PPC Marketing

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Marketing is a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically. Search engine advertising (like Google Ads) is one of the most popular forms of PPC, allowing advertisers to bid for ad placement in a search engine's sponsored links when someone searches on a keyword that is related to their business offering.

13 Expert Definitions

Key PPC Marketing Concepts

Browse our comprehensive dictionary of ppc marketing terms. Click on any term to get a deep dive into its meaning and practical application.

CPC (Cost Per Click)

CPC (Cost Per Click) is the average amount paid for each ad click. It is influenced by bid pressure, relevance signals, auction competition, and expected user r...

#ppc#qualityscore#ctr

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is a performance advertising model where advertisers pay when users click an ad, usually through auction-based platforms such as Google Ads,...

#cpc#roas#conversionrate

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google Ads metric that estimates keyword-level relevance using expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. It influ...

#cpc#ctr#landingpage

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures how much revenue is generated per unit of advertising cost, typically calculated as Revenue / Ad Spend. It is a core performa...

#ppc#conversionrate#cpc

Keyword Bidding

Keyword bidding is the process of setting how much you are willing to pay for traffic on specific search queries in an ad auction. Bidding can be manual or auto...

#cpc#ppc#qualityscore

Ad Rank

Ad Rank determines whether an ad is eligible to show and how prominently it appears in search results for a given auction. It is influenced by bid, quality sign...

#qualityscore#cpc#ppc

Ad Extensions

Ad extensions (now commonly called ad assets) are additional elements that expand a search ad with extra information such as sitelinks, callouts, structured sni...

#adrank#ctr#qualityscore

Remarketing (Retargeting)

Remarketing (retargeting) delivers ads to users who have already interacted with your site, app, or content, making it useful for re-engaging warm audiences wit...

#audiencesegmentation#conversionrate#ppc

Landing Page

A landing page is the destination page users reach after clicking an ad, and it has a direct impact on both conversion rate and media efficiency. Strong landing...

#qualityscore#conversionrate#pagespeed

Search Terms Report

A Search Terms Report shows the real queries users typed before clicking your ads. It is one of the most important optimization views because it reveals intent ...

#keywordbidding#negativekeywords#ppc

Quality Factor

Quality Factor is Microsoft Advertising's keyword-level relevance score, conceptually similar to Google Ads Quality Score. It reflects expected click-through ra...

#qualityscore#adrank#microsoftadvertising

Microsoft Advertising

Microsoft Advertising is the paid search and audience advertising platform that powers ads across Bing, Yahoo, and partner inventory. For many advertisers, it c...

#ppc#cpc#qualityscore

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are terms you explicitly exclude from paid search targeting to prevent ads from showing on irrelevant queries. They are one of the highest-imp...

#searchtermsreport#keywordbidding#qualityscore

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good CPC in my industry?

CPC varies wildly by industry. For example, legal or insurance keywords can cost $50+, while retail might be $1-2. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find benchmarks for your specific niche.

How can I lower my PPC costs?

The most effective way is to improve your Quality Score by making your ads and landing pages more relevant to the keywords you are bidding on. Higher quality scores lead to lower costs per click.

Should I run PPC if I already rank #1 organically?

Yes. Running ads for keywords you already rank for allows you to 'dominate' the search result page, prevents competitors from stealing your traffic via their ads, and typically results in a higher total click volume.

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