Paid MediaMarketing glossary

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Also known as: Pay-Per-Click, Paid search

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is an advertising model where you pay a fee each time someone clicks your ad, buying visits rather than earning them organically.

The best-known form of PPC is paid search — the ads at the top of Google results — but the model also powers much of social and display advertising. You bid in an auction for placement against a chosen audience or keyword.

PPC's advantage is speed and control: campaigns can drive qualified traffic within hours, with precise targeting and a measurable cost per result. That makes it the ideal complement to SEO, which is slower but compounds.

Success depends on tight alignment between keyword, ad copy, and landing page, plus disciplined management of bids, negative keywords, and Quality Score. Wasted spend accumulates fast when campaigns are left unattended.

Frequently asked questions

Is PPC better than SEO?

They serve different goals. PPC delivers immediate, controllable traffic but stops when spending stops. SEO is slower to build but compounds into a durable, lower-cost asset. Most effective strategies use both together.

Related terms

Want this working for your business?

BrandBoost helps Gujarat brands turn metrics like this into real growth. Tell us your goals — we'll send back a sharp plan.

Start a project