Google AdWords as well as other Cost-Per Click (CPC) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns all have positive and negative aspects. Google has created an empire upon their powerful search engine and you have the opportunity to target your advertising to what people are searching for. This is definitely an extraordinary tool that can create great visibility for a previously unknown company. When you take a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of running those campaigns, you may find that there are things that are hard to deal with.

The Good
One of the greatest attributes of Google's AdWords or Facebook's Ads is that you can highly target your market. What this means is that when people are searching for things related to your business or services, your ad will come up for them to click on it. For instance, if you are a hair salon and someone is search for or chatting about cars your ad will not show since it is irrelevant to that person. In this way your advertising dollars are only targeting those that have an interest in what you have to offer. This can help your Return-On-Investment (ROI) considerably. Why waste money on those that have no interest. Additionally you get instant gratification since your ad will show immediately and potentially provide you new business quickly.

The Bad
Statistical research shows that Google users only click on the sponsored link sections about 20% of the time compared to the organic section receiving 80% of the clicks. This means that no matter how much money you are paying to be on that front page, you will still only capture 20% of the business. Potentially, you could be investing $500 per month to be on the first page but capturing only 20% of the business. On the other hand your competitor that is at the top of the first page of the organic section is paying nothing in sponsored ads but getting 80% of the business. If you are like me, that doesn't seem fair nor as profitable.

The Ugly
The dark side of Pay-per-Click is the potentially high cost. Every time someone clicks on your ad, it costs you a certain amount of money. Depending on the industry and popularity of the keyword, the range can be considerable; $0.05 to $10.00 per click or more. This can add up quickly. Even worse, there is no accountability as to who is clicking on those links. It could be your competitor trying to spend up your budget and costing you money. If you don't have a solid, attractive and easy to use website some potential clients could click on your ad but bounce right back out costing you money.

Overall, there is a time and place for AdWords and Facebook Ads. It may be a good idea to use it initially when starting a new business but limiting how much you will spend. My personal opinion is that it should never be used as a long term marketing strategy. Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a much better long term strategy that will have lasting effects and yield higher traffic and ROI.

Choose your marketing strategy wisely and may your business prosper.