: enable conversion tracking in
Google Ads and get the conversion tag (or use GA4 if site already has GA4). Step 2: implement the
tag via GTM on the site’s purchase confirmation page. Step 3: test the tag in preview mode or using
Google Tag Assistant. Step 4: verify in Google Ads that conversions are being recorded. This kind of
procedural thinking might come in handy in interviews where they gauge your practical know-how.
• If you have access, go to Google Tag Manager and try out the Preview mode on a website (even
your own blog or a sample site). See how GTM shows which tags fired. If you can’t, watch a YouTube
video of GTM debugging. Tag debugging and identifying why something didn’t fire (maybe a rule
didn’t match, or a JS error prevented it) is very TAM/consultant-like work.
• Check out Looker Studio Template Gallery and open a marketing dashboard template. Interact
with the filters and try to understand how it’s built. If possible, copy it and look at the data source.
For example, Google offers a Search Ads 360 template or a YouTube Channel stats template – even if
not directly relevant, see how multiple charts are arranged. Document one technique you learn (e.g.,
how they use filter controls or blend data sources).
• Summarize to yourself in a few sentences the value proposition of each platform (GCP, GMP,
Looker). For instance: “Google Cloud is for custom solutions and handling large-scale data beyond
the marketing tools’ native capabilities. Google Marketing Platform provides enterprise-level control
and integration across advertising channels with centralized tracking. Looker (Studio) translates the
data into insights for decision-makers.” This summary can help you articulate to an interviewer how
you view the ecosystem holistically.

Through understanding these platforms, you’ll be able to discuss technical strategy and also show you can
quickly get up to speed on complex systems – a trait Google definitely values.

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Step-by-Step Hands-On Project Guides

One of the best ways to solidify your technical knowledge (and prove it to employers) is by completing
hands-on projects. Here, we outline a couple of step-by-step project guides tailored to advertising
scenarios. These projects will give you practical experience and talking points for interviews. Even if you
cannot replicate them exactly due to resource constraints, understanding the steps and being able to
describe the approach is valuable.

Project 1: Marketing Data Analysis in BigQuery and Looker Studio

Objective: Ingest a set of advertising data into BigQuery, analyze it with SQL, and create a dashboard in
Looker Studio to visualize key metrics.

Scenario: Suppose you have a month’s worth of advertising data for a fictional company (could be Google
Ads data or any campaign data with fields like date, campaign, impressions, clicks, conversions, cost). The
goal is to determine performance by campaign and visualize trends over time.

Steps:

1. Data Preparation: If you have real data, great. If not, you can simulate it. For example, create a CSV
file with columns: Date, Campaign, Impressions, Clicks, Conversions, Cost. Populate ~30 rows (for 30
days) for 2-3 campaigns with some random but reasonable numbers (ensuring relationships, e.g.,
more impressions tends to mean more clicks; conversion rate maybe 2-5%). Tools like Excel or a
quick script can generate this.

2. BigQuery Setup: Create a BigQuery dataset (e.g., named marketing_data ). Then create a table
(e.g., campaign_performance ) and upload the CSV (BigQuery’s web UI allows uploading a CSV
from your computer or Google Drive). Schema should be inferred if you have headers, or you specify
data types (Date as DATE, Campaign as STRING, Impressions/Clicks/Conversions as INTEGER, Cost as
FLOAT).

3. Query in BigQuery: Now write some SQL queries to answer questions:

4. Total impressions, clicks, conversions, cost for the whole month (just to sanity check the data).
5. Calculate CTR and Conversion Rate by campaign. For example:

SELECT
Campaign,
SUM(Impressions) AS Impressions,
SUM(Clicks) AS Clicks,
SAFE_DIVIDE(SUM(Clicks), SUM(Impressions)) * 100 AS CTR_percent,
SUM(Conversions) AS Conversions,
SAFE_DIVIDE(SUM(Conversions), SUM(Clicks)) * 100 AS CVR_percent,
SUM(Cost) AS Cost,
SAFE_DIVIDE(SUM(Cost), SUM(Conversions)) AS CPA

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 FROM marketing_data.campaign_performance
GROUP BY Campaign;

(Using SAFE_DIVIDE to avoid division by zero). This yields performance by campaign: impression,
click, CTR%, conversion count, conversion rate, total cost, and cost per acquisition (CPA). This is a
typical analysis table.
6. Query daily performance trend (to see if certain days had spikes). E.g., group by Date, with similar
metrics.
7. Maybe identify the best and worst performing campaign by CPA or CTR.

Try these queries, examine results. If using the BigQuery UI, you can also click “Chart” to see a quick
visualization of a query result (not as flexible as Looker Studio, but useful for quick insights).

1. Export to Looker Studio: Now connect Looker Studio to this BigQuery data:
2. In Looker Studio, choose BigQuery connector, select your project, dataset, and table.
3. It will pull in the schema.
4. Create a report with at least:
◦ A scorecard element each for total Impressions, Clicks, Conversions, Cost (for the date
range).
◦ A time series chart showing daily clicks and conversions (maybe two lines or dual-axis).
◦ A bar chart showing CPA by Campaign.
◦ A table with Campaign and all the metrics/ratios (like the result of your SQL grouping) –
Looker Studio can calculate new fields too, e.g., create a calculated field CTR = Clicks/
Impressions.
5. Add filters or date selector if needed. Style it nicely (add a title, maybe some color).

6. Use the data: see if one campaign clearly has a lower CPA than others, or if weekends perform
differently than weekdays, etc. These insights mimic what you'd do for a real client.

7. Analyze & Document: Write a short analysis as if presenting to stakeholders: “Campaign A had a
CPA of $12, performing 20% better than Campaign B’s CPA of $15, likely due to a higher conversion
rate (5% vs 3%). Overall, 10k clicks resulted in 300 conversions (3% conversion rate). Conversions
dipped during weekends (see trendline) perhaps indicating our audience is less active or converting
on those days – an opportunity to adjust bidding by day-of-week. We spent $50k to generate $??
revenue (if we had revenue data, we’d compute ROAS). Recommendation: reallocate budget from
Campaign B to A, and investigate improving Campaign B’s landing page to boost conversion rate.” –
By crafting such a narrative around your findings, you practice the consultative aspect.

