Before in the early days of the Internet around 1998-2000, you would just simply setup a Pay Per Click Account at Overture. You manually load your keywords or use a Spreadsheet and start a bidding war. Start bidding as low as a penny per click, and you would actually show up close to the top on a lot of keywords.
It was sort of like this at first when Google came on the scene, that was 2003. Over time the costs per click started rising, then other factors came into play like the Google Quality Score, most amateurs wanting to enter the Pay Per Click Game are doing it all wrong.
2 of the Biggest Google Adwords Misconceptions:
1.) Google AdWords is not an auction where the person who pays the most per click automatically wins, it is much more complicated than this.
2.) The person holding the #1 Position does get the most clicks, this is hardly the most profitable position to be in. It’s paramount to understand the balance between the best positioning, the number of clicks you want to receive and the price you are willing to pay for each click.
It’s possible for someone to bid $.75 per click to get their ad showing higher compared to someone who is paying $7.50 per click. If you are just starting out with Google Adwords and don’t have some serious mentoring and the ability to understand abstract concepts, impossible for the average person to figure out.