But is it really?

Google can make you or break you and according to their own data, 7 out of 10 are broken. This isn't because Google doesn't work - it does. You'd better believe it, but like anything else, you have to know how the game is played FIRST, not last. There are 5 things Google really doesn't want you to know. By reading on you'll be among the elite 30% who play Google all the way to the bank.

First let me share some background which may be the biggest myth of all... consider it a bonus.

Ads are NOT ranked in accordance with the amount bid. Its kind of like the airline industry. You paid a certain price for your seat. The person next to paid less, yet their seat is the same as yours.

Google ranks using two major criteria...

1) Language in the ad and landing page which determines relevancy (quality) 2) How many times the ad is clicked and impressions shown

So for example, if your ad is shown from a search (quality) 1000 times and is clicked through only 5 times (CTR) which is .5% then you're in trouble. However, if your ad is clicked on 10-20 times which is 1-2%, then you're in business. Google will then start raising your position and lowering your cost. Sound crazy? Read on...

Here are the 5 things Google doesn't want you to know:

1. All accounts are defaulted to the content network.

Google ships ads out to other search engines and content networks. Content network is the default setting for Google Adwords. Being in the Content network of Google is like the kissmof death for any marketer and their wallet. Ads shown here get killed in the click through rate (CTR) because the user isn't looking to click ads, they are interested in the website's content- not your ad. Besides this,on the rare occasion they do click your ad, conversions are miniscule. This is also where fraud occurs. Adsense based sites get their ads from the Content network. Ever heard of click robots?

2. Keywords are too general.

Let's say someone is in the mortgage industry... they shouldn't use the general word ?mortgage? if they are selling reverse mortgages or second mortgages. Some people figure the word ?mortgage? will cover their bases, but it only drains their bank account.

3. Use quotes and brackets around your keywords.

If a marketer is using the keywords making money on the internet and doesn't use quotes or brackets, then ANY search that has ANY of those 5 words in it will trigger an impression and drive your CTR down dramatically.

If a searcher uses the words ?making chocolate brownies? your ad pops up. The quotes and brackets specify the keyword phrase you want to focus on. With quotes, your search phrase stays intact but may have other words before or after it. With brackets, the seracher only used those 5 words in the exact order YOU put them in.

4. Put the keyword in the title or body of your ad.

About 80% of marketers don't use the keyword in their ads at all. I put in the words ?training my dog? and only one ad was an exact match. It's true that people search based on what they want to achieve. Training my dog was my goal. Another example would be ?buy tires?. If ?buy tires? were in the title or body of the ad this would add to the quality score.

5. There's a way to cut a deal with other search engines and bypass the content network.

There are 3 places Google shows ads: a. Home page b. Content network c. Other search engines

It's not uncommon to have 40% of your ads shipped out to other search engines. Once you track this activity you can cut a deal with them and pay half the price per click.

People who have a bad CTR and poor quality score end up paying more per click for minimal results. Google makes a fortune on desperate advertisers who are often novices in the business opportunity industry.

The average click through price for an inexperienced marketer in this arena is $2.00-$4.00/click. Experienced marketers only pay $.75-$1.00/click.

Google will alternate quality ads and poor ads on the home page in order to satisfy both revenue and users search queries. However, the poor expensive ads are usually getting low conversion therefore draining your account.

Is it any wonder the stock price was north of $500 a share earlier this year?