What is PPC or Pay Per Click Advertising?

By Devin Meikle / February 20, 2018 / Digital Marketing Blog Archives, Paid Search

This article was updated May 31, 2022.

Individuals who are unfamiliar with the digital marketing world may find themselves asking, “What is pay-per-click advertising?”

Or perhaps you have heard the phrase, but don’t quite understand what it means — or how it relates to your business.

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can go by many names. It is known as search engine marketing (SEM), PPC, or simply “paid search.” No matter which name is used, it is a tremendous online advertising method where, very literally, an advertiser pays for each time a user clicks on its sponsored ad.

These ads appear on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, but also across social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. The more platforms that arise, the more pay-per-click opportunities there are.

There’s a market for PPC ads on YouTube, Yelp, Home Advisor, and Angie’s List — among a plethora of other platforms that are similar across different industries.

In simple terms — regarding paid-search ads specifically, this means search engines are paid to allow visitors searching for a brand, products, or services to easily find the business.

With the ever-growing popularity of the internet, PPC advertising is booming. By effectively planning and executing a PPC strategy, businesses are more likely to generate traffic to the website, increase leads for the brand, as well as enhance productivity of your business.

With the use of paid search ads, business owners and marketers can see direct results while targeting an audience online that can potentially drive sales — even brand recognition.

There are numerous reasons why PPC is important for a business, each of which is just as important as the next.

Cost-Effective Strategy

The beauty of PPC is that you only pay when someone clicks on the business’ ad. This gives business owners and marketers full control of the budget.

Daily budgets can be set so that once that amount is reached, the ad will stop showing for the day and turn back on the following day with a full budget to spend. This customization allows you to be in control of how much the ad is spending, and when.

Audience Reach

Almost instantly, PPC can drive in targeted traffic to the website, landing page, or specific product the brand is looking to push.

Choosing the desired keywords will work as a trigger for the business allows the ads can show up for specific searches that could lead to increased sales and general business quicker than just organic efforts alone.

Ad Placement & Schedule

Applying geo-targeting and ad scheduling to the campaigns ensures the ad runs during the desired timeframe and in the right area.

Geo-targeting allows paid marketing professionals to choose what specific geographic locations for the ad to run. This step helps to ensure audience members in the desired area have the potential of seeing the ad.

Ad scheduling determines the dates and times the ads should run. This helps to ensure that the ads are generating traffic and leads during ideal times and locations that are relevant for the business.

Use in Conjunction with Additional Marketing Efforts

The key to marketing success is being able to master all digital channels — and utilizing a tailored strategy.

Paired with marketing avenues like search engine optimization (SEO) and social media, it can create an equation for success. Each avenue can help the other to improve the overall ranking of the brand’s website as well as cover different areas to reach more potential customers.

PPC advertising is appropriate for any business, small or large. It is a learned skill that can have great potential for businesses.

However, not everyone has the time, can facilitate it properly, and drive the results specific to their business.

It’s essential to know what keywords to target, which geographical area makes the most sense, what verbiage to use in the ad copy, and which type(s) of device(s) you want to concentrate on targeting.

The right paid search specialist can help your business by managing and monitoring the PPC campaigns from start to finish. Although some have a “set it and forget it” mindset when it comes to PPC, this is incredibly harmful to the success of a campaign.

Monitoring from start to finish helps to increase the value of the paid campaigns in a multitude of ways. First, business owners and marketers will know exactly how much money is being spent, where it is going, and there will be a clear-cut ROI.

Secondly, your brand’s products and/or services would get the necessary exposure and seen by the right people at the right time.

Remember, the world of digital marketing never stops changing; it may be easiest to let the right team of professionals handle your paid search efforts and take your brand to the next level.

Contact us today to learn more about PPC and how a tailored strategy from Elevation Ten Thousand is often the solution many business owners need.