Google is the world's dominant search engine, with some 70% of the 1.2 billion daily searches, and AdWords is the world's biggest Internet advertising program that reaches 80% of the online population.

Facts that should spark your interest in Google AdWords are the well known advantages of:

1. Paying for results only: Your ads appear for free, and you only pay when interested users click on your ads and go to your website.
2. Reaching a worldwide audience: Google's advertising network reaches more Internet users worldwide than any other ad network.
3. Control of advertising costs: There's no minimum spending requirement, and it’s possible to change the budget at any time.
4. Managing campaigns in real time: Ads for new products and promotions can be changed and campaigns started or stopped at anytime.

As only clicks get paid, you have to consider many factors to attract the really interested buyer.  The following are the most important tips and tricks from search engine experts who recommend:

• Do not consider top positions only
• The top position is often too expensive for popular keywords.  Companies usually want to be there for image reasons and are therefore willing to pay more than they recoup through orders received.  The third position is often more profitable.
• Present keyword in the title.
• If possible, use the keyword in the ad title or at least in the ad text.  Act with caution when using wild cards with standard texts.  The entire ad and the landing page should be customized individually for each search term.
• Have an adequate landing page
• Each visitor who clicked on your ad, but left the page afterwards is a loss.  Therefore design your landing page so that a prospective customer can immediately find what they expect.  The same landing page cannot always be used for different search words.  Test individually adapted landing pages compared to standard ones.
• Offer tangible benefits
• Keyword advertising gets a lot of interest as it promises a specific value or benefit. Terms such as "free", "complimentary", “gratis” or "tips" often increase the click rate.
• Don’t raise wrong expectations
• If you increase the click-through-rate (CTR) with terrific text, but in the end don’t give visitors what has been promised, they simply click-off.  Rather strive for objective and down-to-earth texts which may bring fewer clicks, but achieve a higher conversion rate.
• Combine several keywords
• Single search words are often expensive, therefore, more and more people combine keywords in their search, as it is usually cheaper than single word search.  The Google Keyword-Tool can tell you what fits to your search term and how often it got looked-up: adwords.google.com.  Many users also type in whole sentences, which can be booked easily as well.
• Include variations of your keywords
• Always remember that people search sites using all sorts of keywords.  Ensuring your site is easy to find means including misspelled, capitalized and plural keywords.  In addition, always include the longer forms of keywords, too.  For example, use “domestication” as well as “domestic”.
• Watch the competition
• Check out what keywords your competitors have posted and go to google.com/sponsoredlinks, where you can find a complete overview of the booked ad text.
• Rare keywords are better
• Be pleased if you found keywords that have not yet been discovered by your competitors as it makes the bidder battle easier.  Combine interesting words.  It is cheaper to book many rarely requested search terms, instead of a few of the most wanted search terms.
• Limit target groups
• If you book a keyword, Google is generous and displays your ad even if it is not exactly the word that is searched for.  The reason for this is the pre-setting “broad match”.  If you really want to book only your keywords, then select "exact match” which usually saves money.  If you only want to attract business people in the office, you can specify exactly that your ad is displayed only on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.  By now, audiences can even be defined by demographic criteria.
• Cater to regions
• It’s a fact that people spend the most money in their immediate environment and noting that you are a provider from their region increases the relevance of your ads.  Google offers a wide range of regions according to periphery as well as individually on a map and even allows selecting whether your address is displayed in the ad.

You may even want to take a look at some of the top tips and strategies used by Google AdWords specialists:

• Basic: Implement the 'must-have' AdWords optimization techniques.
• Intermediate: Take your advertising to the next level of performance.
• Advanced: Fine-tune your account for ongoing improvement.
• Take advantage of the tips and tricks offered to make your search advertising more effective.  Combine interesting words.  It is cheaper to book many rarely requested search terms, instead of a few of the most wanted.

By Daniela La Marca