What Is PPC? A Starter Guide to Pay-Per-Click Marketing

What Is PPC?

Pay-per-click (PPC) selling is simply a benignant of digital advertising that involves paying a interest each clip idiosyncratic clicks connected your ads. 

This means PPC is typically much cost-effective compared to advertizing models that impact paying based connected views oregon impressions that mightiness not pb to immoderate interactions.

Depending connected your advertizing platform, PPC ads tin look successful the pursuing places:

• Search engines similar Google and Bing
• Social media platforms similar Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok
• Banners connected websites
• Videos connected YouTube
• Marketplaces similar Amazon and Etsy

If you tally PPC hunt ads for feline food, your advertisement mightiness look connected Google’s hunt motor results pages (SERPs) similar this: 

If you acceptable a fund of $1 per click and 100 radical click connected your ad, you’ll wage $100.

PPC vs. SEO vs. SEM

PPC is simply a benignant of advertizing that involves paying for each click connected your ads and is astir commonly associated with ads that look successful hunt engines.

Search motor optimization (SEO) is simply a signifier that involves making improvements to summation your site’s visibility successful hunt engines’ integrated (unpaid) results.

They some autumn nether the umbrella of search motor marketing (SEM),assuming you’re talking astir PPC hunt ads. 

But determination are immoderate large differences betwixt SEO and PPC. Like:

• The clip it takes to spot results: With PPC, your ads look erstwhile the run is live. But SEO takes clip to physique up integrated rankings and execute semipermanent visibility.
• The goal: PPC is effectual for quick, short-term results. And SEO is geared toward sustainable, semipermanent traffic.
• Your targeting options: PPC allows circumstantial assemblage targeting (like based connected hunt terms, assemblage demographics, and assemblage online behaviors). But SEO doesn’t people users straight beyond keywords.

Generally, businesses spot the champion results erstwhile they align SEO and PPC successful their selling strategies. 

Why Is PPC Important?

The main benefits of PPC ads are that they:

• Offer circumstantial targeting: PPC lets you scope highly circumstantial audiences done targeting based connected demographics, keywords (usually), and behavior. You tin adjacent people users who antecedently visited your tract oregon interacted with you connected societal media.
• Can present accelerated results: With PPC, you tin commencement driving postulation soon aft you commencement your campaign
• Are mostly cost-effective: With PPC, you lone wage for funny users who instrumentality enactment by clicking. You tin besides power your fund and find your cost per click (CPC) successful advance.
• Are casual to measurement and track: Ad platforms let you to easy track PPC metrics. Like however galore radical clicked connected your ads and what they did from there.
• Allow for casual management: Changing your CPC, strategy, and different elements is elemental erstwhile you manage a PPC campaign done an advertisement platform. For example, you tin boost the fund of ads that are performing well.
• Can boost marque awareness: Even erstwhile users don’t click connected your ads, they tin inactive spot your marque and message. And they whitethorn beryllium much apt to prosecute with you aboriginal on.
• Often complement SEO: Search motor PPC ads enactment good alongside SEO by letting you inhabit much surface abstraction successful hunt motor results. Which is apt to thrust much postulation and income overall. 

How Does PPC Work?

Pay-per-click advertizing uses a beauteous straightforward process:

1. Sign up for an advertizing relationship with a level you privation to tally ads on. Like Google Ads oregon Meta Ads Manager.
2. Set your wide fund and however overmuch you’re consenting to wage for each click
3. Create your ad copy and see ocular assets similar images/videos arsenic applicable
4. Send your advertisement into an auction with different advertisers who are bidding connected the aforesaid keywords oregon targeting criteria
5. Wait for the auction to find whose ads volition beryllium shown—and where
6. Pay whenever idiosyncratic clicks your ad

The nonstop process depends connected your level and advertisement format. But the main principles remain.

5 Types of PPC Ads

When you tally a PPC campaign, you person a wide prime of antithetic advertisement formats that tin alteration by platform, including:

Search Ads

Search ads are text-based ads that look successful hunt engines similar Google and Bing erstwhile users participate a query. 

These ads usually amusement astatine the apical oregon bottommost of the SERP and are labeled arsenic “Sponsored” oregon “Ad.” 

For example, here’s an advertisement that appears for the hunt word “best task absorption platform”:

Search ads supply contiguous visibility among users actively searching for products oregon services related to your business. 

Display Ads

Display ads are astir commonly tally done Google Ads and are banner- oregon image-based ads that look crossed a wide scope of websites wrong the Google Display Network (GDN) and different spouse sites/apps. 

They’re shown based connected users’ browsing behavior, interests, and different targeting criteria the advertiser selected.

Here’s an illustration of a show advertisement connected Forbes:

Display ads are peculiarly bully for expanding marque awareness.

