Pay Per Click (PPC)

Pay per click (PPC) is an advertising model used on search engines where advertisers pay only when a user actually clicks on an ad and visits the advertiser's web site. Advertisers bid on keywords they predict their target market will use as search terms while looking for their product or service.

When a user types a keyword matching the advertiser's keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, the advertiser's ad may be shown. These ads are called a "Sponsored link" or "sponsored ads" and appear next to or above the natural or organic search results or anywhere a webmaster chooses on a content page.

The largest PPC marketing companies are Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing.

PPC engines can be categorized into two major categories "Keyword" or sponsored match and "Content Match". Sponsored match displays your listing on the search engine itself whereas content match features ads on publisher sites and in newsletters and emails.

Next Topic: Keyword PPC