The Salesforce Architect exams each come with a resource guide, which includes helpful links for each section of the exam. I have found those incredibly useful in my study. Resource guides don’t currently exist for the standard exams, so I have compiled content into a series of resource guides. This is the Pardot Specialist resource guide.
The Pardot Specialist certification focuses on a broad knowledge of the tools and features within the Pardot platform. There are 2 Pardot exams, the Specialist and the Consultant (covered here). The Consultant exam focuses more on implementation and best practices, while the Specialist exam focuses on the practical use of the Pardot platform. Specialist is geared towards end-users, Consultant is for implementation experts in a customer facing role.
Understanding the Tests
As I mentioned in a previous post, understanding the intention and structure of the exams is key to passing. Salesforce provides a study guide for every certification test. In those guides, they provide a breakdown of the different sections and their relative weight. Take note of those while studying.
Breakdown
| Topic | Weighting | # of Questions |
| Lead Management | 15% | 9 |
| Administration | 13% | 8 |
| Salesforce Integration | 13% | 8 |
| Visitors | 7% | 4 |
| Scoring | 7% | 4 |
| Email Marketing | 7% | 4 |
| Engagement Studio | 7% | 4 |
| Landing Pages | 7% | 4 |
| Social Marketing | 7% | 4 |
| Pardot Campaigns | 5% | 3 |
| Prospects | 3% | 2 |
| List Management | 3% | 2 |
| Security and Access | 3% | 2 |
| Pardot Forms | 3% | 2 |
As this is the Specialist exam, there are more sections, each with less weight. That means that for this exam, some practical experience is a must. It is very difficult to just study for this exam and pass without having some Pardot background. You must have at least a cursory knowledge of each area of the platform.
Under each topic in the study guide, there are bullet points that describe the information you need to know. For example, the ‘Engagement Studio’ section, the bullet points are:
- Identify the main components of an Engagement Program.
- Describe the process of updating Engagement Program assets.
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of the types of lists used within Engagement Programs.
Make sure you understand the intention behind each bullet point. For example, in the above point #2, you will need to understand what happens if you update a step in the engagement program. Not only how to do it, but what will happen to members who have passed that step, members who are on that step, etc.
Resources
LEAD MANAGEMENT – 15%
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of an Automation Rule.
- Identify the main components of creating an Automation Rule.
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of a Dynamic List.
- Identify the main components of creating a Dynamic List.
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of a Completion Action.
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of a Segmentation Rule.
- Identify the main components of creating a Segmentation Rule.
- Given a scenario, determine which automation tool should be used.
ADMINISTRATION – 13%
- Describe the capabilities of and use cases for the Pardot overview tab.
- Pardot Dashboard (formerly overview)
- Describe how to update the email sending and vanity domains associated with the account.
- Distinguish between the capabilities and limitations of the different Pardot Connectors.
- Describe the capabilities of and use cases for Page Actions.
- Explain how to create, edit, and map Prospect Custom Fields
- Identify the two ways to set up and maintain users.
- Describe how the recycle bin manages Pardot assets.
SALESFORCE INTEGRATION – 13%
- Explain the relationship between Pardot and Salesforce.
- List the objects synced between Salesforce and Pardot.
- Identify the main components of the Salesforce Connector.
- Describe the field mapping process.
- Describe the capabilities and limitations with field syncing.
VISITORS – 7%
- Describe how Pardot tracks visitor and prospect data.
- Describe what a visitor is and the limitations to visitor data.
- Identify the types of visitor data that are collected.
- Describe the methods for a visitor to become a prospect.
SCORING – 7%
- Explain what a Score measures and how it can be applied.
- Describe Scoring Rules and how one can be updated.
- Describe the options available when using automation tools to score prospects.
- Given a scenario, determine the optimum workflow using a prospect score.
EMAIL MARKETING – 7%
- Distinguish between an Email and an Email template.
- Identify the main components of an Email template.
- Describe the relationships between a recipient list and a suppression list.
- Distinguish between the metrics collected in Pardot email reporting.
ENGAGEMENT STUDIO – 7%
- Identify the main components of an Engagement Program.
- Describe the process of updating Engagement Program assets.
- Explain the capabilities and limitations of the types of lists used within Engagement Programs.
LANDING PAGES – 7%
- Identify the main components of a Landing Page.
- Given a scenario, determine when to use a Landing Page with and without a form.
- Distinguish between the metrics collected in Pardot Landing Page reporting.
- Describe how completion actions trigger when a prospect submits a Landing Page.
SOCIAL MARKETING – 7%
- List the social platforms that can be used within Pardot.
- Identify the main components of a Custom Redirect.
- Given a scenario, determine when to use a Custom Redirect.
- Distinguish between the metrics collected in a Pardot Custom Redirect report.
PARDOT CAMPAIGNS – 5%
- Explain the application of a Pardot campaign.
- Given a scenario, determine if a Pardot campaign should be changed for a prospect.
- Distinguish between the metrics collected in the Pardot Campaign Report
PROSPECTS – 3%
- Identify the ways to create prospects in Pardot.
- Given a scenario, apply the appropriate plan of action using Prospect Audits.
LIST MANAGEMENT – 3%
- Distinguish the capabilities of, use cases for, and an understanding of how to create different types of lists.
- Given a scenario, evaluate and apply the appropriate list management process.
SECURITY AND ACCESS – 3%
- Identify how to provide Pardot access.
- Distinguish between and identify the implications of the four default user roles.
PARDOT FORMS – 3%
- Given a scenario, identify the capabilities and limitations of Pardot forms.
- Distinguish between the metrics collected in the Pardot form reporting.
Ready for the Exam?
Book your exam now, even before you start studying. There’s no better way to drive you to study than booking your exam.
For the Pardot Specialist exam, I highly recommend hands-on time working inside of Pardot. There are lots of questions that you likely won’t know without some actual time in the system. When reading the linked articles, watch for the bolded call-outs. Those are directed at consultants and end users to notify them of a specific limitation or consideration. Those often show up on the exam.
If you have questions during your exam preparation, please feel free to reach out. I’ll do my best to respond with some help and guidance.
Hey Chris ,
Thanks for the study guide but can you tell me where i can find Updated mock exams or practice question for Pardot specialist
Salesforce Ben has a Pardot Specialist mock exam: https://www.salesforceben.com/pardot-specialist-exam/ I haven’t used that one personally, but I know they have really good content.
Hi Chris
How could i get free marketing automation edition in pardot for practicing purpose when i search for pardot edition there is paid version only available.
Benedict,
Unfortunately, there isn’t currently a way to get access to a Pardot org for training purposes. I hope they open this functionality in the future, but for now the only way to access an org is through a paid Pardot version.
Hey Chris,
I am not getting the Study material for Admin> Overview option.
When I click on the link that you have provided it takes me to a different Page.
Please help.
Thank you for catching that. I have updated the link to the appropriate knowledge article.
Hi Chris,
This is very helpful
Dear Chris, thank you very much for this guide.
I’m planning on taking the exam in 4 weeks. I was wondering if you could direct me to the pdf version of exam guide for Pardot Specialist. I remember there was a pdf version for ADM201 including charts and stuff. For PDT101, I can only find pdf for Winter’19 exam, not for summer..
Thank you for taking time to help me
Salesforce has moved away from the PDF version of the guide, and now only uses the digital copy. The new link is: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/help?article=Salesforce-Certified-Pardot-Specialist-Exam-Guide.
I am going to revise all of my guides with updated links soon.
Very informative post. I really do hope and pray this stuff works!