Google AdWords is now known as Google Ads, and it’s Google’s advertising service. Your website can appear on the top of search results pages (SERPs) by paying for one or several specific keywords. It is known as paid search. This means that your site will appear above the organic searches as a search ad. Google lets users know it’s an ad by adding a small green label that reads “AD.” However, if you are not paying attention, you might mistake it for an organic result. Besides Google, Bing also has its own advertising platform called the Bing Network.

How does it work?

Basically, you choose one or several keywords related to your niche. These terms are the ones think a person searching your products or services might use. Then, you need to create an ad that will appear on the SERPs when people search the terms you chose.

However, chances are you’re not the only business doing this. Your competitors can bid for the same search terms you do and. So, if you want to appear on the search results, you have to outbid them (paying a higher per-click rate). The more you are willing to pay, the higher the chances you show up in the search results.

That being said, the money you put down is not the only factor determining your spot on the SERPs. Google also assigns an “Ad rank” to determine the order in which paid search ads are shown on the SERPs.

Google takes five other factors besides the bid amount when deciding what ads to show users. These factors are:

• Auction-time
• Landing page quality
• Ad Rank thresholds
• Search context
• The impact of ad extensions

Topic and nature of the search and user cues (type of device and location) determine Ad Rank thresholds.

This process makes sure that both the quality of the ad and the bid amount are considered when displaying the results.