Even if an interviewer doesn’t ask about a specific project, you can bring it up to demonstrate skills: “In
preparation for this role, I undertook a project where I simulated campaign data, imported it into BigQuery,
ran SQL analyses and built a Looker Studio dashboard. One insight I found was the importance of
calculating CPA correctly – I ensured my SQL logic matched how Google Ads calculates it by summing cost
and conversions at the right levels. It taught me how to verify data and present it meaningfully. I believe I
can apply the same rigor to clients’ data at Google.”

Project 2: Automating a Simple Task with Python (Google Ads API or Data Fetch)

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Objective: Use Python to access an API or dataset related to ads, process the data, and output something
useful (could be a report or an alert).

Scenario: A common TAM/Solutions Architect task might be retrieving data via an API. If you have a Google
Ads account with developer access, you could try the Google Ads API, but that’s quite complex to set up for
a beginner. Instead, maybe use a simpler readily available API or data source relevant to marketing.

One idea: Use the Google Analytics Reporting API or GA4 API (if you have GA data) to fetch some metrics
via Python. Alternatively, use the Twitter API to get some basic ad or trend data, or a public source like
StackExchange’s API to find how many questions on “Google Ads” were asked (random but shows data
ability).

For illustration, let’s pick a simpler route: Suppose we want to know if our campaign’s daily clicks exceed a
certain threshold and if so, raise a flag. We can simulate input data as a JSON or CSV as well.

Steps:

1. Set up Python environment: Ensure you have pandas installed and maybe requests if calling
an API. (In a Jupyter notebook or script).

2. (If using an API): For example, if using a Google API, you’d need credentials. That might be too
heavy. Instead, maybe use a simpler publicly open API. Another idea: use Google Sheets as a
“pseudo-API.” For instance, you can publish a Google Sheet of sample data to CSV and fetch it via
URL.

Or use an open dataset API like the Advertising spending data from a site like Statista (though they often
need keys). If not, let’s not get stuck – assume data is in a file.

1. Data Input: Use Python to load data. If you created a CSV in Project 1, reuse that (read it with
pandas). Or if API, use requests.get() to fetch and then pandas to parse JSON or CSV.

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('campaign_performance.csv')

1. Processing: For instance, add a new column for CTR or CPA in the DataFrame (pandas can do this
easily: df['CTR'] = df['Clicks']/df['Impressions'] ). Maybe filter data: Find any day
where clicks >, say, 500 and conversion rate < 2% (meaning high traffic but low performance day –
could indicate an issue).

alert_days = df[(df['Clicks'] > 500) & ((df['Conversions']/

df['Clicks']*100) < 2)]

If any such days, we’ll flag them.

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 2. Output: Print out or save the alert days:

if not alert_days.empty:
print("Alert: Some days have high clicks but low conversion rate:")
print(alert_days[['Date','Campaign','Clicks','Conversions']])
else:
print("No alert conditions met.")

Or perhaps summarize by campaign and output a small CSV or JSON file with KPIs by campaign:

summary =
df.groupby('Campaign').agg({'Impressions':'sum','Clicks':'sum','Conversions':'sum','Cost':'s
summary['CPA'] = summary['Cost']/summary['Conversions']
summary.to_csv('campaign_summary.csv', index=False)

Now you have an automated summary.

3. Extend (Optional): If you want to simulate an API call, you could do something like call a URL
shortener API or similar trivial action just to show you can connect to external services. But not
necessary.

4. Document your code and results: Write what the script does in plain English. For example: “This
Python script reads raw campaign data, calculates key metrics, and identifies anomalies (days with
unusually low conversion rate given high clicks). It then outputs a summary CSV for easy viewing. In
a real-world scenario, such a script could be scheduled daily to alert the team of potential tracking
issues or campaign fatigue.”

Project 3 (Mini): Translate Client Requirements into a Technical Design

This is not coding, but an architectural exercise:

Scenario: A client says: “We want to see the full customer journey from ad click to purchase, including what
pages they visited in between, and we want to store this data for long-term analysis. We also want to
include offline sales (like phone orders) into our Google Ads conversion tracking.”

Your Task: Design a solution outline for them.

Steps to Outline:

• Use GA4 to track page visits and set up User-ID if possible for cross-device tracking.
• Link GA4 with Google Ads to import conversions and audiences.
• Implement offline conversion import: e.g., when a phone order happens, the sales agent asks for
maybe the user’s email, you match it to a click via GCLID or by a Customer Match (if not possible,
perhaps just upload offline conversions daily via the Google Ads API matching on GCLID from when
user called by referencing promo codes, etc.).

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 • Store all data: Use BigQuery (connected to GA4, which automatically logs events there). Also, log
phone orders in a database that you can join with GCLIDs (maybe pushing those offline conversions
to BigQuery too).
• For analysis: use BigQuery SQL to join GA4 path data with Google Ads data or use a tool like Looker
to model funnel paths.
• Suggest using Google Cloud solutions if needed (Cloud Functions to automate the daily upload of
offline data to Google Ads, Cloud Scheduler to trigger it).
• Present this in a brief architecture diagram with components: Google Ads, GA4, Cloud Function (for
offline upload), BigQuery (central warehouse), Looker Studio for reporting.

This exercise forces you to apply knowledge of multiple systems in concert.

How to use in interview: If asked a broad question like “How would you approach solving [some complex
goal] for a client?”, you can recall this kind of design. Or you proactively bring it up when discussing your
ability to translate requirements to solutions: “For instance, I thought of how I would integrate offline sales
into online metrics using Google’s tools – my solution involved GA4, offline conversion imports via the Ads
API, and a BigQuery pipeline. I can walk you through it if you like…” – this shows initiative and depth.

Worksheet – Projects Reflection:

• After doing a project, write a short “post-mortem”: What did you learn? What was challenging? How
would this apply to a real job? (e.g., “I learned how to optimize a BigQuery query to reduce data
scanned by only selecting necessary columns, which is analogous to being cost-conscious when
running analyses at scale – a mindset I’d carry as a TAM working with big data.”)
• Prepare to show your work: if interviews are remote and you have a chance, you might show a
snippet of code or a screenshot of your dashboard to an interviewer. Even if not, having them
accessible for reference is good. Imagine an interviewer saying “Have you used Looker Studio?” –
you can respond, “Yes, in fact, I built a dashboard to track sample campaign data” and describe it.
That paints a vivid picture versus a simple “yeah a little.”
• Think of extensions to your projects: If you had more time or resources, what would you do next?
(like hooking up a live API to your BigQuery instead of a static CSV, or incorporating a predictive
model in analysis). Mentioning those ideas demonstrates a proactive mindset and deeper interest.
• Finally, ensure you can explain your projects to a non-technical person as well – a valuable skill.
Practice explaining your BigQuery dashboard project as if to a marketing manager: focus on
insights, not the code. Then practice explaining it to a data engineer: focus on the tech stack and
queries. Both angles could come up in interviews (they might have a mix of people talk to you).

