How budgets work, what the Optimization Score actually means, and the reports that tell you where to act first — the exam questions and real-world context behind each answer.
Budget and optimisation decisions are where the day-to-day work of managing a Google Ads account actually happens. The exam tests this topic because understanding how Google allocates budget, what signals to act on, and which reports to use is what separates someone who just set up campaigns from someone who actively manages them. I check the Search Terms report and Optimization Score recommendations every single week across every account I manage — here's what the exam wants you to know about both, and everything in between.
This surprises a lot of advertisers who see daily spend exceeding their budget — the exam tests whether you understand it's by design.
Correct answer: B. To take advantage of higher traffic days while ensuring monthly spend never exceeds the monthly budget equivalent (daily budget × 30.4)
Google uses a system called overdelivery — on high-traffic days, it can spend up to 2x your daily budget to capture more opportunity, and on slow days it spends less. Over the course of a month, total spend won't exceed your daily budget multiplied by 30.4. I explain this to every new client upfront because the first thing they notice when checking daily spend is that it doesn't match the budget they set — and the last thing I want is a panic call about "overspending" that's actually just Google working as intended.
The Search Terms report is one of the most actionable reports in any Search campaign — the exam tests whether you understand what it does and why it matters.
Correct answer: B. It shows the actual search queries that triggered your ads, helping identify irrelevant queries to add as negative keywords and new keyword opportunities
The Search Terms report is my first stop in any weekly optimisation session. It shows exactly what people typed into Google before clicking your ad — which is often very different from the keywords you think you're targeting, especially with broad or phrase match. I mine it for two things: irrelevant queries to add as negatives, and high-performing queries that deserve their own exact match keywords. This report alone can reduce wasted spend and improve conversion rates significantly within the first few weeks of a campaign.
Optimization Score features prominently in the exam as Google's way of measuring account health and surfacing recommendations.
Correct answer: B. A score from 0–100% estimating how well the account is expected to perform based on applied recommendations
The Optimization Score sits in the Recommendations tab and gives each campaign and the overall account a score out of 100%, with specific recommendations showing how many points each action would add. I treat it as a useful starting point, not a mandate. Some recommendations I apply immediately — like adding missing assets or fixing disapproved ads. Others I dismiss because they don't suit the specific account strategy — like switching to broad match when I intentionally want tighter control. Dismissing a recommendation with a reason removes it from the score calculation, which is worth knowing for the exam.
Budget exhaustion is a common performance issue — the exam tests whether you know the right levers to pull.
Correct answer: B. Increase the daily budget, or use ad scheduling to focus spend on the highest-converting time windows
When a campaign consistently maxes out its daily budget early, you're leaving potential conversions on the table. The cleanest solution is to increase the budget if the campaign is profitable — if it's generating good ROAS, spending more is the obvious move. If budget is fixed, ad scheduling lets you concentrate spend during the hours that convert best and pull back during lower-intent windows. I use ad scheduling as a precision tool, not just a cost-saving measure — it's about making sure the budget reaches the right moments in the day.
This question tests whether you can match the right success metric to the right campaign objective.
Correct answer: C. Cost per conversion (CPA) and conversion rate
When the goal is profitable conversions — not just traffic volume — the metrics that matter are CPA (how much each conversion costs) and conversion rate (what percentage of clicks become conversions). High impressions and CTR mean nothing if the clicks don't convert. I set up custom columns for CPA and conversion rate on every campaign view and use these as my primary optimisation signals. A campaign with a 2% CTR and a 10% conversion rate will almost always outperform one with a 5% CTR and a 1% conversion rate.
Is your budget running out before the day ends, or are you unsure which optimisation recommendations to actually act on? These are the questions I work through in every account I manage.
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