Google AdWords is an extensive advertising program that offers targeted campaigns shown across Google's network. Whether on search or content sites, their program puts your ads in front of people who are searching for relevant products and services at that moment. Its reach, ease of use, and low cost makes it one of the best advertising solutions for any business.
Besides the $5 setup fee when you create an AdWords account, the cost of any ad campaign is determined by your budget -- you set the minimum and maximum spending. This system makes it extremely cost-effective to test out different ads and promotions.
You may want to sign up with the Starter Edition first. The Starter Edition gives fewer options, so helps to avoid confusion when navigating the system for the first time. It allows you to advertise a single product or service with one set of keywords and one ad. It provides basic reporting, targeting, and automated budget control. If you don't have a website yet, the Starter Edition will help you build a hosted business page. Just enter your business information, choose a layout, and the page will be published by Google for free.
Creating an ad campaign takes 4 easy steps:
- choose your target customers
- write your ad
- choose keywords relevant to your business
- set spending limit
AdWords offers two types of campaigns: keyword-targeted and placement-targeted (also called site-targeted).
- A keyword-targeted campaign will show ads on search results pages on Google and in the Google Search Network. The ads are trigged by specific keywords you've selected. Your ads will also run on sites in the Google Content Network. The ads are triggered if the content closely relates to your ad. This is also called contextual advertising. Keyword-targeted campaigns are charged on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis.
- Placement-targeted campaigns will run based on specific URLs you've selected, or groups of sites based on their general topics. Ads dispaly on sites in the Google Content Network and are charged by CPM (cost per thousand).
A variety of ad units are available for content sites (only text ads run on search sites) including image, video, and mobile. In addition to online advertising, Google offers traditional media campaigns (print, radio, and TV) as well.
