Advertise on Google (AdWords)

Google's paid advertising program is called Google AdWords (http://adwords.google.com). Through this program, you can bid on specific keywords and post ads on either their Search Networks or Content Networks.

When you perform a search on google.com, the results page usually has 1-3 ads at the top in a yellow box and a list of ads in the right column labeled "Sponsored Links". These placements are part of the Google Search Network.

You may have seen ads on people's blogs and websites where there's a section tagged "Ads by Google". These are part of the Content Network. You can either select placement on specific websites or bid on general keywords for any website within the Content Network.

Once you create an AdWords account, you'll create Campaigns and Ad Groups for organizational purposes, then you'll add the keywords you want to bid on. The keywords in one Ad Group will share the same ads, so keep that in mind when you form your Ad Groups and group your keywords.

Ad position is based on a combination of your keyword's quality score and bid amount. Quality score is based on multiple factors including Click Thru Rate (CTR) and relevancy of ad text compared to landing page content. Your quality score affects your ad position and your Cost Per Click (CPC), so you'll want to continuously work on improving your CTRs and ad text.

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