First, some basic numbers. Over 200 million searches are conducted on Google every single day. It is one of the most popular search engines, mainly because of it's lightning speed and it's huge database. The Google database also provides results for other major search engines around the world including AOL, Netscape, and Iwon.

Now, the details about the program. Google is a free search engine, but they also provide a paid option where you can decide when and where your details appear on their results pages, which lets you decide what visitors you want. If you go to www.google.com, and type in a search query, you will often see boxes (advertisements) down the right hand side (called "Sponsored Listings). These are the results of the Adwords program.

The Google AdWords program is ideal for small businesses like you and us, and provides an opportunity to advertise on a big scale for peanuts.

• Firstly, you get to choose what keywords you want to be displayed for. If you're a clothing retailer, you might choose womens clothing or clothing accessories. You can then ensure that when someone types this into the Google search engine, your web site details show up.

• Second, you get to choose which countries you want to advertise to. For example, you can select the whole world, or just Australia, or a combination of Singapore, Thailand, and Hawaii. Whatever countries you want to target, it's your choice.

• Next, you write your advertisement, and you can have the link direct the visitor to any page on your site.

• You then select how much you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on your advertisement, both per click and per day. For example, you could set it so that you pay 20 cents each time someone clicks to visit your site, up to a maximum of $2 each day.

• You have complete control over your budget and your advertisement. It takes just minutes to set up, is online instantly, and you can pull the advertisement off at any time. Your advertisment will be removed automatically by the system once your daily limit has been reached.

If other web sites are competing for the same keywords, the advertisements are ranked according to a combination of the bid price and the popularity of your advertisement. This means that if your advertisement is relevant to the searchers and gets clicked on a lot, it can rank higher than your competitors even though they may be bidding higher.

The system also automatically gives you the lowest price for a click through. That is, if you have stated that you are willing to pay up to 50 cents a click, and the next highest competitor has said they will pay up to 36 cents per click, then your clicks will automatically go through at 37 cents.

The best thing about Google Adwords is that you only pay after people have visited your site, and you know that these people are already looking for your product!

Compare this to, say, a newspaper advertisement. Now newspaper ads have their place, so we're not saying don't take out newspaper ads. We're just comparing the two:

Lets say a newspaper ad costs you $500. You pay it, and then you wait and hope. The ad targets anyone who happens to see it and also happens to be interested in your product.

With the Google Adwords program, for the same money, you could get around 1000 visits to your web site (depending on the bidding price), by people who are already searching for your product. And you don't pay anything until those people actually visit your site. If nobody visits you don't pay anything!

For more information on the Google programs available, visit their site at www.google.com

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Disclaimer: This page is designed to provide information only and is not a substitute for advice that is specific to your business. Before acting on any of the information above it is important you seek further advice from a professional who has taken into consideration the nature and circumstances of your business.

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