Have you tried Google Ad Words to advertise your business? Google ad words are the little ads that appear down the right hand side of your screen. When someone clicks on them, you are charged, but hopefully enough clicks will bring you a customer.

The great thing is that your web site might not appear on the first 10 pages of Google on the left side, but could appear on page one of the Google Ad Words.

My mentor, Norma Rist of Norma J. Rist, CEO Consulting, has been talking about the benefits for the past two meetings and I have finally bit the bullet.

Here's how it works:

Go to Google Ad Words and choose the market(s) you want your ad to appear.

You can select any country in the world or pick a single city. Your ad will only appear when someone searches in your town. By narrowing the geography of your advertisement you have a chance of appearing on the first page. In the picture above, my ad is number one when someone types in Web Writer in the NE Ohio market.

Once you've picked your market, then you'll design your ad - you must be succinct.

Then select the key words or phrases for your advertisement. There are great tools to help you decide which key words to choose. Consider selecting one segment of your business to spotlight. Although I write many types of marketing copy, I decided to try website content for this experiment.

The final step is choosing your budget. You can agree to spend as little as $30 a month.

It's as simple as that. And when I say simple; please remember that I am a techno-phob. I barely know where the "on" button on my computer is - preferring to write with a pencil and paper. And even I managed to work through the process of signing up without a Hitch!

Have you tried Google Ad Words - any success stories to share?

My ad went live about an hour ago. I'll keep you posted.