By engaging in these projects, you’ll gain confidence and concrete experiences to discuss – making your
preparation much more tangible than only theoretical knowledge.

Coding and Data Analysis Exercises for Advertising Scenarios

To further sharpen your technical problem-solving, here are some exercises that mimic the kind of analytic
or coding challenges you might encounter, either on the job or even in interviews. Sometimes Google might
give a mini-case or a data-related question in semi-technical interviews (not as heavy as a software engineer
interview, but to test your analytical thinking). Practice these to be ready.

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SQL Exercises:

1. Conversion Rate Query: You have a database table ad_clicks with columns: user_id,
click_date, campaign_id , and another table purchases with columns: user_id,
purchase_date, revenue . Write an SQL query to find the conversion rate (percentage of users
who clicked and then made a purchase) for each campaign_id.

Solution outline: You’d need to find how many unique users clicked per campaign vs how many of those
unique users purchased. One way:

SELECT
c.campaign_id,
COUNT(DISTINCT c.user_id) AS users_clicked,
COUNT(DISTINCT p.user_id) AS users_purchased,
(COUNT(DISTINCT p.user_id) * 1.0 / COUNT(DISTINCT c.user_id)) * 100 AS
conversion_rate_percent
FROM ad_clicks c
LEFT JOIN purchases p
ON c.user_id = p.user_id
AND p.purchase_date > c.click_date
GROUP BY c.campaign_id;

(This assumes if a user purchased after a click any time later, we count it. In reality might need a timeframe,
but that’s detail.)

This tests ability to use COUNT(DISTINCT) and join logic with potential date condition. In an interview,
they might simplify by saying assume one click per user or something.

1. ROAS Calculation: Given a table campaign_stats with columns campaign, spend, revenue
(already aggregated), how to calculate ROAS for campaigns with at least $1000 revenue.

Solution:

SELECT campaign,
revenue/spend AS ROAS
FROM campaign_stats
WHERE revenue >= 1000;

Pretty straightforward. Or if want in percentage: (revenue-spend)/spend*100 as ROI%.

1. Multi-touch Attribution Simplified: Suppose you have a table touchpoints with columns
user_id, campaign, touch_order (where touch_order=1 is first touch, 2 is second, etc., and
the last touch has a special flag or highest number). And another table conversions with
user_id, conversion=1 . Write a query to count how many conversions each campaign
influenced as first touch and as last touch.

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This one’s trickier. Essentially: - First touch attribution: count conversions where that campaign was
touch_order=1. - Last touch: count conversions where that campaign was the maximum touch_order for
that user. Could be done with self-join or window functions. For simplicity, assume we mark last touch by a
column is_last_touch :

SELECT
campaign,
SUM(CASE WHEN touch_order=1 AND conv.conversion=1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS
first_touch_conversions,
SUM(CASE WHEN t.is_last_touch=1 AND conv.conversion=1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS
last_touch_conversions
FROM touchpoints t
JOIN conversions conv ON t.user_id = conv.user_id
GROUP BY campaign;

This is advanced, demonstrating knowledge of case expressions and logic. Unlikely asked explicitly unless
role is very analytic heavy, but good brain exercise.

Python Exercises:

1. Basic Data Aggregation: Given a list of daily spend: spend = [100, 150, 120, 130, ...] for
30 days, and a parallel list of daily conversions conversions = [4, 5, 3, 4, ...] , write a
Python snippet to calculate total spend, total conversions, and overall CPA.

Solution:

total_spend = sum(spend)
total_conversions = sum(conversions)
overall_cpa = total_spend / total_conversions if total_conversions else None
print(total_spend, total_conversions, overall_cpa)

Straightforward use of Python built-ins.

1. API Pseudo-code: Describe how you would use Python to fetch data from Google Ads API (no need
for actual code syntax correctness).

Answer outline: “I would use Google Ads API client libraries. First, set up credentials (OAuth or service
account). Then use the GoogleAdsClient in Python to issue a GAQL query (Google Ads Query Language) or
use the Search method. For example, query = ‘SELECT campaign.name, metrics.clicks, metrics.conversions
FROM campaign WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS’. Execute that via client.search() and iterate
over results to accumulate or print them. I’d handle authentication tokens and refresh them as needed.
Finally, I might output results to a CSV or DataFrame for analysis.”

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This is more conceptual unless you’ve actually tried it. But sometimes they might ask how you generally
fetch from an API – key is to mention auth, endpoint, parsing JSON, etc.

1. Data Cleaning: Suppose you have a list of search query strings from a search terms report, and
some have leading/trailing spaces and different cases. Write Python code to normalize them (trim
spaces and lowercase everything).

Solution:

queries = [" Buy Shoes ", "buy shoes", "Buy Shoes", "Sandals ", " boots"]
normalized = [q.strip().lower() for q in queries]
# normalized would be ["buy shoes", "buy shoes", "buy shoes", "sandals",
"boots"]
print(normalized)

This shows use of string methods and list comprehensions – demonstrates clean coding.

Data Interpretation/Business Logic Exercises:

1. Analyze An A/B Test: “You ran a controlled experiment on ad creatives: Creative A got 100,000
impressions, 5,000 clicks, 500 conversions. Creative B got 100,000 impressions, 4,500 clicks, 480
conversions. How do you interpret the results? Are they statistically different?”

Discussion: CTR A = 5%, CTR B = 4.5%. Conv Rate A = 10% (500/5000), B = 10.67% (480/4500). So A had slightly
higher CTR, B had slightly higher conv rate. Conversion count difference is small (500 vs 480). Without
formal stats, likely not a significant difference given similar scale. So probably the creatives perform
similarly, maybe A edges out in clicks, B in conversion rate, net conversions almost equal. One might say it’s
a wash or do a chi-square test to be sure. This question tests understanding of significance and that small
differences might not be meaningful.

1. Budget Allocation: “If you have an extra \$10,000 to allocate to either Campaign X or Campaign Y
next month, how would you decide given their performance data (ROI, scale potential)?”

