Google Adwords

Google allows you to place small adverts (Adwords) on their search results page when someone uses keywords of your own choice. When they click on your advert they will then visit your web site and find out about your service or be encouraged to buy a product from your online store.

Visitors that are referred to a web site by responding to Google Adwords are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer because they have already actively searched on a keyword and decided to respond to your selling message. They will probably be more interested in making a buying decision than other web site visitors.

Google also allows you to choose which sites will show your Adwords and in some cases you could even advertise on your competitor’s web site!

The position and frequency of your Adwords is determined by how much you are prepared to pay per click, your campaign settings and your daily budget. With Google you only incur a cost if someone clicks on your advert. If no-one searches on your keywords or clicks on your advert you won’t incur any costs. Unlike being listed in the actual search engine results, where competition for the top spot is determined by the content and popularity of your web site, you can be listed on the first page, at the top, if you are prepared to pay for the privilege.

Google offers many options such as regional advertising, negative keywords (stopwords) and automatic bid adjustment. Campaigns are managed to adjust the cost per click you are prepared to pay so that your advert lists high enough to be noticed and effective. If it is too low (the minimum is usually about 10p) your advert may not be seen by many people and the advert may eventually be disqualified by Google. If it is too high you may be incurring unnecessary costs. There are also strict guidelines on how the Adwords look, techniques for improving response rates, sales conversions, and what happens when the visitor reaches your web page.