Why is Google Adwords So Dominant?

Every Internet advertising agency realises the immense influence and power Google has in the pay per click and non paid search arena, but its not just advertising agencies that use Google Adwords. Millions of people with small and large companies run their own accounts, but why is Google such a dominant force?

Google is the largest search engine in the world and receives more traffic than any other. Due to its popularity competition is fierce, which in turn drives click costs higher. As a consequence you will no doubt find that Yahoo! and Microsoft's Adcenter are usually cheaper. So if this is the case, why do people choose Google over the other two?

Well, it basically comes down to two main reasons. The first is traffic. Google has by far the most traffic, which means advertisers have a much larger audience to target. The second is function. Google Adwords allows advertisers to really drill down and analyse campaign data far more than anyone else, not only this it is continually innovating it's offering to make it even easier for advertisers to gather insights and learnings, in order to improve campaigns.

Also, Adwords can be linked to Analytics, which helps webmasters to identify visitor behaviour. Along with Analytics you can link your accounts to MCC, which allows you to easily manage multiple accounts. And as if this was not enough you can also use Google Adwords Editor to make large changes, very quickly and easily to your pay per click campaigns.

By comparison MSN and Yahoo! are quite limited. But this is not to say you shouldn't use them. If you learn how to use the interfaces, you can complement the volume you obtain from Google and often acquire sales at a lower CPA too.

As a PPC agency it is crucial we stay up to date with the latest data and campaign management developments.  This is another reason why Google has left the rest behind. It offers a lot of training support and advice, which provides not only large PPC agencies, but also small business owners the opportunity to learn how to manage their campaigns more effectively. MSN and Yahoo! also offer training and advice, but not to same extent. Although, I do have to admit that MSN and Yahoo! do have great customer service, they are always available via telephone and regularly call to offer support, which is helpful.

As far as the search market is concerned there is no imminent end to Google's dominance. If you want to explain to someone why Google is so successful, you can tell them it's because they offer lots more traffic and better functionality in terms reporting, transparency and usability.