Kirsten Mangers is CEO of WebVisible (http://www.WebVisible.com), and has been helping small and mid-size businesses be found for more than 25 years.

When small-business owners want to test the success of their online advertising, they tend to "google" their keyword or key phrase, checking to see if their company comes up. And one of the most common questions we get from them is: "Why can't I find myself on 'the Google?'"

Their query underscores a general confusion about how search advertising works. And while simply typing words into the giant search engine seems like a reasonable enough approach, the concept is more complex than it first seems, but once small-business owners and marketers understand it, they can take steps to get more from their online marketing.

Aren’t Google AdWords and Yahoo Advertising Enough?

Uh, no.

Placing ads only with Google or only with Yahoo (or another major search engine) isn’t optimal, because potential customers search using at least seven different media sources—not just Google and Yahoo. They use their computers, smartphones and car navigation systems, and various search engines and directories.

If someone’s looking for an office copier, they’ll search on their office desktop. But if someone’s traveling and looking for a dry cleaner or a place to eat, they’re more likely to use a smartphone or GPS to locate a nearby cleaner or restaurant.

If you’re only in Google, you’re missing potential customers.

What Do I Need to Know?

There are certain pieces of info that are critical for putting your ads where the customers are:

• Which search engine are your customers using when looking for you—Google? Bing? Ask? Yahoo?
• Where are they when searching for you—on the road, at the office, or at home?
• What device are they using to find you—a wireless device? A laptop? GPS?
• What keywords are they using? Are they using geographic locations as part of their keyword phrase? A zip code?

Where Is My Ad?

Many business owners will type in a keyword to see if their ad comes up—and it may not appear. If you turn your TV to Channel 4, do you see the same commercial every time? Online advertising works similarly—ads are rotated.

Also, you might not be using the most effective keywords in your ads. If your keyword is “general contractor,” there could be 50,000 other companies competing with you for that keyword. Someone who searches “general contractor” may not know what they’re really looking for. But someone searching “general contractor in New Haven specializing in roofing” knows what he wants and is more likely to be an actual customer.