Approach: Check marginal performance – e.g., if X has better ROI or lower CPA, funding it more likely yields
better returns. But also consider diminishing returns – perhaps campaign Y targets a different audience or
is capped out. One could mention concept of efficiency vs volume trade-off. Ideally, invest where incremental
CPA will be lowest. Also consider other factors: campaign X might already saturate search queries, so extra
budget might overspend with fewer results, whereas campaign Y has room to grow. This isn’t a calculation
but an explanation – showing you can make data-driven but holistic decisions.

Preparing for Analytical Questions: Google’s semi-technical interviews might combine such things. They
might give a scenario and ask what data or metrics you’d look at, or ask you to interpret a small dataset.
They generally won’t expect you to do complex math on the spot beyond simple arithmetic or maybe
percentages.

However, demonstrating that you can logically break down a problem is key. If confronted with a question:
“Our client’s campaign suddenly had a drop in conversions yesterday, what could be the reasons and what would

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you check?”, structure your answer: - Check if drop is real (statistical fluctuation or tracking issue). - Potential
reasons: budget ran out, site issues (maybe checkout broken), conversion tracking tag malfunction, external
factors (holiday ended). - What to check: metrics funnel (impressions -> clicks -> conv, see where drop
happened), test conversion pixel manually, see if similar drop across all channels or just one. - This isn’t
coding or math, but analytical thinking in a technical context.

Worksheet – Self-Test Q&A:

• Take each of the exercises above and try to solve them without looking at answers. For SQL, maybe
write the query and explain it aloud. For Python, write on paper or simple editor (run if possible to
verify). For scenario questions, speak your answer as if in an interview, aiming for 2-3 minutes
structured explanation.
• If you stumble, note where. For SQL, was it join logic? For Python, was it a loop or library usage?
Brush up those areas specifically (quick tutorial or cheat sheet review).
• Time yourself on one or two problems. Google interviews are timed – see if you can articulate a
solution approach to an analytical problem in, say, 5 minutes or less (for a medium complexity
scenario). If you’re too wordy, practice succinctness; if you’re too terse, practice adding structure and
clarity.
• Have someone with a bit of knowledge (if available) listen to a technical explanation you give (e.g.,
explain what a SQL JOIN is and why it’s needed in a campaign analysis scenario) and ask them if it
made sense even if they aren’t deep in it. This helps ensure you are explaining clearly – a critical skill
for TAMs who often explain technical stuff to non-tech clients.
• Use resources like LeetCode (easy level) for SQL or simple coding if you want extra practice beyond
marketing context. There are a few SQL practice questions on sites like Mode Analytics SQL tutorial,
etc., with data sets. Even if not marketing-specific, the practice of querying and coding under time
pressure will make you more comfortable.

By doing these exercises, you not only prepare for possible interview questions, but you’ll also find you
perform better on the job (since these roles will have you doing similar tasks). Over-practice is rarely wasted
effort here.

How to Translate Client-Facing Experience into Technical Fluency

One challenge for professionals moving from a purely non-technical background (like account
management, sales, marketing) into semi-technical roles is convincing the interviewer (and oneself) that
you can handle the technical components. The good news is your client-facing experience is incredibly
valuable – you just need to reframe and supplement it to show technical fluency. Here’s how to translate
what you already know into the technical domain, and highlight transferable skills:

1. Identify the technical aspects of your current/previous work: Even if your job title wasn’t technical,
you likely dealt with technology regularly. Make a list of tools and processes you used: - Did you use Excel to
do VLOOKUPs or pivot tables for reporting? That’s analytical thinking and can segue into describing how
you’d use databases or more advanced tools for bigger data 6 . - Did you coordinate with a web developer
to implement a conversion pixel or troubleshoot an analytics issue? That shows you understand the basics
of web tracking and can work with technical people – a TAM skill. - Did you automate a repetitive task, even
if it’s just a complex Excel macro or using a marketing automation software feature? That’s essentially
demonstrating an inclination to streamline via tech. - Did you heavily use any platform (Google Ads UI,

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Salesforce CRM, etc.)? Deep functional knowledge of a platform is a great base to then learn its technical
underpinnings (like APIs or data schema). - Have you read data insights or charts to make decisions? That
means you understand data relationships, which is crucial for technical analysis.

Write down these instances as mini-stories. For example: “I noticed our Google Ads conversion numbers
didn’t match our internal sales, so I worked with the dev team to find that the tracking tag was firing twice –
I learned to read the source code of our site enough to identify two tags. We removed one and solved the
discrepancy.” This story, which might seem small, actually screams “analytical, technically curious, problem-
solver” – qualities a TAM or Solutions Architect needs. And it shows you can pick up tech details (reading
source code in this case).

2. Leverage familiarity with data-driven decisions: If you have experience using data to persuade clients
(like presenting campaign reports, A/B test results), that’s something to emphasize. It shows you won’t be
lost in data. Now you just extend that by saying you’re learning the tools to generate those insights yourself
rather than relying on an analyst. For instance, you might say: “In my last role, I often analyzed campaign
performance to advise my clients – I would export data from Google Ads and manually segment it to find
trends. I’m now learning SQL to do that on larger datasets more efficiently. The logic I applied remains the
same, just the method is more advanced.”

3. Highlight quick-learning instances: Technical roles evolve; showing you can learn on the fly is crucial.
Provide examples: “When my client adopted a new DSP, I volunteered to ramp up on it quickly and within a
month became the internal resource for questions on it.” This indicates you can similarly pick up Google’s
internal tools or scripting languages as needed 42 .

4. Use the language of technology in context: When talking about your past work, infuse relevant
technical terms appropriately (not forced). For example, instead of “I looked at the website data,” say “I
analyzed Google Analytics data (GA4) to understand user behavior.” Instead of “We uploaded customer
emails for targeting,” say “We leveraged Customer Match by uploading hashed emails to Google Ads.” By
incorporating these terms, you signal fluency. However, be ready to explain them if asked (so don’t just
buzzword drop without understanding). If you mention “I used APIs from our email platform to sync data,”
be prepared for “Oh, what’s an API in your understanding?” – then you’d say “an API is a set of protocols for
software to communicate; in this case it allowed us to automatically transfer data without manual
downloads.”

