About Google AdWords

Google AdWords is an online advertising service that enables advertisers to compete to display brief advertising copyto web users, based in part on keywords, predefined by the advertisers, that might link the copy to the content of web pages shown to users. Web pages from Google and from partner websites are designed to allow Google to select and display this advertising copy. Advertisers pay when users divert their browsing to seek more information about the copy displayed, and partner websites receive a portion of the income they generate.

AdWords has evolved into Google's main source of revenue. Google's total advertising revenues were USD $43.7 billion in 2012. AdWords offers pay-per-click (PPC), that is, cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, cost-per-acquisition (CPA) advertising, cost-per-thousand-impressions or cost per mille (CPM) advertising, site-targeted advertising for text, banner, and rich-media ads, and remarketing (also known as retargeting). The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of one headline of 25 characters, two additional text lines of 35 characters each, and a display URL of 35 characters. Image ads can be one of several different Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standard sizes.

Sales and support for Google's AdWords division in the United States is based in Mountain View, California, with major secondary offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan and New York. The third-largest US facility is in Mountain View, California, headquarters. Engineering for Google AdWords is based in Mountain View, California with major secondary offices in Los Angeles and New York.

Google has an active official public help and support community maintained and frequented by highly experienced Adwords users (referred to as "Top Contributors") and Google employees

How it works

With Google AdWords, you can reach people as they search for words or phrases (which we call keywords

) or browse websites with themes related to your business. Your ad can appear on Google and its partner websites. With cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, you're charged only when someone clicks your ad.

Your ads appear beside relevant content

People click on your ads

And connect to your business

Example

Let's say you run a bicycle repair shop near Boston. Set your ad to appear to customers in just that location, and when someone living or visiting there searches Google for "bike repair near Boston," they could see your ad and click it to connect to your business.

Benefits

A few important things set AdWords apart from other kinds of advertising. Using AdWords, you can:

Reach people searching for what you offer Your ad is displayed to people who are already searching for the kinds of products and services you offer. So those people are more likely to take action. You can choose where your ad appears -- on which specific websites and in which geographical areas (states, towns, or even neighborhoods). The Google Display Network   alone reaches over 90% of Internet users worldwide (Source: comScore).

Control your budget With cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, you’re charged only when someone clicks your ad, not when your ad appears. There are a variety of bidding options you can choose from. You decide how much or little you want to spend monthly, and you’ll never be charged more than that amount. There’s no minimum spending commitment.

See what's working in your ad, and build on it View a report of how your ad is doing -- see how many new customers connect to your business from your ad, where they’re coming from, and more. Use AdWords tools to edit and improve your ad, and increase the number of potential customers who contact your business.