History

The original idea was invented by Bill Gross from Idealab who, in his turn, borrowed it from yellow pages. Google wanted to buy out the idea but the deal would not get closed.[citation needed] Google did not want to give up and launched AdWords in 2000.AdWords followed Bill Gross' model to a significant extent. In the course of legal action Google and Idealab settled the dispute.

At first AdWords advertisers would pay a monthly amount, and Google would then set up and manage their campaign. To accommodate small businesses and those who wanted to manage their own campaigns, Google soon introduced the AdWords self-service portal. Starting in 2005 Google provided a campaign management service called Jumpstart [8] to assist advertisers in setting up their campaigns. However, this service is no longer available, so companies needing assistance must hire a third-party service provider.

In 2005, Google launched the Google Advertising Professional (GAP) Program to certify individuals and companies who have completed AdWords training and passed an exam. Due to the complexity of AdWords and the amount of money at stake, some advertisers hire a consultant to manage their campaigns.