5. Bridge client needs to technical solutions in examples: A TAM or Architect often hears a client problem
and thinks of a tech solution. Practice this translation using your experience: - Client need: “We want to
measure X” → Technical solution: implement a certain tag or tool. - Client complaint: “Our data is siloed” →
Solution: integrate data sources in a warehouse like BigQuery, establish a dashboard, etc. - For instance,
maybe a client once said, “We can’t tell if our Facebook ads or Google ads drive more LTV (lifetime value).” In
your account manager capacity, maybe you couldn’t fully solve it then. But now, as a solution architect,
you’d propose “Let's consolidate the data in one place and create a unified customer ID to track across
channels, then compare downstream metrics.” Explain how you would approach it now with more tech.

6. Emphasize communication skills – a two-way street: In semi-technical roles, you’ll talk to engineers
and to clients. Your background likely means you’re good at client communication. Stress that: “I can speak
the language of marketers and executives, which is crucial to ensure technical solutions actually address
the right problem and are adopted. With my growing technical skills, I can also effectively communicate

46
requirements to engineering teams – essentially I can translate between the two worlds.” This is often more
important than deep coding skills, and Google knows that. They often hire people who can learn the tech
but can’t teach communication – you already have the latter.

7. Showcase any personal technical projects or training: If you’ve done the projects in the previous
section or taken courses, mention them as proof of proactiveness. E.g., “Beyond my work experience, I’ve
been hands-on: I completed Google’s Analytics certification and built a personal marketing dashboard using
real data to ensure I’m comfortable with BigQuery and Looker Studio.” This shows you’ve taken initiative to
grow those skills, which builds confidence that you’ll climb any remaining learning curves quickly.

8. Mindset: problem-solving and curiosity: Many technical roles care about how you approach unfamiliar
problems. As someone from account management, you might not have coded a solution from scratch, but
you have solved problems—often under ambiguous circumstances with clients. Emphasize your approach:
“When faced with a challenge I haven’t seen, I break it down, research solutions (I’m not afraid to consult
documentation or colleagues), and experiment until I resolve it. For example, when a client’s conversion
counts were off, I taught myself how to use the Google Tag Assistant tool and read up on common tagging
issues to diagnose the problem.” This indicates you have the self-sufficiency and resourcefulness a technical
role demands, even if you haven’t known everything upfront.

9. Relate specific client stories to technical improvements: Perhaps you can reframe a client success
story to have a technical angle. If you helped increase a client’s ROI by reallocating budget, that’s strategic;
add a tech flair by mentioning you used a tool or did a detailed analysis (even if it was Excel) to figure that
out. Or if you implemented a new process (like automated reporting), highlight the automation aspect –
that’s essentially implementing a technical efficiency.

10. Addressing weaknesses honestly: If there’s an area you lack (say, coding experience), it’s okay to
acknowledge it but spin it as actively improving. “I haven’t worked as a software developer, but I’ve been
teaching myself Python and have automated small tasks. I’m confident that my familiarity with scripting and
my ability to learn on the job will allow me to pick up any deeper coding required. In fact, in my current role,
no one asked me to script, but I still did [X] out of passion for efficiency.” That last line turns a weakness into
an example of initiative.

Simulated Example Translation: Let’s say as an Account Manager you often created slide decks of
campaign performance for quarterly reviews. This seems purely client-facing. But translate it: - Technical
translation: You had to gather data from multiple sources (Ads, Analytics), likely clean and combine them
(data manipulation), analyze trends (analytical thinking), then visualize them (data visualization) for the
client. - How to express: “I routinely performed data consolidation and visualization – essentially an ETL
(extract, transform, load) albeit manually: pulling from Google Ads and Analytics, transforming it in Excel
(sometimes writing complex formulas to clean data), and visualizing insights in a clear format. I’m excited to
apply more automated and scalable approaches to this, such as using BigQuery for data combination and
Looker Studio for live dashboards, which I’ve been learning. The core skill – deriving insight from data – I
already have; now I’m enhancing the technical means to do it faster and on a larger scale.”

Worksheet – Reframing Your Experience:

• Take 3 items from your resume (work achievements) that sound non-technical. For each, write two
versions: the original description and a tech-translated description. Example: Original: “Led marketing

47
 strategy resulting in 15% ROI improvement.” Tech translation: “Analyzed multi-channel campaign
data and identified optimization opportunities, leading to a 15% improvement in ROI. (Analysis
involved deep dives into Google Ads and Analytics data sets, segmentation, and iterative testing).”
This way, when discussing it, you naturally mention the analysis tools/techniques, not just the result.
• For each technical requirement in the job description that you haven’t formally done in a job, find
something roughly analogous in your past. Write it down as “I haven’t done X, but I have done Y
which is similar in these ways…”. This prepares you to answer “Have you done [some technical task]
before?” confidently. E.g., “Have I built a SQL database? Not exactly, but I have managed large
datasets in Excel with relational lookups, and recently I created a simple relational database for
practice. I understand the principles of data normalization and I’m eager to implement them in SQL.”
• Practice an interview question where you explicitly address coming from a non-technical
background. For instance, “You’ve been an account manager – this role requires a lot of technical
work. How will you cope?” Formulate an answer that highlights your proven ability to learn, your
existing relevant skills, and maybe an example of a technical thing you’ve already tackled as
evidence. Get comfortable with this question; it’s likely to be asked directly or indirectly.
• Think of a scenario in your past where communication between a technical person and a non-
technical person was critical (maybe you between a client and a developer). Write how you handled it
and what the outcome was. This story can demonstrate your bridging capability – a selling point for
TAM/Architect. For example: “Our web developer provided an analysis in very technical terms that
confused the client. I translated the key points into business implications and action items for the
client, ensuring alignment. Conversely, I conveyed the client’s non-technical requests (like ‘make the
site faster’) into specific technical requirements (‘reduce page load time by optimizing images and
code’). The project succeeded because of this mediation.”
• Reflect on your motivation to get more technical. Be ready to express why you’re doing this shift.
Perhaps: “I’ve always been curious about how things work under the hood. In many client meetings,
I found myself wanting to dive into the data and systems more deeply to answer their questions.
That drive led me to self-study technical skills, and now I’m excited to combine my client expertise
with technical know-how in a role like this.” Having a genuine narrative will assure interviewers that
you’re making this move for the right reasons and will stick with it.

By converting your client-side experience into a tech-fluent narrative, you will come across as a well-
rounded candidate who can handle both the people side and the tech side of advertising roles – which is
exactly what Google wants for these semi-technical positions 43 44 .

STAR Stories and Interview Prep for Semi-Technical Roles

Finally, let’s tailor your STAR stories and interview preparation specifically to the semi-technical context.
Many of the principles from the earlier STAR section apply, but here we emphasize technical problem-
solving and collaboration in your examples. Also, we cover some specific types of questions you might
encounter for TAM, Solutions Architect, or Product Specialist interviews at Google.

