The visitors got off to an impressive start from the kick off and retained possession for three minutes.
And when Armagh were penalises inside their 22, it look inevitable that the visitors would kick a simple three points.
However they elected to kick the ball from the corner and when Tinus Van Wyk stole the line-out, Armagh were able to clear their lines.
Centre Richard Reaney brought play deep into Ards’ 22 when he put in a clever kick behind the defence.
And this is where Armagh would stay for the majority of the half.
The hosts took a deserved lead on 10 minutes when John Faloon, making his first appearance of the season, came off his wing to and get behind the visiting defence.
Scrum-half Harry Doyle spotted a gap at the ruck and his dart brought play right up to the line where Colin Atkinson was on hand to power over.
James McBriar missed what was a simple conversion but that would matter little in the long run.
Armagh continued to dominate and on 19 minutes they were camped deep in Ards’ 22 but they were denied by a knock on.
From the resulting scrum, Reaney put in a grubber kick behind the defence but he was just beat to the touchdown.
But Armagh were not to be denied three minutes later.
The hosts retained possession over a large number of phases, showed some great patience before the ball was shipped right allowing Reaney to squeeze in at the flag.
This time McBriar added the extra points from a difficult angle.
Armagh extended their lead on 28 minutes through the boot of Johnny Steenson.
A good back-row move allowed the ball to go straight out to Atkinson, who burst through the initial challenge.
But when Ards conceded a penalty at the breakdown, full-back Steenson slotted over the three points from 40 metres.
Things got worse for Ards eight minutes from the break when prop Andrew Foster was sent to the bin for taking Doyle out with a swinging arm from the side of a ruck.
From that penalty, Armagh kicked the ball into the corner and after a couple of drives to the line by the pack, No 8 James Morton crept over for the third try.
Ards’ only other chance of the half came four minutes from the break when Armagh were penalised on their 10-metre line but Neil Beggs pushed the ball wide of the mark.
Armagh could have had the bonus point wrapped up by the half time interval but Faloon knocked on just as a try looked inevitable.
The weather took a turn for the worst in the second half and heavy snowfall made the ball difficult to control.
But Armagh showed more composure and when they scored their fourth try on 53 minutes, it looked like Armagh were going to finish comfortably.
The try came following a clever break by McBriar, who was held just short of the line.
However substitute Johnny Allen was on hand to pick the ball up and power his way over for the bonus point-clinching try.
Steenson added the extra points but that proved to be Armagh’s last score of the game.
Ards seemed to rally but at 29-0 down, the best they could hope for was to try and get within seven points to claim a losing bonus point.
And they claimed their first score of the day on 57 minutes when Armagh turned the ball over in their 22 and out-half Mark Banford raced in under the posts.
Beggs added the conversion and while Ards had the majority of play for the remainder of the game, they were unable to get through Armagh’s defence.
But four minutes from time Ards claimed their second try when they caught Armagh out on the blindside, allowing second row James McCavery to go over.
Beggs failed with the conversion and a few minutes later Armagh were able to celebrate a vital victory.
