Google AdWords is deceptively simple to use.

And for you small business owners out there, it can also be surprisingly affordable.

That’s because Google AdWords allows you to monitor very closely just how much you wish to spend in your pursuit of pay-per-click satisfaction. You can invest five dollars a day, or five thousand dollars a day.

What does that kind of discrepancy mean?

Well, it means Google AdWords works for business both big and small. And for small business, especially those trying to reach the local customer, there are some key features on Google AdWords that can translate to major benefits for you, the small business owner.

First, that retail mantra -- “Location, location, location!” -- still applies online.

That’s because Google AdWords lets you narrow your search radius to suit your geographic needs.

If you live in Green Bay, for example, you can have your ad on Google (which is known as a “sponsored ad” or “sponsored link”) appear only to browsers on Google who live within, say, 50 miles of your Green Bay address.

Now that’s target marketing!

It also means that those clicks you get (and pay for) will be quality clicks.

In other words, those browsers who click your ad and wind up on your site (let’s say it’s a site for your vegetarian pizza parlor) will be fellow Green Bay residents, as opposed to some eleven year-old girl from England.

As well, these Green Bay residents will already be in the process of searching out the product you offer. That’s why they typed in two of your keywords -- “vegetarian pizza.”

Combine this with the fact that Google Ad Words notes that the query has come from the Green Bay area, and -- voila! -- you have a hungry local checking out your online menu.

To further zoom in on location for the small business advertiser, Google AdWords cross-references search query content (key words in the query, for example) with the browser’s IP address.

Google AdWords also offers various levels of localized target marketing -- regional targeting, city targeting, and customized targeting (a particular neighborhood, for example). You can even create your own physical boundaries, around city, state or country, and Google AdWords will deliver only browsers from within that defined area.

So if you were concerned about whether such a massive entity as Google could actually help you with your small local business, well, the answer would have to be “Yes.” Yes, it can.

In fact, once you get over that initial misconception -- the presumption that only huge corporations and Fortune 500 companies can afford to advertise on Google -- you’ll find Google AdWords to be a fun and interesting -- and effective -- advertising option to consider.

Throw in the benefit of being able to invest as much or as little as you like, and Google AdWords becomes an even more attractive advertising option for small business proprietors everywhere.

Small Business Mavericks offers advice and tips on how to maximize Google AdWords and PPC campaigns for your local small business. Check us out at www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com.