google-adwords

 History Google launched AdWords in 2000. The AdWords system was initially implemented on top of the MySQL database engine. After the system had been launched, management decided to use Oracle instead but was eventually reverted to MySQL after the system became much slower. Eventually, Google developed a custom distributed Relational database management system known as Google F1 specifically for the needs of the Ad business. The interface offers Spreadsheet Editing, Search Query Reports, and conversion metrics. In 2008, Google launched the Google Online Marketing Challenge, an in-class academic exercise for tertiary students. Over 8,000 students from 47 countries participated in the challenge in 2008, over 10,000 students from 58 countries took part in 2009, about 12,000 students in 2010, and almost 15,000 students from 70 countries in 2011. The Challenge runs annually, roughly from January to June. In April 2013, Google announced plans to add enhanced campaigns for AdWords to aid with campaign management catered to multiple-device users. The enhanced campaigns aimed to include advanced reports about users. This move was controversial among advertisers. In July 2016, Google unveiled "Showcase Shopping" ads. With this format, retailers can choose to have a series of images that appear in search results related to various search queries and keywords. In October 2017, Google revised AdWords' daily budget caps, which were previously set at a maximum of 120% of preset daily budgets, to a maximum of 200%. This change was rolled out on the same day it was announced, prompting criticism from paid search professionals, though Google later clarified that this change would affect only short-term campaigns of less than 30 days and that for campaigns running more than 30 days, overage charges would be refunded. On June 27, 2018, Google announced a rebranding of Google AdWords as Google Ads as of July 24, 2018. In 2018, Bloomberg News reported that Google had paid millions of dollars to Mastercard for its users' credit card data for advertising purposes. The deal had not been publicly announced. Offices Sales and support for Google's Ads division in the United States is based in Mountain View, California, with major secondary offices in Hyderabad, Dublin, Singapore, Ann Arbor and New York City. The third-largest US facility is the Googleplex, Google's headquarters, which is located in Mountain View, California. Google AdWords engineering is based at the Googleplex, with major secondary offices in Los Angeles and New York. Functionality Google Ads' system is based partly on cookies and partly on keywords determined by advertisers. Google uses these characteristics to place advertising copy on pages where they think it might be relevant. Advertisers pay when users divert their browsing to click on the advertising copy. Adverts can be implemented locally, nationally, or internationally. Google's text advertisements mimic what the average search result looks like on Google. Image ads can be one of the several different standardized sizes as designated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. In May 2016, Google announced Expanded Text Ads, allowing 23% more text. Besides the Google search engine, advertisers also have the option of enabling their ads to show on Google's partner networks, including AOL search, Ask.com, and Netscape, who receive portion of generated income. Features The Keyword Planner provides data on Google searches and other resources to help plan advertising campaigns. AdWords Express is a feature aimed at small businesses that attempts to reduce the difficulty of managing ad campaigns by automatically managing keywords and ad placement. Google Ads Editor is a downloadable program that allows users to make bulk changes to ads and edit ads offline. It also allows users to see ad performance, like the dashboard. Google Ads Manager Accounts ") allows users to manage multiple accounts from one login and dashboard. This is most commonly used by Marketing and Advertising agencies who manage a large portfolio of client accounts. The Reach Planner allows users to forecast the reach and extent of their video ads across YouTube and Google video partners. The tool allows users to choose their audience, then recommends a combination of video ads that help reach the user's objectives, and see the reach of their ads. In addition to location and language targeting, advertisers can specify Internet Protocol addresses to be excluded. Advertisers can exclude up to 500 IP address ranges per campaign. Google Academy for Ads provides a qualification to clients who pass a Google Ads Fundamentals exam and one Advanced AdWords exams on search, display, video, shopping, or mobile advertising, or Google Analytics. Google Partners must maintain a minimum spend threshold of US$10,000 over 90 days, with a higher spend threshold for Google Premier Partners. Placement-targeted advertisements places adverts based on keywords, domain names, topics, and demographic targeting preferences entered by the advertiser. If domain names are targeted, Google also provides a list of related sites for placement. Advertisers bid on a cost-per-impression or cost-per-click basis for site targeting. The minimum cost-per-thousand impressions bid for placement-targeted campaigns is 25 cents. There is no minimum CPC bid. Remarketing allows marketers to show advertisements to users that have previously visited their website, and allows marketers to create different audience lists based on the behavior of website visitors. Remarketing Lists for Search via Google Analytics became available in Google Ads in early June 2015, allowing for the use of standard GA remarketing lists to plan traditional text search ads. Dynamic remarketing can show past visitors the specific products or services they viewed. While common, some users may find overly overt use intrusive. Ad extensions allow advertisers to show extra information with their ads, such as a business address, phone number, links to a web page or app, prices, or sales and promotions. Google Ads may also display automated extensions such as consumer ratings when the system predicts they will improve performance. The Google Ad Grants program gives eligible nonprofits US$10,000 per month in Google Ads credits, and has served over 100,000 nonprofits and charities worldwide since its launch in 2003. Restrictions on ad content The "Family status" of an ad is set by a Google reviewer and indicates what “audiences the ad and website are appropriate for”. This affects when and where, including in which countries, an ad can appear. As of April 2008, Google AdWords no longer allows for the display URL to deviate from that of the destination URL. Prior to this, paid advertisements could feature different landing page URLs to that of what was being displayed on the search network. Google explained that this policy change stems from both user and advertiser feedback. The concern prompting the restriction change is believed to be the premise on which users clicked advertisements. In some cases, users were being misled and further targeted by AdWords advertisers prior to this change. As of December 2010, Google AdWords decreased restrictions over sales of hard alcohol. It now allows ads that promote the sale of hard alcohol and liquor. This is an extension of a policy change that was made in December 2008, which permitted ads that promote the branding of hard alcohol and liquor. Some keywords, such as those related to hacking, are not allowed at all. From June 2007, Google banned AdWords adverts for student essay-writing services, a move which received positive feedback from universities. Google has a variety of specific keywords and categories that it prohibits that vary by type and by country. For example, use of keywords for alcohol related products are prohibited in Thailand and Turkey; keywords for gambling and casinos are prohibited in Poland; keywords for abortion services are prohibited in Russia and Ukraine; and keywords for adult related services or products are prohibited worldwide as of June 2014. In March 2020, at the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, Google blocked all face masks keywords from being eligible for ads targeting as part of a policy to prevent companies attempting to capitalize on the pandemic. Cost Every time a user conducts a search on Google, Google Ads runs an auction in real time to determine which search ads are displayed on the search results page as well as the ad's position. The cost of a Google Ads campaign therefore depends on a variety of factors, including the maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay-per-click the keywords being bid on, and the quality score of the ad. Although an advanced bidding strategy can be used to automatically reach a predefined cost-per-acquisition, this should not be confused with a fixed CPA pricing model. Lawsuits Google Ads has been the subject of lawsuits relating to trademark law, fraud, and click fraud. Overture Services, Inc. sued Google for patent infringement in April 2002 in relation to the AdWords service. The suit was settled in 2004 after Yahoo! acquired Overture; Google agreed to issue 2.7 million shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license under the patent. In 2006, Google settled a click fraud lawsuit for US$90 million. In May 2011, Google cancelled the AdWords advertisement purchased by a Dublin sex worker rights group named "Turn Off the Blue Light"…