Google Adwords is a great way of pushing visitors to your site. And whoever thinks its a poor effort need not comment. For those site owners who struggle with SEO then Adwords is a good way of increasing your page rank. And you are not "buying" visitors, but instead paying a predetermined amount when someone decides to visit your site because it is something they are interested.
Infact, Adwords is actually in many ways far more beneficial, as it allows you to target your marketing efforts, rather than simply market to themasses. You can also choose frequency of page impressions and as already mentioned, how much you are willing to pay per click.
Be warned though, if you are new to Adwords ensure you test it on a small scale first. Set yourself a low budget over a set timescale to allow you to accurately judge the overall effectiveness of your Adwords campaign. As with any form of marketing you should always test on a small scale before roling it out en-masse. If not you can, and chances are WILL, get your fingers burned. So the message is be safe, be sensible, and test your market first. Follow the basic marketing code and you are likely to achieve excellent results.
Phil Johnson
White Rose Design Solutions
http://www.whiterosedesignsolutions.net