payperclick

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time a user clicks their ad. Rather than paying simply to display an advertisement, PPC ties cost to user engagement, making it a performance-based approach widely used in search engine advertising and across display networks.

In most PPC systems, advertisers bid on keywords or placements. Advertisements appear in search results or on partner sites when a user queries related terms or visits relevant pages. Ad rank is determined by a combination of the bid amount and the ad’s quality score, which reflects expected click-through rate, relevance, and landing page experience. When a user clicks an ad, the advertiser is charged the agreed amount, not the cost of impression. Budgets and targeting options such as location, device, and time of day help control spend.

Common PPC channels include search advertising platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, as well as social media and display networks where ads are shown to targeted audiences. The most widely used metric in PPC is cost per click (CPC), but campaigns may also optimize for cost per acquisition (CPA) or return on ad spend (ROAS). Key performance indicators include click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost efficiency.

Best practices emphasize thorough keyword research, negative keyword lists, relevant ad copy, optimized landing pages, and robust conversion tracking. PPC has advantages in measurability and speed but requires ongoing optimization and monitoring to maintain ROI. Its history traces to early bid-based search advertising, with major platforms evolving to emphasize quality and relevance alongside bidding.