Amazon Ads certifications validate your knowledge and understanding of Amazon Ads products and solutions. They are earned through Amazon Ads Academy, the free learning platform that replaced the old learning console.
There are currently 11 certifications available, spanning beginner to advanced levels:
- Introduction to Amazon Ads Certification
- Sponsored Ads Certification
- Sponsored Ads Advanced Certification
- Amazon Ads Programmatic Solutions Certification (formerly Amazon DSP)
- Amazon Ads Programmatic Solutions Advanced Certification (formerly Amazon DSP Advanced)
- Amazon Video Ads Certification
- Amazon Marketing Cloud Certification
- Amazon Ads for Retail Certification
- Amazon Ads for Retail Advanced Certification
- Amazon Ads Campaign Planning Certification
- Twitch Ads Certification
Once you pass a certification assessment, you receive a digital badge and a downloadable PDF certificate, which makes you an accredited Amazon advertiser. They are great for self-assurance as well as an outward display to others of your knowledge and expertise.
One important change to be aware of: certifications now expire and need to be renewed. Each certificate shows an expiration date, and when it approaches you can get recertified by completing the required course modules and assessment again.
The certifications are free to take with an Amazon account. They are particularly beneficial for advertisers and agencies looking to learn everything they need about Amazon advertising.
At Clear Ads, we pride ourselves on having all our staff complete the certifications — even the content writers. It shows our clients that we know our stuff.
The Benefits of Becoming Certified
- Show your colleagues and clients your proficiency — add the digital badge to your LinkedIn profile or email signature. You can share badges directly to LinkedIn from your Amazon Ads Academy profile.
- Keep up to date — the certification content is refreshed regularly to match Amazon’s ever-changing ad products, so recertifying keeps your knowledge current.
- Add it to your CV — you can add the certifications to your resume, so potential employers can see you are proficient.
- Know how to advertise — they look good to others, but they are also genuinely useful. Learning how to advertise on Amazon is crucial for a successful campaign.
Amazon Ads Academy
You can access the certifications through Amazon Ads Academy. This replaced the older learning console and brings certifications, courses, and learning paths together in one place.
To take any course or assessment you need an Amazon account, but it is free to sign up and start. The ‘Get certified’ and ‘Start learning’ buttons will prompt you to log in or register when you begin.
The Academy is split into two areas of recognition. Certification badges are earned by passing product certification assessments, while learning path awards recognise completion of non-certification educational content. Courses are categorised by topic, and there is a search tool if you already know what you are looking for.
Amazon has made the Academy easy to use and appealing to the eye — they want as many advertisers as possible to complete the certifications. The catalogue has continued to expand across beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
How to Take the Assessment
Head to the ‘Get certified’ tab in Amazon Ads Academy, or use the search bar if you know the name of the certificate you need. You will need an Amazon account, just as you do for the courses.
After opening a certification, you will be encouraged to complete the modules first. The modules cover everything in the exam and are genuinely helpful, but you do not have to finish them all to gain your badge — you can jump straight to the assessment if you prefer.
Here is the biggest change from previous years: the assessment must now be completed in one sitting. Once you start, you cannot exit or pause — if you lose connection or close the window, your progress will not be saved and you will have to start over. Plan for roughly 60–90 minutes of uninterrupted time and make sure you have a stable internet connection before you begin.
You need a score of 80% or higher to pass. If you do not pass, you can retake the assessment after a 24-hour waiting period, and you can attempt it as many times as you need. The exams are multiple-choice, and your badge typically appears in your account within 24 hours of passing.
What Will Be on the Test?
Amazon is not trying to trick you. Every question has an answer found in the learning material. The specific content varies depending on which exam you are taking, but the material is all there to learn from.
You will find that even though some questions repeat, the exams differ each time, because Amazon assigns a set percentage of each exam to different sub-topics within the material. The variations are in the questions, but the topics stay the same.
At the end of the test you will be given a report showing your performance in each section. You can then return to the learning material and revisit the corresponding sections.
What Are The Test Rules?
Before starting, you will read a disclaimer that asks you to:
- Not get assistance from others.
- Not share, disclose, reproduce, copy, transmit, or make derivative works of assessment questions and responses, or any other Amazon Confidential Information.
The purpose is to ensure you complete the test without help and do not share the content. Beyond that, the main things to keep in mind are the single-sitting requirement, the time limit, and reading the questions carefully.
Tips For Passing
Top 5 Tips
- Revising is not a weakness: Many people go straight to the assessments without looking at the course material! The only way to get a good score is to know the content. I made notes for my exams, old school A-Level revision style.
- Be patient: You have 120 minutes for the exam, plenty of time, so slow down. Read through the questions calmly and carefully; there were times I rushed, failing to notice the question asked for two answers.
- Be strategic: You will be given an exam report at the end. Look at it and take note of which sections you were weakest.
