What Is PPC? The Definitive Guide to Pay-Per-Click Marketing

PPC stands for pay-per-click. It’s a type of digital marketing where you pay each time a user clicks on one of your ads.

To see what PPC ads look like, run almost any search on Google (or Bing). You’ll see ads displayed at the top of the results page:

See the listings at the top marked “Sponsored”? Those are PPC search ads from Google Ads, Google’s ad platform.

PPC is sometimes referred to as CPC. But there’s a subtle difference.

Cost per click defines the actual amount an advertiser paid per click. And PPC is the term for pay-per-click marketing.

You can run PPC ads in a variety of places, including:

• Search engines like Google and Bing
• Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram
• Banners on websites
• Videos on YouTube
• Marketplaces like Amazon

Why Is PPC Important?

PPC marketing can help attract new customers and grow your business. By making your brand visible to specific audiences and taking them to high-value pages that support your business goals.

Let’s explore what makes PPC so valuable:

PPC Ads Allow for Effective Targeting

PPC ads allow you to reach highly specific audiences, based on very specific criteria known as targeting. So you speak to the right people and avoid wasting ad spend.

The exact targeting options vary depending on the platform. Google Search has different targeting options compared to Facebook, for example.

Here, you can see how Google enables you to target users based on demographics, keywords, topics, and more:

You can even target...