In it's own, inimitable style, Google has created a Website promotion tool that is a cross between a Search Engine, a Pay per Click and a banner advertising agency.

As a Pay per Click tool, AdWords is the largest in its kind because the ads appear alongside Google's main search results, as well as on sites that are related to the search term (although advertisers may choose to limit the ads appearing only in the first manner).

In terms of setting up a campaign, AdWords is similar to Overture: there is no set up fee, there are strict guidelines to which ads must conform, there is a great key word suggestion tool (it's also possible to exclude certain words from your search terms), geo targeting is possible (much easier to implement than in Overture) and Adwords gives you spend and traffic estimates before you've spent a dime.

But because its potential reach, AdWords is by far the most expensive pay per Click on the market and losing your shirt is potentially easy. Starting bids are considerably higher than in most PPC programs and AdWords also eliminates ads with low click through rates, concentrating on ads that bring you clicks and bring Google advertising revenue.

For most traditional PPC advertisers, the choice of keywords and bids boils down to choosing between higher volume of sales revenue at lower margins, or settling for lower volumes of sales at higher margins. Only the advertiser can determine where the optimum in terms of dollar profit lies.

But to the inexperienced user, the AdWords would appear to push everyone to the high volume end of the scale. To safeguard margins it's key to find those search terms that bring the right amount of volume at the right price. In the Toolbox, left, are presented some excellent resources to help anyone make their AdWords campaigns a resounding success.