Technical STAR Stories: Aim to have a few stories that highlight: - Solving a technical problem or learning a
new technology. - Working with engineers or cross-functional teams on a technical initiative. - Making a
data-driven decision or analysis that had a positive outcome. - A time you had to explain a technical concept
to someone not technical (showing communication skill). - Handling a crisis or high-pressure technical issue
(since TAMs often are escalation points when things go wrong).

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Even if in your past roles these were minor, you can still use them. Or use examples from your self-driven
projects or learning (e.g., “I set up a website and dealt with a cybersecurity issue” – that’s a valid story if
framed right).

Example STAR for Technical Problem-Solving:

Question: “Tell me about a time you had to troubleshoot a complex problem under time pressure.”

• Situation: "In my role at XYZ Agency, during a critical end-of-quarter campaign for a client, our
conversion tracking suddenly showed a 0 conversion day, which was very unusual. This was 3 days
before the campaign end, and the client’s KPIs were on the line. I was the account lead, not a
developer, but it fell on me first to figure out what was wrong."
• Task: "I needed to identify whether the issue was with the tracking (technical problem) or if truly no
conversions happened (business problem), and resolve it quickly to ensure accurate reporting and
campaign optimization. Essentially, I had to troubleshoot a possible technical failure on a tight
deadline."
• Action: "I systematically approached the problem. First, I checked Google Analytics – it still showed
purchases happening, so conversions were occurring, just not being recorded in Google Ads. That
indicated a tracking break specific to Google Ads conversion tags. I contacted our web developer, but
they were in a different time zone and not immediately available. So, I took initiative: I used Google
Tag Assistant (a Chrome extension) to diagnose the site. In Tag Assistant, I ran through a test
purchase on the website. I noticed that the Google Ads conversion tag did not fire on the
confirmation page, while our Analytics tag did. This told me the issue: the Ads conversion snippet
was missing or broken. I pulled up the site’s source code via the browser developer tools, and indeed
I couldn't find the conversion JavaScript snippet. It had been there before. I quickly compared the
current source with an older backup (I actually had an archived copy of the page from a previous QA
– showing my thoroughness). It turned out a recent site update by the client’s web team accidentally
removed the Ads conversion tag. I wrote an urgent yet clear email to the client’s developer,
explaining exactly what code was missing and provided the correct snippet to put back (essentially
translating the tech issue to them clearly). Simultaneously, as a short-term patch, I set up a
temporary Google Tag Manager container and got the client to deploy it site-wide that day, which
allowed me to re-inject the conversion tag without waiting for a full site release."
• Result: "Within a few hours, we restored conversion tracking – the next test purchase reflected
properly in Google Ads. We recovered the missing data for the day by extrapolating from Analytics
(so reporting was nearly complete), and the campaign optimization algorithm resumed getting the
correct conversion feedback. The client was kept in the loop throughout, and they were impressed
that I could find and fix a technical issue so quickly despite that not being “officially” my role. The
campaign ended up hitting its conversion target for the quarter. This experience also taught me the
importance of basic coding knowledge and tools – which is one reason I’m pursuing a more technical
role now. I effectively bridged the gap between marketing and code under pressure."

This story shows technical sleuthing, use of tools, taking initiative beyond one’s typical duty, cross-team
communication (with developers and client), and achieving a result. It’s gold for TAM or Solutions Architect
demonstration because it shows many relevant skills: troubleshooting, technical knowledge (knowing what
a conversion tag is, using dev tools), client management.

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Other Potential STAR Themes:

• “Automation/Optimization you implemented”: E.g., you scripted or set up an automated report

(Action: learned a new tool, implemented it, Result: saved time and reduced errors).
• “Data-driven recommendation”: E.g., you used data analysis (maybe heavy Excel or an internal BI
tool) to change campaign strategy, which improved performance (Result with numbers).
• “Conflict between technical and business teams”: E.g., engineers wanted to implement
something one way, business wanted another timeline; you mediated a solution (shows you can
handle internal negotiation, set expectations).
• “Learning a new tech skill”: a story where you had to quickly upskill technically for a project. Show
how you approached learning (Google searching, asking colleagues, hands-on practice) and the
successful application of that skill.
• “Product issue and client impact”: if you ever dealt with a product outage or a software bug
affecting your client, explain how you liaised between client and product support, perhaps gathered
logs or evidence, communicated clearly, and followed through to resolution. Product Specialist
interviews love to see how you handle bugs or escalations.

Semi-Technical Interview Question Pointers:

• Expect some “role-related knowledge” (RRK) questions that are scenario-based. Google often has
RRK interviews for TAMs and similar. They might describe a client scenario and ask what you’d do.
• Example: “A client’s ad campaign suddenly drops in performance by 30%. Walk me through how you
would address this as their Technical Account Manager.” Here they want your troubleshooting
approach and how you involve teams.
• Use a structured answer: I'd first verify the data integrity (check multiple sources to ensure it's a real
drop), then check obvious causes (budget changes, site issues, conversion tracking issues).
Communicate with the client proactively that you're investigating. Pull in specialists if needed (e.g., if
suspect tracking, involve a product specialist). Propose interim mitigation (like switch to manual
bidding if automated bidding went haywire, etc.) – basically show both technical and client
management steps.
• Possible technical knowledge questions: not as deep as a coding interview, but e.g., “What is an
API and have you used one?” or “Explain to me how cookies work in the context of ad tracking.” For
these, study the basics: how does a browser cookie enable tracking a user; difference between first-
party and third-party cookie (given the deprecation context, TAMs should know that); what is an API
(a way for systems to talk via defined requests, often JSON data; mention an example like Google Ads
API or Twitter API).
• Behavioral with tech twist: e.g., “Tell me about a time you had to explain a technical concept to
someone without a technical background.” Have a STAR ready. Perhaps you explained how an
attribution model works to a marketing VP, or how machine learning optimizes bids to a client who
was skeptical. Situation, Task (they didn’t understand, you took it upon yourself), Action (the analogy
or method you used to make it clear, maybe visuals or analogies like explaining cookies as ‘name
tags’ etc.), Result (they got it and it smoothed decision-making or they approved your
recommendation).
• Product feedback or improvement question: Product Specialist roles often ask something like, “If
you were the product manager for Google Ads, what’s one feature you’d improve or add?” Prepare a
thoughtful answer. For example, “I’d enhance Google Ads reporting by allowing an easier multi-touch
attribution within the interface, because currently small businesses struggle to understand cross-
channel influence – maybe integrate simplified Google Analytics multi-channel funnels into Google