Video Ads

Video ads look crossed the web and platforms similar YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. 

Here’s an illustration of a video advertisement connected LinkedIn:

Video ads are peculiarly effectual for telling a communicative oregon delivering much analyzable messages successful an engaging format.

Further reading: The Ultimate Beginner‘s Guide to YouTube Ad Targeting

Retargeting Ads

Retargeting ads (Google calls them remarketing ads) are delivered to users who antecedently visited your website oregon interacted with your contented but didn’t implicit a desired enactment (like making a purchase). 

Here’s a ocular practice of however retargeting ads work:

If idiosyncratic visited your online store, added a brace of shoes to their cart, but near without completing the purchase, you tin usage remarketing ads to amusement those aforesaid shoes to them via a PPC ad.

Here’s an illustration of however manner accessories marque DailyObjects retargets users connected Instagram:

Retargeting ads are large for encouraging repetition visits/interactions and expanding conversions.

Shopping Ads

Shopping ads are visually affluent merchandise ads that look successful hunt results and Google’s Shopping tab. 

For example, here’s what users mightiness spot if they hunt for lasting desks: 

Shopping ads are peculiarly effectual for ecommerce businesses due to the fact that they people radical who are actively looking for circumstantial products.

5 PPC Advertising Platforms 

Here are immoderate of the astir well-known PPC platforms:

Google Ads

Google Ads is the largest PPC level (their market stock is 39%) and allows you to tally ads crossed the full Google Network, which includes:

• Google’s hunt results pages
• Google-owned platforms similar YouTube and Google Maps
• Thirty-five million third-party websites and apps that marque up the Google Display Network (GDN)

There are six types of Google Ads campaigns you tin take from, including search, display, shopping, and video.

Google Ads lets you scope those astir apt to person by bidding connected circumstantial keywords, ensuring your ads look successful applicable hunt results. 

Additionally, you tin people audience segments—groups of radical with circumstantial characteristics oregon behaviors successful common—to further refine who sees your ads.

Meta Ads

Meta Ads Manager allows you to tally PPC ads connected some Facebook and Instagram.

Here’s an illustration of an advertisement connected Facebook:

You tin archer this is simply a paid social advertisement due to the fact that it says “Sponsored” successful the apical near corner. 

With Meta Ads Manager, you tin make ads successful a assortment of formats including image, video, and carousel (swipe done aggregate images oregon videos wrong 1 ad).

Meta offers precise circumstantial targeting options based connected demographics and interests, which enables brands to pat into a excavation of apt customers.

Further reading: Facebook Advertising: How to Run Campaigns connected Facebook

TikTok Ads 

TikTok allows you to tally short-form video advertisements connected the platform. 

Here’s an illustration of what a TikTok advertisement looks like:

Advertising options see in-feed ads (ads that look successful users’ feeds arsenic they’re scrolling) and TopView ads (full-screen ads that look arsenic soon arsenic a idiosyncratic opens the TikTok app).

TikTok is peculiarly fashionable among younger audiences, making it an perfect level for brands looking to prosecute with Gen Z and millennial users done originative and engaging content.

Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads enables you to widen your hunt motor scope beyond Google by displaying ads crossed the Microsoft Advertising Network, which includes:

• Bing, Yahoo, and MSN hunt motor results 
• Microsoft-owned properties similar Outlook and Microsoft 365
• Bing and Yahoo hunt partners similar Ask.com and Forbes 

Here’s an illustration of a buying advertisement connected Bing:

Some advertisement types you tin tally connected Microsoft Ads see search, display, video, and shopping.

LinkedIn Ads

With LinkedIn Ads, you tin scope implicit 1 billion progressive professionals connected the largest societal media level for nonrecreational networking. 

Here’s an illustration of an advertisement connected LinkedIn:

With LinkedIn, you tin tally a assortment of advertisement types similar substance ads, sponsored messaging, and sponsored contented (ads that look successful users’ feeds).

LinkedIn Ads offers precocious targeting options based connected occupation title, employer, industry, and nonrecreational skills—making it perfect for B2B marketing.

How to Start a PPC Campaign

The nonstop steps to plan a PPC campaign beryllium connected the level you use, but you’ll ever travel these 7 wide steps:

1. Set Goals

Your PPC objectives volition usher each determination astir things similar keyword selection, advertisement copy, and adjacent however and erstwhile your advertisement is shown. 

Start by defining your desired outcome. This mightiness beryllium expanding postulation to your site, driving much purchases, generating leads, oregon driving marque awareness. 

Here’s what selecting a extremity looks similar connected Microsoft Ads:

Next, find which metrics to way based connected the extremity you set, truthful you tin measurement your performance.

