Google Ads (previously Google AdWords, before July 24, 2018) is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers pay to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, video content and generate mobile application installs within the Google ad network to web users. Google Ads' system is based partly on cookies and partly on keywords determined by advertisers. Google uses these characteristics to place advertising copy on pages where they think it might be relevant. Advertisers pay when users divert their browsing to click on the advertising copy. Partner websites receive a portion of the generated income.Google Ads has evolved into Google's main source of revenue, contributing to Google's total advertising revenues of US$95.4 billion in 2017. AdWords offers services under a pay-per-click (PPC) pricing model. Although an advanced bidding strategy can be used to automatically reach a predefined cost-per-acquisition (CPA), this should not be confused with a true CPA pricing model.The Google Ads program includes local, national, and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of three headlines with a maximum of 30 characters each, 2 descriptions with a maximum of 90 characters, and a display two URLs of 15 characters each. These are called AdWords expanded text Ads. These mimic what the average search result looks like on Google. Image ads can be one of the several different standardized sizes as designated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). In May 2016, Google announced its reformatting of ads to help consumers and advertisers succeed in a mobile-first world. The new format, called Expanded Text Ads, allows 23% more text. This new format is available on both the Google Search Network and the Google Display network. It features two headlines with 30 characters each, replacing the standard of a single headline with 30 characters. The display URL has been replaced with two 15 character paths, not including the root domain.
Sales and support for Google's AdWords division in the United States is based in Mountain View, California, with major secondary offices in Hyderabad, Dublin, Singapore, Ann Arbor and New York City. The third-largest US facility is the Googleplex, Google's headquarters, which is located in Mountain View, California. Google AdWords engineering is based at the Googleplex, with major secondary offices in Los Angeles and New York.
As of June 2018, Google derives 86% of its total revenues through trading advertising inventory through AdWords, DoubleClick AdExchange, and DoubleClick Bid Manager, among others.