The primary differences among Google's different certification programs are the technologies they tackle. Certification in deploying Google Apps for businesses and organizations focuses on the IT aspect of configuring computers and networking hardware to connect correctly. For marketing services such as Google's AdWords, the material focuses less on technical material. Rather, the emphasis is on the advertising concepts behind successful AdWords campaigns and mastering the software's interface to implement these concepts in a real campaign.
Much like academic courses, many Google certificates have prerequisites. Some of these are recommended by Google to help complete the course in a timely manner, while others are firm requirements that must be completed before the company awards your certification, even if you pass your exams. Informal requirements include completing lower-level Google certifications. Strict prerequisites include previous professional experience working with one of Google's products for a company. A Google representative contacts the company to verify that you have fulfilled the experience requirement.
Google's certificates encompass both individual certification, as well as broader institutional certifications. Individual certifications are useful for showing core competency with different Google technologies to prospective employers. Organizational certification combines requirements for having employees with individual certifications in a particular technology with experience requirements for performing certain jobs or running marketing campaigns that achieve particular performance benchmarks.
While Google sends you a physical certificate indicating your successful completion of a particular training program, it also maintains an online profile with badges for the different certifications you earn. This allows potential employers or clients to locate you as an individual with the skills they need or confirm the veracity of the certification you put on your resume. Additionally, companies that complete the requirements for organizational certification can get additional marketing placement from Google, training resources for new Google technologies and coupons for discounts on Google advertising services.