Paid Search (PPC)

Definition

Paid search (also called Pay-Per-Click or PPC, Search Engine Marketing or SEM) is a form of online advertising where advertisers bid on keywords to display ads in search engine results, paying only when someone clicks their ad. Google Ads (formerly AdWords) dominates paid search with 90%+ market share, followed by Microsoft Advertising (Bing). Advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their business, create ad copy, and set landing pages. When users search those keywords, an auction determines which ads appear based on bid amount × Quality Score (ad relevance, landing page experience, expected click-through rate). Benefits: immediate visibility (vs. months for SEO), precise targeting (keywords, location, device, time), measurable ROI, and budget control. Challenges: ongoing cost (stop paying = traffic stops), increasing competition raising costs, ad fatigue, and 70-80% of users skip ads for organic results. Average PPC conversion rates: 2-4% for search ads, 0.5-1% for display ads.