Google AdWords

Google AdWords is Google's name for its search advertising programme. When you search for something on Google there are sponsored links in a column on the right hand side of the search results page and sometimes on the top of the page in a blue box. These sponsored links are where your ads will appear.

You don't pay to place your ad, but only pay when someone clicks on it. This means that you only get charged for people who have actively shown an interest in your ad by clicking on it. You choose the keywords that trigger your ad

Google rewards its advertisers who make their ads relevant to the user's search. It does so by placing more relevant ads higher than less relevant ones. The better your ad, the higher up it will be placed on the page even if your competitors spend more.

With Google AdWords you can create, put live and edit your ads in real time. As soon as you put your ad live it will appear when someone makes the relevant search. You can try different ads and see which does best for a keyword or set of keywords.

There is no minimum spend with Google AdWords, so you can use it whatever your budget.

Google has other products to help you with your advertising such as Google Analytics which can provide you with in-depth analysis of your ad campaign and where users go on your website.

Natural search vs search advertising

All businesses should make sure their website is optimised for Google to get them as high up the natural search results as possible. Google explains ways of doing this and everyone with a website should follow their suggestions. Find out what Google suggests to improve your website's listing on natural search.

Getting higher in the natural search results is great because the clicks are free but you have little control over where your site shows up and it can be difficult to achieve especially if your website is new or there are a lot of competitors. Wth Google AdWords you have complete control of when your ad shows and where users are taken to when they click on it. You also have complete control of what the ad says and which keywords trigger it.

Natural search and Google AdWords work together very well: if users see your website appear in both the natural search results and in the ads, they are more likely to click on it.