Google search ads are like...

Today I went to the body shop to get an estimate to fix the damage someone's shopping cart did to my driver's side back door.

While I was in the office of the body shop, I found myself staring at a bulletin board on which were posted a couple of dozen business cards for local merchants, financial advisors, auto customizers, etc.

Why do I bring this up? Because in the last few weeks a number of business acquaintances have asked me about Google search advertising. Does it work? Isn't it expensive? What the heck is it?

And it occurred to me today that Google search advertising is just like the bulletin board in the auto-body shop, except that

• anyone on the internet can reach it with the click of a mouse
  
• advertisers can select which part of the bulletin board they will be posted in
• they pay, but only if someone contacts them
  
• and people actively seek out the bulletin board tens of millions of times a day

marketing, innovation, Google, advertising