What is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a cost-effective ad purchase model, as brands pay only for an ad when it is clicked, and the user “clicks-through” to the advertiser’s targeted landing page.

In PPC advertising, brands pay for each click their ad receives, usually based on a bid for a specific contextual placement, such as a search engine results page (SERP) or a content page matching customer persona interests.  If the keyword, ad content, and landing page are aligned, PPC is cost-effective, as visitors interests are accurately captured and more likely to lead to conversion.  If not, visitors will click an ad only to find the landing page irrelevant to their needs.  As a result, the cost of clicks without conversion can make PPC expensive.

While PPC originally defined a clear cut purchase model, technological advances and platform changes expanded what PPC includes.  For example, Google’s PPC ads now include smart bidding that allows purchasing ads by Cost per Acquisition or Action (CPA) or conversion value (ROAS).  In both cases, the actual cost is no longer based on a click, but a specific metric based on a combination of clicks that equal the bid for an agreed acquisition cost or conversion value.

Learn more about PPC Advertising here.