What is Google PPC?

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WordStream is a provider of PPC management software, PPC tools, and a FREE keyword research tool.

What is Google AdWords

What is AdWords? Google AdWords is Google's advertising system in which advertisers bid on certain keywords in order for their clickable ads to appear in Google's search results. Since advertisers have to pay for these clicks, this is how Google makes money from search. This infographic will help you understand how AdWords works, detailing the AdWords auction, bidding process and explaining important factors like Quality Score and cost-per-click. If you're asking "How does AdWords Work?" this infographic is for you!

Does AdWords Work?

Does Google AdWords work? Depending on the competitiveness of the keywords you're bidding for and the relevancy of that keyword to real conversions for your company, AdWords may or may not work for your business. For the most part, we've found that Google AdWords is extremely effective for many kinds of businesses, as long as they don't waste their money on the wrong keywords, or write weak, low CTR ads.

How much does Google AdWords cost?

Many factors can affect the costs of AdWords for your business. Learn all about these costs, how bidding works, and the average cost per click for advertisers in our guide to "How Much Does AdWords Cost?"

How to advertise with Google AdWords

Businesses can advertise on Google by opening a Google AdWords account.

How does AdWords bidding work?

The actual position of your ad is determined by your ad rank (Maximum Bid times Quality Score). The highest ad rank gets the 1st ad position. Your actual CPC will be determined by the ad rank of the next highest ad below you divided by your Quality Score. The only exception of this rule is when you are the only bidder or the lowest bid in the AdWords auction; then you pay your maximum bid per click! AdWords bidding heavily penalizes advertisers who bid with low quality scores. Conversely, those with high Quality Scores get higher ad ranks and lower CPC.

How many times does a Google auction run?

The auction gets run billions of times each month. The results are such that users find ads that are relevant to what they're looking for, advertisers connect with potential customers at the lowest possible prices and Google rakes in billions of dollars in revenue.

How do you enter a Google auction?

Your ads are eligible to be entered into an auction whenever you're bidding on keywords relevant to the user's search query. Your bids, Quality Score, and relevance will come into play in determining whether your ad qualifies to display on the SERP.

What gets entered into a Google auction?

Once advertisers identity keywords they want to bid on, Google then enters the keyword from your account that it deems most relevant into the auction with the maximum bid you've specified as well as the associated ad.

CPC, or cost per click, is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their AdWords ad.

What is average cost per click?

The average amount you spend each time a searcher click on your advertisement.

What is Google Quality Score?

This is a metric Google uses to determine how relevant and useful your ad is to the user, based primarily on your ad's CTR, keyword relevance, and the quality of your landing page. The higher your Quality Score, the better: high Quality Score keywords will save you money and earn you better ad rankings.

How does Google determine what you pay?

The price paid by the advertiser is determined by the amount of clicks that the company's advertisement receives.