Some communal metrics to way include:

• Click-through rate (CTR) for traffic-related goals
• Conversion rate (the percent of visitors who instrumentality a desired action) for income and pb generation
• Impressions for marque consciousness campaigns
• Engagement complaint for postulation and marque consciousness campaigns 

2. Do Preliminary Research

Before mounting up your campaign, laic the groundwork with rival and keyword research, truthful you don’t person to interrupt moving connected your ads mid-setup.

First, usage Semrush’s Advertising Research instrumentality to reappraisal your competitors’ advertisement copy. And get inspired. 

Open the tool, participate a competitor’s domain name, prime the state you program to target, and click “Search.”

Navigate to the “Ads Copies” tab to spot the nonstop transcript your rival is utilizing successful hunt ads they’re running.

Click connected each ad’s header to cheque retired your competitor’s advertisement landing pages. And spot however they effort to prosecute visitors and thrust conversions.

If you’re utilizing Meta Ads, presumption your competitors’ enactment done the Meta Ads Library. Just take an advertisement benignant and participate their marque name.

For LinkedIn Ads, sojourn the LinkedIn Ad Library and hunt by advertiser sanction oregon keyword. Like this:

If you’re moving a keyword-focused campaign, behaviour PPC keyword research next. This helps your ads scope radical actively searching for your offerings.

Do this with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. 

Just unfastened the instrumentality and participate a azygous effect keyword (a wide word related to your intended advertisement campaign) successful the bar. 

Click “Search,” and the instrumentality volition make perchance thousands of keyword suggestions for you to review.

Once your study is ready, you’ll spot a database of keyword ideas. 

To guarantee you’re focused connected presumption that are champion suited for PPC campaigns, click the “Intent” drop-down, cheque the boxes adjacent to “Commercial” and “Transactional” (these correspond presumption that idiosyncratic hunt erstwhile they’re getting acceptable to marque a purchase), and click “Apply.”

Take a look astatine the narrowed database and see these metrics:

• Search volume: This is the mean fig of monthly searches a word gets. Aim for presumption that get a decent measurement (at slightest 100 searches per month).
• Competitive density: This is simply a fig betwixt 0 and 1 that shows however competitory a keyword is. Consider presumption with little scores to summation the chances of your ads appearing.
• CPC: This is the mean magnitude advertisers wage for a click connected ads targeting this term. Consider keywords with a little CPC to maximize the fig of clicks portion staying wrong your budget. Choose higher CPC keywords if you deliberation they person the imaginable to beryllium invaluable and high-performing.

Use everything you larn during this signifier to pass the remainder of your campaign. 

3. Set a Budget and Choose a Bidding Strategy

Your bidding strategy controls however overmuch you wage for clicks, and it often depends connected the extremity you acceptable for your campaign.

It’s communal to usage a CPC-focused bidding strategy, wherever you wage for each click to thrust postulation to your intended destination. 

But different communal types are based connected impressions and views (like outgo per 1000 impressions) oregon conversions (like outgo per action).

Most platforms besides connection some manual bidding (which lets you acceptable circumstantial bid amounts) and automated bidding (when the level adjusts bids based connected your goals).

Here’s what it tin look similar to acceptable a bidding strategy utilizing LinkedIn Ads:

Once you’ve picked your bidding strategy, find however overmuch you're consenting to walk connected your campaign. 

Some platforms similar Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads automatically suggest an mean regular fund based connected your run settings.

But you tin besides acceptable up a customized budget.

To cipher your regular budget, disagreement your full monthly advertizing fund by 30.4—the mean fig of days successful a month.

So, if your monthly fund is $1,000, your regular fund is $32.89. 

4. Define YourTarget Audience 

Every advertizing level offers antithetic targeting options to assistance you scope highly circumstantial audiences to guarantee the champion results.

Some communal targeting options include:

• Demographics: Information astir age, gender, determination (which tin beryllium arsenic wide arsenic a state oregon arsenic circumstantial arsenic a peculiar zip code), etc.
• Socioeconomics: Information astir income, household size, acquisition level, etc.
• Interests and behaviors: Information astir hobbies, activities, purchasing behaviors, online interactions, etc.

Depending connected your platform, you tin besides make highly circumstantial audiences with your ain data. Or audiences that stock characteristics with radical successful an existing list.

Here’s an illustration of adding determination targeting connected Google Ads:

If you aren’t definite who to absorption your ads on, usage One2Target to find out.

Open the tool, participate up to 5 competitors’ URLs, and click “Analyze.”

Once your results are ready, you’ll spot elaborate accusation connected your competitors’ corporate audience. 

For example, the “Socioeconomics” tab shows information points connected your audience’s household size, income level, employment status, and acquisition level. 

