In the digital advertising software market, Google AdWords is a surprisingly limited platform because it only deals with one vendor: Google search ads. Then again, Google is the king of the cyber-jungle in this regard, so it’s a platform used by literally millions of businesses all around the world.

The concept is very simple, as described on the software’s homepage: Be seen by customers at the very moment that they’re searching on Google for the things you offer. And only pay when they click to visit your website or call. That last bit is a key differentiator, because it means you’re only paying for your advertising when it’s actually getting results. And you have complete control in terms of setting the budget limits defining what you’re willing to spend on a monthly basis. Here’s how Google AdWords stacks up along six critical dimensions:

• Usability. I think one of the most telling comments about AdWords comes from a user as follows: It is one of the most powerful platforms available if you are willing to put the time into becoming an expert. I would compare it to Adobe Illustrator: A master could make miracles happen, an intermediate person can use it as workhorse program, and a novice can waste a bunch of time being confused.” Yes, it’s very usable, but you do have to take the time to learn how to use it to your best advantage.
• Maintainability. Google is constantly making changes and updates to AdWords in terms of tool options available and functionality. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t often feel the need to explain what it’s doing.
• Performance. It’s clear that if you take the time to learn the ins and outs of Google AdWords, your company will do better.
• Integration Ease. This one is a drawback. As the juggernaut in the room, Google doesn’t feel the need to integrate with anything beyond Google.
• Functionality. It’s functionality in terms of effectively target marketing by keywords people are using for searches that relate to your product or service is unmatched.
• Support. Phone support is available, but only to customers committing to $10 per day or more in ad budget, and the operating hours are Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm, eastern standard time. That’s a far cry from the 24/7/365 offered by many competitors, but you can do that when you’re the biggest game in town.

Pros

Here’s what users like most about Google AdWords:

• Users clearly love the kind of focused targeting they can do through AdWords while at the same time essentially choosing what to spend.
• Besides setting the budget parameter explicitly, users also like being able to accurately track ROI and quickly change settings for maximum control over what’s spent.
• Users also like the robustness of data available through various dashboards, such as by location, browsing behavior, bounce rates, and page flow.
• Users appreciate the many campaign options, such as search, display, remarketing, shopping, and so on, along with the AdWords Editor and all the enhancements you can make to your ad (site links, phone number, callout extensions, and so on).

Cons

Here’s what users like least about Google AdWords:

• Some users note that the tools and functionality changes quite often, but the changes are not well communicated, which means people easily miss out on opportunities to improve performance. You can only stay on top of it if you’re solely focused on this one platform to note the changes, but that’s not realistic unless your just doing pay-per-click advertising. If you’re doing true search engine marketing, you can’t stay on top of it all.
• It’s not easy to bulk export all your data into another platform for insights, but most won’t ever have the need to do this.

Make no mistake, Google is the big game in town for digital advertising on Google. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done for millions of businesses if they have the know-how to use it well.