When talking about advertising on Google, you have surely heard the phrase: 'If a company is not on the first page of Google, it does not exist.' The importance and pervasiveness of the Google search engine is irrefutable.

According to the latest data collected by StatCounter:

92% of all searches worldwide are made in Google.

This figure has not fallen below 90% in the past eight years.

Its closest competitor is the search engine Bing, and even then, its market share is much lower, comprising only 2.89% of the total global market. One could say that Google plays alone in first division while the other engines search compete in third. Therefore, advertising on Google is no longer an option for businesses in general, and small businesses in particular.

Well, you need to advertise on Google because it is the place where your customers are looking for the product/service offered by your business - this simple. As of December, 2017, the market share among search engine was:

We cannot deny that when we need information or we want to buy a product or hire a service the first thing we do is to use the search engine trusting that it will give us what we want immediately.

According to a recent investigation by Searchmetrics, the ability of Google to provide relevant results is now greater than ever, thanks to the implementation of a new system based on artificial intelligence called RankBrain.

RankBrain allows Google to better understand the intent of users when they write words in the search box. This development confirms that it is increasingly likely that users find what they want among the first results of the first search page. Therefore, we can conclude that:

The chance that your page will be clicked on if it is not in the top 10 search results is highly unlikely.

Exactly 2% of all users go to the second page. Do you remember the last time you went to the second page of Google for any given search? Exactly...neither do we.

Currently there are two ways to position a page on Google - organically or through paid advertisements. In 2000, following a change in its internal policies, Google introduced AdWords, a paid advertising program that gives people the opportunity to advertise their businesses in the search pages of Google, websites, and blogs that have joined the AdSense system. These ads appear right atop the 10 organic results, the unpaid results.

To position a business on the first page of Google organically does not cost money, but it does require a high degree of marketing knowledge and time to secure links back to our website which strengthen its authority in front of Google.

Advertising on Google to position our company website among these organic results is often the only avenue for small businesses to rank on the first page, since the organic results are taken by Wikipedia, Amazon and bigger competitors. While there is a cost attached to the clicks our ad results generate, in most instances the return on the investment is positive.

The short answer is yes, you mostly likely do.

The long answer is that after collecting data from several authoritative studies, we found that:

1. The percentage of clicks on organic results and ads is 80% and 20% respectively.

2. The studies have found that people clicking on the ads are more likely to take action and buy.

3. For the advertiser, the benefit is in most cases higher than the cost of running these ads.

Therefore, we can confidently say that:

Advertising on Google through AdWords is a must-do for most small businesses to gain visibility and customers.

In another guide we delve into what is Google AdWords and how it works in greater detail.

You can create your AdWords accounts in two ways:

1. Recommended with bonus included:From your Kolau account following the self-explanatory and easy-to-understand steps. Kolau will add automatically to your newly created AdWords account a free $75/€75 bonus

2. Going to the AdWords registration page

Should you choose the second option, be mindful that by default Google will redirect you to open an AdWords Express account. It is key that you open an account in the regular version of AdWords, not the Express version, by clicking on 'Compare AdWords Express with AdWords' and later on click on the button 'Switch to AdWords' which is at the right side of the new window that will open.

Adwords Express is the light version of AdWords. These are the main reasons why it is best to go with the full-fledged version of AdWords:

1. Limited segmentation options: while AdWords allows you to target your ads by geographical location, language, device type and other factors, AdWords Express only allows you to target ads by geographic location and language.

2. Automation: The ads you create using AdWords Express are managed automatically, which means you lose control over them - the platform also selects the keywords that will trigger your ads, and you cannot fine-tune them or even remove them.

3. Lack of reporting: AdWords Express, unlike AdWords, does not allow you to install any tracking code which allows you to assess whether your campaigns are working or not.

Avoid the Express version of AdWords in order to receive only web traffic that is ready to buy.

Google offers two networks through which distributes different types of ads and campaigns using an auction system. On one side is the search network which allows you to target users who are actively looking for a particular product or service, and on the other hand, the Display Network helps you to draw the attention of users already within the buying cycle of your product or service. We have an article that delves into how Google Display campaigns work that we're confident you'll find very informative as well.

According to a recent study conducted internally at Kolau, the average click-through-rate that the search network yields across all industries is 3% on average, while the average click-through-rate of campaigns in the display network for all industries is around 0.35%.

The average cost per click (CPC) from search campaigns is higher. According to our analysis, the average cost per click in the search network for all industries is $2/€2 on average vs $0.2/€0.2 for clicks on the display network.

In another article, we delve into how to create AdWords campaigns.

Here is a look at the two most relevant campaigns you can create in AdWords -search and display-

• Search campaigns:

When you create ads in a search network campaign, they are displayed in text format in the google search results – namely, at the top of the page, occupying the top four result spots, and at the bottom, occupying the last three slots. These ads can also appear on other Google sites -Maps and Shopping - and search partner sites of Google.

The ads are triggered whenever someone performs a search on Google with terms that match or closely resemble the keywords you've previously defined. The main objective is to get users to click on your ad; therefore, to draw users’ attention with this type of campaign you should offer a solution or answer in your advertisements.

You can segment the campaign’s search network in different ways to direct your ads to your target audience. You can target geographic location, language, and depending on whether the person is in the location or looking for something related to the location. Such campaigns also allow you to add extensions to ads, which can significantly increase the click through rate and improve the ranking of your ads. We tell you how to create ad extensions on another of our guides, so if you want to learn more about it, we invite you to take a look.

• Display campaigns:

According to Google, the Display Network is comprised of two million websites that reach 90% of Internet users. With a display campaign within Google’s Display Network, you can create visual ads, either in text, image, video or rich media - banners with images or videos that are deployed and displayed in different forms.

Visual ads will appear on websites within the two million that are part of the network and on YouTube.

You may find this type of campaign useful if you want to solidify your, if you sell a product or service that does not require deliberation, or if it is a product that visually attracts attention, i.e. that the visual factor usually leads to a sale.

In a nutshell, we have seen in this guide that:

Google AdWords drives more traffic to your website and more customers to your business.

Your business ads are seen when your prospective customers search for your product or service or navigate in a website that fits your target audience.

Now, they can visit your website and take action such as contacting you or buying your product or service.

Once you open an AdWords account, it is instrumental to analyze the results and optimize its components on a regular basis to ensure you keep your ROI as high as possible. Kolau is the preferred way for thousands of Small Businesses worldwide to automate the optimization part, since its engines run 24/7 adjusting over 1,000 elements of the AdWords account, such as the pay per click by device, location, demographics, pausing underperforming keywords or boosting those that outperform, for instance. In short, Kolau’s engines work 24/7 to ensure you gain more and pay less, while you devote your time managing your business.

Tens of thousand of small businesses in over 50 countries choose Kolau to gain more and spend less in Google Ads.