Okay, so before we go into why you should be using Adwords, we thought it might be a good idea to first explain exactly what they are. It’s a bit of a buzz word which means a lot of you have probably heard of Adwords but may not know how they work. So, here you go…

AdWords is one of Google’s advertising mediums. It is the most popular one, by a long way. There are a few different options with Adwords: pay-per-click, cost-per-thousand and site-targeted advertising for media-rich, banner and text adverts (the type that include video and audio elements).

With the pay-per-click option, advertisers can choose particular words that will trigger their advertisement. Then, when someone enters these words into a Google search, the ads appear at the top of the search results as ‘sponsored links’. Advertisers can also nominate the maximum amount they want to pay per click. This goes towards determining the order of the pay-per-click listings.

Cost-per-thousand advertising is when advertisers pay to have their message delivered to a specific audience. The minimum cost for this is 25 cents using Adwords.

Last but not least, here is a quick overview of site-targeted advertising. Through the AdWords control panel, advertisers can enter keywords, topics, domain names and audience demographics. Using these facts and figures, Google will places the adverts on relevant websites.

Okay, know that you have a broad overview of what we are on about, here’s why you should start using Adwords:

• You can reach your target audience when they are actually searching for your products or services: the whole point of Adwords is that your advert only appears after users have already typed in a search looking for you. People searching for your products and services are more likely to take action and spend some money.
• You can choose where your ad appears: Google doesn’t just randomly place your Adwords. You get to pick which websites you advertise on, what areas, which demographics. It is targeted at your specific audience.
• You can set your own budget: there is no minimum spend with Adwords. So you pick your budget and better yet, only pay for the advertising to people who are interested (with pay-per-click advertising). You can even run test advertising before a major campaign – for as little as $10 per day.
• Quick and easy: once you have a Google account, you can start creating adverts immediately. All you have to do is log in, give it a name, type a headline and some copy and add a link. Google will even help you work out what the best (and other relevant) keywords are. And, it takes no time for your ad to start appearing (minutes in fact).
• Pay only for clicks: if someone just views your ad, then you don’t have to pay. It’s only when they click on your add that cash will be debited from your account. Only when your ad works, do you pay. Pretty cool, huh? Don’t have that option with television or print advertising do you? Have to pay upfront for the ad and hope people watch or read it.
• Cap the daily cost: you can set a ceiling amount for advertising spending for in Adwords. You might get a thousand clicks before midday. That’s ok. You can just tell Google to remove your ad for the rest of the day. Once you reach your ceiling, Google will automatically remove your ad.

So, there you have it. If you haven’t stopped reading mid-way through this article to set up a Google account and jump on the Adwords bandwagon, then we suggest you get to it. Now.