Google AdWords Advertising

Introduction

In the world of keyword advertising, Google is the 400 pound Gorilla! They have the dominant market share of Internet Search in almost every country in the world, and in the handful of countries where they are not the number one provider; they are still among the top three providers. Google has branded their keyword advertising program as Google AdWords.

The image below is a screenshot of the main page for Google’s AdWords Beginner's Guide . Note that there is a downloadable PDF guide titled “Growing your business with AdWords” available on this page.

Information Resources for Google AdWords

Google has been building their pool of informational resources for AdWords for more than ten years. Just to read everything they have written, it would likely take more than a month of full-time effort. However, they also have a series of online Webinars that cover several topics, and they provide access to a live training program of paid seminars taught by Google approved consultants.

Below I have listed the most useful references to obtain a general understanding of how to begin and operate an AdWords campaign.

AdWords Beginner's Guide
AdWords basics, including how to begin, what to expect, and how to make the most of your advertising efforts.
https://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&guide=21899&page=guide.cs

AdWords Help Articles
Help Articles by Topic
https://adwords.google.com/support/aw/?hl=en

AdWords Online Classroom
The AdWords Online Classroom provides free online training, delivered by AdWords experts.
http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=webinars.cs

Google Insights for Search
With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties.
http://www.google.com/insights/search

Google AdWords Keyword Tool
The Keyword Tool allows you to build extensive, relevant keyword lists from one simple interface. Generate keyword ideas, review traffic estimations for existing and new keywords, and add keywords directly to your ad groups.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

 
Google AdWords (Wikipedia)
Provides a somewhat unbiased overview and history of Google's AdWords program along with a list of several interesting references.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Adwords

Google AdWords Glossary

Ad Group
A collection of ads within a campaign that corresponds to a group of related keywords. 

Ad Rank
Your ad’s position on a results page. Your ad rank is determined by your maximum CPC bid and your keywords’ quality score.

Campaign
A component of your account that allows you to focus your advertising on specific products or services. The ads in a given campaign share the same daily budget, language and location targeting. Each campaign can contain multiple ad groups.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
A measure of how relevant users find your ads and keywords to their search query. CTR helps measure the performance of your ads and keywords.

Cost-per-click (CPC) Bid
The amount you pay each time a user clicks on your ad. You can set the maximum CPC bid (the maximum amount you are willing to pay when a potential customer clicks on your ad) at the ad group or keyword level.

Destination URL
The web page on which a user will land after clicking on your ad. It doesn’t have to be your site’s main page. Also called a landing page.

Display URL
The URL displayed in your ad to identify your site to users.

Impression
The number of times an ad is displayed on Google or on sites in the Google content network.

Keyword
A specific word, or combination of words, used to target your ads to potential customers. When a user searches on your keyword, your ad will enter the auction.

Quality Score
Quality score is a measure of how relevant your ad, keyword, or webpage is. Quality scores help ensure that only the most relevant ads appear to users.