Google AdWords has become a prevalent e-marketing tool in the growing online marketing platform. Google AdWords is an accessible tool of e-marketing, it is also easy to use, measurable, and enables marketing within a predetermined budget. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the use of Google AdWords as an e-marketing tool. A research study was conducted in 2016 with the aim to ascertain the extent to which Google AdWords is used among the Western Cape’s star-graded
overnight accommodation establishments. A self-administered web-based survey was conducted to collect data and a total of 278 fully completed and usable responses were received. The study revealed that the majority (67%) of respondents were aware of Google AdWords and that 41% of respondents that are aware of Google AdWords also make use of Google AdWords. It was found that the use of Google AdWords is dependent on the type and the star-grading of overnight accommodation
establishment. It can be concluded that Google AdWords is a worthwhile e-marketing tool for stargraded accommodation
