The Use of AdWords – a Contributor or an Inhibitor of Marketing Success?

• Main Authors: Johannes A Wiid, Nadine van Rooyen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AfricaJournals 2018-08-01
• Series: African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure
• Subjects: E-marketing; Google AdWords; search engine marketing; pay-per-click; search engine optimisation
• Online Access: https://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_25_vol_7__4_2018.pdf
• ISSN: 2223-814X

E-marketing is a fast-developing field of marketing, with new tools constantly emerging in the market. The opportunities within e-marketing provide businesses with a chance to advertise to audiences worldwide without the high costs associated with above-the-line advertising. Many e-marketing tools are available to facilitate marketing and one such tool is Google AdWords. AdWords as it is commonly known is a paid-for search-engine marketing tool offered by Google, the dominant search engine worldwide. Google AdWords allows businesses to bid on keywords that are related to the product or service offering. The top bidder’s advertisement is then displayed at the top of the results page when a chosen keyword is searched for in a search engine. A research study was conducted in 2016 with the aim to ascertain star-graded overnight accommodation establishments’ attitude towards and intention to use search engine marketing specifically Google AdWords as e-marketing tool. A self-administered web-based survey was conducted to collect data and 278 fully completed and usable responses were received. The study revealed that a minority of respondents are making use of Google AdWords. The respondents who are using AdWords regard AdWords as useful and are above average satisfied with the outcomes of using AdWords. It is clear from the results that Google AdWords is not perceived as an e-marketing tool that decreases marketing expenditure for accommodation.