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 Ads.” Or something like that. The key is to show you understand current limitations and user
perspective.
• Questions on handling multiple responsibilities: TAMs handle multiple accounts, priorities. “How
do you prioritize when multiple clients have urgent issues at the same time?” – they want to see that
you can stay calm, assess severity (e.g., an issue impacting all campaigns vs a small question; a top
paying client vs a smaller one might get more attention, but also fairness), communicate expected
timelines, possibly delegate or escalate if needed. Use a scenario from your past where you had to
juggle things.
• Culture fit (Googleyness): Even in technical interviews, expect something like “Tell me about a time
you took initiative beyond your role” (we’ve covered some in examples), or “a time you failed and
learned from it.” For the latter in a technical context, maybe you at first deployed a wrong solution
that caused downtime, how you fixed it and learned to test more. Or a personal project that didn’t go
as planned but taught you a lot.

Interview Logistics for Technical Role: If the process includes a take-home task or a live case, be
prepared. Some TAM roles might give a packet of data or a scenario and ask for a brief plan or presentation.
If so, structure it as we practiced (clear slides, identification of problems, solutions). Solutions Architect roles
could include something like a system design lite: “Design a system to deliver personalized ads for an e-
commerce client – talk about data flow.” Use whiteboarding techniques or drawing boxes and arrows with
components (like we did in Platform Walkthrough).

Last Mile Tips:

• Brush up on any specific technology mentioned in the job description. If it says “experience with SQL
and one programming language,” ensure you can speak about the one you know (Python likely)
comfortably.
• If your background lacks something like cloud computing, at least know the basics of cloud vs on-
prem, and why big data needs cloud tools.
• Prepare a question for them that’s semi-technical: for example, ask the interviewer “What’s the most
challenging technical problem your team faced recently?” This both shows interest and might give
you insight to respond to or have a conversation about. Or ask, “How much time does this role
spend hands-on with coding or querying versus client meetings? I’m asking to understand the
balance so I can hit the ground running.” It shows you are already imagining yourself in the role and
thinking ahead.

Worksheet – Mock Technical Interview:

• Write down 5 potential technical or scenario questions you could be asked (some examples given
above). For each, bullet the key points you’d cover in your answer.
• If you can, simulate a mock interview specifically for technical content. Have a friend ask you:
“Explain [some concept] to me” or throw an troubleshooting scenario and see how you talk through
it. Get feedback if you were logically coherent and sufficiently detailed.
• Ensure all your STAR stories (at least 4-5) have a technical or analytical element. If one doesn’t, see if
you can sprinkle one in (maybe mention the data you used or the tool that was crucial, even if the
main story is leadership or something).
• Re-read the job posting and identify any acronym or term you are not 100% on. Look it up now. If
TAM role mentions “TCP/IP or HTTP” – maybe rare, but if it does, recall basics of how the web works
(requests, responses). If Product Specialist role mentions “machine learning”, ensure you know at a

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 high level how ML is used in Google Ads (Quality Score, Smart Bidding) so you could speak to it if
needed.
• Practice writing code on a whiteboard or paper (for Python or SQL) just once or twice. Sometimes in
interviews you won’t have an IDE. It’s different writing without auto-complete – practicing ensures
you can do it and talk while writing, which may be needed if you get a simple coding prompt.

By thoroughly preparing in this manner, you will enter your Google interviews with confidence in both your
people skills and your tech skills. You’ll be able to demonstrate that rare combination of client empathy
and technical proficiency, which is exactly what these roles require 43 45 .

Conclusion
Landing a non-technical or semi-technical advertising role at Google is an ambitious goal – but with the
detailed preparation outlined in this guide, you will be well-equipped to pursue it. We covered a vast array
of topics:

• How to craft resumes and cover letters tailored to roles like Account Strategist, Ads Solutions
Consultant, and Customer Success Manager, ensuring you highlight relevant achievements with
quantifiable impact and alignment to Google’s mission 12 6 .
• Mastering behavioral interviews using the STAR method 14 , with real examples drawn from
advertising scenarios so you can confidently demonstrate your problem-solving, leadership, and
adaptability.
• Deep-dives into the responsibilities and growth paths of key roles, helping you articulate not just
why you’re a fit now, but how you plan to evolve in your career at Google. This insight allows you to
answer “Where do you see yourself…” and similar questions with credibility.
• A comprehensive skills matrix for digital advertising tools and platforms, from Google Ads to DV360
and beyond, so you know what knowledge to emphasize or acquire. In particular, understanding
how Google’s own tools interrelate (GMP, Google Cloud) gives you an edge in both interviews and
eventual job performance 18 20 .
• Guidance on obtaining Google certifications and leveraging Skillshop 25 – a clear way to boost your
expertise and prove your commitment to learning. You now have a roadmap for which certifications
to tackle and in what order, turning you into a certified specialist by the time you interview.
• Realistic project exercises that simulate tasks you’d encounter in technical roles: writing SQL queries,
building dashboards, using Python for data tasks. Completing these doesn’t just upgrade your
resume – it fundamentally changes your mindset to think more like a technical consultant. You’ll be
able to draw on these project experiences in interviews, which is far more compelling than
hypotheticals.
• Tips on how to translate and present your past experience in a new light – highlighting the technical
elements and learning agility so that hiring managers see you as a well-rounded candidate. You’ve
reframed your accomplishments to emphasize data and technology alongside client success, which
is exactly what Google seeks in these hybrid roles.
• And finally, targeted interview preparation for semi-technical roles: anticipating scenario questions,
practicing technical explanations for a lay audience, and preparing stories that convey both your
technical troubleshooting and your communication prowess. You have a strategy to address any
concerns about your background by showcasing concrete steps you’ve taken to grow your technical
skills, aligning with Google’s values of curiosity and continuous improvement.

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Throughout this guide, we stressed the importance of authoritative resources and current best practices. By
citing Google’s own documentation and expert insights, we ensured the advice is aligned with what
Googlers themselves recommend 12 6 . This not only enriched your knowledge but also gave you
references you can mention (e.g., “As recommended by Google’s XYZ guide, I used the XYZ formula in my
resume” – subtly shows you did your homework).