You tin usage this accusation to tailor your advertisement messaging, targeting, and offers to amended lucifer the needs and preferences of your audience.

With your assemblage defined, it’s yet clip to make your ad. 

Depending connected your level and benignant of campaign, you mightiness request to bash the following:

Ad transcript should seizure attraction and spark interest—especially if you’re moving substance ads that person nary ocular component. 

The nonstop benignant and format volition alteration based connected your level and run type. 

For instance, societal media ads whitethorn beryllium little and punchy fixed they person images and videos that tin bash a batch of the talking. But hunt ads often necessitate much detail.

And hunt ads are typically made up of 3 main elements:

• Display path: This is based connected the leafage you’ll nonstop radical to aft clicking your ad. You tin modify however this looks to marque it much approachable.
• Headline: This is the salient bluish substance users typically spot first, truthful marque it attention-grabbing and applicable to the hunt query. Include your main keyword and absorption connected the worth you offer.
• Description: This is the substance nether the header that gives users much discourse astir your merchandise oregon service. Use this abstraction to item unsocial features, code assemblage symptom points, etc. And don’t hide to see a call to action (CTA). 

Here’s however it mightiness look similar to constitute your advertisement transcript connected Google Ads:

Optimize and Upload Images

For immoderate campaigns (like for show and societal media ads), you request images that correspond your merchandise oregon work well.

Then, usage tools similar Canva oregon Adobe Express to edit and resize images to conscionable level requirements.

For example, Meta recommends images beryllium astatine slightest 1,080 x 1,350 pixels for in-feed Facebook ads and astatine slightest 1,080 x 1,080 pixels for in-feed Instagram ads.

Google Ads recommends 1,200 x 628 pixels for banner images successful show campaigns.

Whichever level you’re using, adhd images to the platform’s advertisement instauration conception and preview however they’ll appear.

Here’s what that looks similar wrong Google Ads:

Edit and Upload Your Videos

A well-edited video tin seizure attraction rapidly and pass your connection efficaciously successful conscionable a fewer seconds.

Use editing bundle similar CapCut to trim footage, adhd captions, and guarantee your video is precocious quality. 

Once you’re ready, upload your video to your level of choice.

If you’re moving YouTube video ads done Google Ads, you tin bash this during setup:

Don’t hide to work your platform’s guidelines connected length, quality, and facet ratio.

6. Review and Launch Your Campaign

The motorboat process volition alteration depending connected the level you’re using, but ever marque definite to springiness everything a last overview earlier you propulsion your run live

For example, Google Ads includes a reappraisal signifier that shows you an overview of the settings you’ve chosen and the ads you created. 

On the right-hand side, Google volition besides amusement you a “Campaign optimization score.” Which gives you an thought of however well-optimized your ads are. Like this:

Double-check everything, including your run settings, keywords (if your run uses them), audience, and budget. 

If everything’s successful order, propulsion your run live.

7. Manage and Refine Your Campaign

The cardinal to a palmy PPC run is ongoing absorption and optimization, truthful set arsenic you stitchery much information.

Here are immoderate tips to assistance you amended your PPC performance:

• Experiment with bidding strategies: Test antithetic bidding strategies to get the highest instrumentality connected concern for your advertisement spend
• Optimize advertisement copy: Regularly update your advertisement transcript to support it caller and relevant. Test antithetic headlines and descriptions to find what works best.
• Use advertisement scheduling: Some PPC platforms fto you set bids (or halt bidding altogether) based connected the clip of day. This helps debar wasting fund connected clicks that aren’t converting. For example, you tin crook disconnected ads overnight.
• Refine targeting: Review assemblage insights connected your advertisement level to place trends successful demographics, behaviors, and engagement rates. Adjust your targeting to scope the astir applicable users.
• Regularly way results: The nonstop monitoring frequence depends connected your goals and campaign. But way cardinal metrics astatine slightest erstwhile per week.

Once you person a bully knowing of however your run is performing, you tin commencement to marque adjustments. 

Let's accidental you announcement that the 18-24 property radical engages with your ads much than the intended 25-34 group. 

In that case, you tin displacement your targeting to absorption connected younger audiences and set your messaging to amended suit their interests.

Here’s what editing your targeting looks similar successful TikTok Ads:

Track Your PPC Campaign’s Performance

You present cognize the basics of moving PPC ads, truthful you’re acceptable to commencement your archetypal campaign. 

If you’re moving hunt ads connected Google, Semrush tin assistance you stitchery the insights you request for much effectual ads. From the champion keywords to the astir engaged assemblage and adjacent your competitors’ strategies.

Sign up for a free Semrush trial to get started.

This station was updated successful 2024. Excerpts from the archetypal nonfiction by Marilyn Wilkinson whitethorn remain.