- Switch it up: Completing more than one certification can be tiring, so switch it up a little. Try a different exam, or take a break and work on something else. Sometimes you need to step away to get out of the Amazon advertising brain fog.
- Get hands-on with your learning: People often learn differently, and seeing what you are learning can help someone understand and visualize it during the exams. You could even go onto Amazon and identify the different types of ads for yourself!
The 11 Amazon Ads Certifications
Introduction to Amazon Ads Certification
The Introduction to Amazon Ads Certification validates your general knowledge of Amazon Ads solutions. It is the ideal starting point for anyone new to Amazon advertising, covering the fundamentals of how Amazon Ads works before you move on to product-specific certifications. (Beginner — approx. 2h 45m)
Sponsored Ads Certification
The Sponsored Ads Certification validates your proficiency in Amazon’s sponsored ads solutions, including Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, with a focus on retail readiness, sponsored ads strategy, and campaign optimisation. It is ideally suited to advertisers and agency professionals who use sponsored ads through the advertising console or Seller Central. (Beginner — approx. 3h 50m)
Sponsored Ads Advanced Certification
The Sponsored Ads Advanced Certification validates your ability to run sponsored ads campaigns at scale, efficiently and effectively. It builds on the foundational Sponsored Ads Certification and is aimed at hands-on practitioners managing larger or more complex sponsored ads portfolios. (Advanced — approx. 4h 10m)
Amazon Ads Programmatic Solutions Certification
Formerly the Amazon DSP Certification, this validates your proficiency in Amazon’s programmatic advertising offerings. Covered topics include audience solutions, supply quality, campaign setup, supply management, ad policy compliance, and campaign performance optimisation. It is ideal for advertisers and agency professionals using Amazon DSP for their advertising needs. (Beginner)
Amazon Ads Programmatic Solutions Advanced Certification
Formerly the Amazon DSP Advanced Certification, this attests to your mastery of advanced programmatic solutions. Covered topics include bid strategies, pixels, audience targeting, third-party integrations, private marketplace deals, attribution modelling, and bulksheet management. It is tailor-made for advertisers and agency professionals proficient in using Amazon DSP for campaign creation and management. (Advanced)
Amazon Video Ads Certification
The Amazon Video Ads Certification validates your competence in Amazon’s video advertising offerings, covering video ad fundamentals, integrating video into your advertising portfolio, understanding video ad audiences, and video ad reporting and measurement. It suits advertising and marketing professionals in planning and strategy roles. Before starting, check the availability of video ad products in your specific location. (Beginner — approx. 3h 50m)
Amazon Marketing Cloud Certification
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a secure, cloud-based clean room solution that lets advertisers run analytics across pseudonymised signals, including Amazon Ads event tables and custom inputs. This certification validates your proficiency navigating the AMC interface and using event tables to craft queries and generate advanced performance reports. It is a role-based certification aimed at analytics practitioners who can write SQL-based queries — prior SQL familiarity is highly recommended. (Beginner — approx. 1h 15m)
Amazon Ads for Retail Certification
The Amazon Ads for Retail Certification validates your proficiency in Amazon retail programs. Key areas include distinguishing between selling partner types, understanding Amazon fulfilment solutions, learning retail concepts via Amazon.com selling, and mastering the essentials of Seller Central and Vendor Central. It is ideal for professionals overseeing ecommerce operations and advertising campaigns on behalf of Amazon selling partners. (Beginner — approx. 3h 45m)
Amazon Ads for Retail Advanced Certification
The Amazon Ads for Retail Advanced Certification validates your expertise in Amazon retail programs in the context of advertising strategy. Topics include optimising product detail pages for retail readiness, enhancing brand discoverability, expanding into international marketplaces, building customer loyalty through promotions, and using retail insights and analytics tools for planning. We recommend starting with the standard Amazon Ads for Retail Certification first. (Advanced — approx. 4h 50m)
Amazon Ads Campaign Planning Certification
The Amazon Ads Campaign Planning Certification validates your ability to strategically use Amazon Ads solutions — including sponsored ads, display, video, and custom solutions — to achieve campaign objectives using the Ads Planner. It is well-suited to advertising and marketing professionals in planning and strategy roles. (Beginner — approx. 4h 40m)
Twitch Ads Certification
The Twitch Ads Certification validates your proficiency in Twitch advertising offerings. Twitch is a leading live-streaming platform connecting millions of viewers daily. The curriculum covers understanding the dynamics of Twitch, elevating your advertising strategies, boosting brand growth, and achieving expertise on the platform. It is especially useful for advertisers running Twitch campaigns across its various ad products. (Beginner)
We are proud that all our account managers stay up to date with their Amazon certifications. As Amazon partners, we consistently stay informed on industry changes and Amazon updates — so you can rest easy knowing we are qualified Amazon advertisers.
To find out more about how we can help your business grow, feel free to request a callback today!
