
Google AdWords is Google's main advertising product and main source of revenue. Google's total advertising revenues were USD$42.5 billion in 2012.[2] AdWords offers pay-per-click, that is, cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, cost-per-thousand-impressions or cost-per-mille (CPM) advertising, and site-targeted advertising for text, banner, and rich-media ads. The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of one headline of 25 characters and two additional text lines of 35 characters each. 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,[3] the company's second largest office is located in New York. The third-largest US facility is in Mountain View, California, headquarters.[4] Engineering for Google AdWords is based in Mountain View, California.
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.
History
The original idea was invented by Bill Gross of Idealab who, in turn, borrowed the idea from the model of the Yellow Pages. Google wanted to buy the idea but a deal could not be reached. Not wanting to give up on this form of advertisement, the company launched its own solution, AdWords in 2000. At first, AdWords advertisers would pay a monthly amount, and Google would then set up and manage their campaign. To accommodate small businesses and those who wanted to manage their own campaigns, Google soon introduced the AdWords self-service portal. In 2005, Google launched the Google Advertising Professional (GAP) Program to certify individuals and companies who completed AdWords training and passed an exam. Due to the complexity of AdWords and the amount of money at stake, some advertisers hire a consultant to manage their campaigns.
In April 2013, Google announced it will add enhanced campaigns for Adwords to “help advertisers better manage their campaigns in a multi-device world” The enhanced campaigns will “show ads across devices with the right ad text, site link, app or extension, without advertisers having to edit each campaign for every combination of devices, location and time of day,” and will include “advanced reports to measure new conversion types.”
Key Facts of Adwords
- Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords.
- In 2011, Google had over 1.2 million businesses advertising on its search network
- The finance and insurance industry spent $4 billion on AdWords in 2011.
- Finance and insurance related keywords are among the most expensive in AdWords, with some demanding costs per click (CPCs) over $50.
- Amazon spent an estimated $55.2 million on AdWords advertising in 2011.
- AdWords advertisers can now target by Congressional District.
- According to Google, “99% of our top 1,000 clients are now running campaigns on the Google Display Network and YouTube.”
- The average click-through rate of an ad on the Google Display Network is 0.4% -- four times as high as the average banner ad in the US and almost ten times as high as a Facebook ad.