Next Steps: As you finish reviewing this guide, consolidate a plan: - Set aside time on your calendar for each
certification, each project, and each segment of interview prep. Treat it like a course syllabus leading up to
your application/interviews. - Continue to stay updated. Subscribe to “Think with Google” for marketing
insights or Google Cloud blog for technical updates, so you can drop a relevant point in conversation like, “I
noticed Google’s recent announcement about first-party data solutions in Ads, which I think is relevant to
customer X’s challenges.” It shows you’re already thinking like a Googler, staying ahead of industry shifts. -
Leverage the worksheets at the end of each chapter. They are there to transform passive reading into active
doing. By completing them, you’ll gain confidence and identify any weak points to address before the real
test. - Perhaps most importantly, practice, practice, practice – especially for interviews. The more mock
interviews (even if informal with a friend or recording yourself) you do, the more fluent you’ll become in
telling your story and answering questions under pressure. Google’s interviews can be challenging, but they
are often fair and aligned with what you’ve prepared for. You might even find yourself enjoying the process
of solving problems and talking about your passion for advertising and technology.

Remember that Google values not just what you know, but how you think and learn. Your background in
account management and programmatic trading is an asset – you understand advertisers’ needs deeply. By
layering on technical skills and demonstrating an analytical mindset, you’re positioning yourself as a unique
candidate who can bridge the gap between clients and code, between business goals and technical
implementation 43 .

Finally, maintain a growth mindset throughout. If there’s a question you can’t answer immediately, show
how you’d figure it out. If there’s a skill you don’t have yet, express your excitement to learn it (and maybe
steps you’re already taking). Google’s culture prizes those who are proactive learners and problem solvers.
In fact, many successful Google TAMs or strategists started with one specialty and picked up others on the
job – the key was showing the potential and drive to do so.

By following this guide and fully engaging with each part, you are essentially crafting your own 1000-page
success story, one where you are the protagonist who invests the time and effort to transform and rise to
the challenge. Visualize yourself getting that offer letter from Google – the preparation you do now is what
will make that vision a reality. Good luck, and go land that dream role!

Worksheet – Final Checklist:

• Resume updated with quantifiable achievements, keywords for each target role, proofread and
tailored.
• Cover letter drafted (if needed) telling a compelling story of why Google and why you fit –
reviewed against tips provided.
• STAR stories (at least 6-8) written out in bullet form, covering a range of competencies (leadership,
problem-solving, technical troubleshoot, client management, failure).
• Mock interviews practiced – both behavioral and scenario-based – ideally with feedback.

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 • Certifications earned or scheduled – Google Ads (key ones), GA4, etc., printed out or badges on
LinkedIn.
• Skill drills done – e.g., wrote 3 SQL queries from scratch, built 1 dashboard, wrote 1 Python script
(even small).
• Research on Google – know Google’s products, recent news in the ads space (privacy changes, AI
in ads, etc.), and Google’s leadership principles (like “focus on the user”, “10x thinking”) to weave into
answers.
• Questions to ask the interviewer prepared – thoughtful ones that show you’re picturing yourself
in the role and care about making an impact.
• Logistics – professional attire or setup if video call, backup internet plan, documents ready, etc., so
you can focus on content not technical hiccups.

By ticking off each item, you ensure there are no surprises – just a confident you showcasing your best self.

Now, step into the process with optimism and determination. You’ve done the deep work (few candidates
do!). Trust in your preparation, be authentic, and let your passion for advertising and technology shine
through.

You’ve got this – your Google journey awaits.

1 Account Strategist, Engage, Google Customer Solutions at Google in New York, New York, United States
| 2 Years + Experience
https://outscal.com/job/account-strategist-engage-google-customer-solutions-at-google-in-new-york-new-york-united-states-4

2 17 26 36Advertising Solutions Consultant, Google (exp. with Google Apps/Produc on

42 43

www.freelancermap.com
https://www.freelancermap.com/project/advertising-solutions-consultant-google-exp-with-google-apps-produc

3 20 32 44 45 Customer Success Manager, Google Marketing Platform, Agency @ Google

https://www.tealhq.com/job/customer-success-manager-google-marketing-platform-agency_7c24fe0d-
f8be-4a61-8537-87141f3d71f2

4 5 6 7 8 9Google Recruiters Say Using the X-Y-Z Formula on Your Resume Will Improve
10 11

Your Odds of Getting Hired at Google

https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/google-recruiters-say-these-5-resume-tips-including-x-y-z-formula-will-improve-your-odds-of-
getting-hired-at-google.html

12 Professional Google Cover Letter Examples and Template for 2025 | Enhancv
https://enhancv.com/cover-letter-examples/google/

13 14 15 27 30 Star Method Interview Questions & Tips to Ace Your Interview

https://www.betterup.com/blog/star-interview-method

16 Imagine a situation where you didn't meet your sales targets. What ...
https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Imagine-a-situation-where-you-didn%E2%80%99t-meet-your-sales-targets-What-steps-
would-you-take-to-improve-and-succeed-RRK-QTN_8006491.htm

18 19 21 24 30 31 CM360 vs DV360: Key Differences for Marketers [2025]

https://improvado.io/blog/cm360-vs-dv360

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22 Overview of Campaign Manager 360 - Campaign Manager 360 Help
https://support.google.com/campaignmanager/answer/2709362?hl=en

23 Google Ads & GA4 Conversions: Best Practices & Recommendations

https://adswerve.com/blog/google-ads-ga4-conversions-best-practices-recommendations

25 Best Google Ads Training Courses (Google Skillshop + 5 Others)

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/08/21/google-skillshop

28 [PDF] Inside Google Marketing

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/_qs/documents/10965/10_think-embedded-portrait-template.pdf

29 A framework to help guide marketing strategies - Think with Google

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/management-and-culture/now-next-later-framework/

33 Google TAM RRK 2 Interview : r/googlecloud - Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlecloud/comments/1135m05/google_tam_rrk_2_interview/

34 Eduard Sala Website

https://eduardsala.firebaseapp.com/

35 Policy Product Specialist, gTech Ads Customer Support

https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/86401821630702278-policy-product-specialist/

37 Analyze data with Looker Studio | BigQuery - Google Cloud

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/visualize-looker-studio

38 39 41 Integration with Campaign Manager 360 | Google Cloud Cortex Framework

https://cloud.google.com/cortex/docs/marketing-cm360

40 Looker Studio Report Gallery - Google

https://lookerstudio.google.com/gallery

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