PPC is an abbreviation for the term Pay-Per-Click, an advertising technique used on the internet.

PPC ads are posted on websites and advertising networks, but are most often associated with their visibility on search engine results pages. If you use a search engine and see a list of ads titled “Sponsored Links” or “Sponsor Results,” you are looking at PPC ads. Let’s take a look at PPC advertising as it relates to search engine search results pages.

Generally speaking, advertisers pay for the right to have their ads displayed by the search engine companies when internet users search for a particular keyword. A keyword is simply what a person enters into the search box, and it can be a single word or a multi-word phrase. Each time a person clicks on the ad, the advertiser pays a fee to the search engine company, hence the name pay-per-click.

Companies who use PPC advertising compete for specific positioning in the ad listing by bidding on individual keywords that relate to the products and services they offer. They want to be sure their intended audience actually gets to see the ad and, when those who see the ad actually click it to get to the company’s website, a significant number of those visits results in revenue for the company.

There are a lot of rules that govern where an ad is placed in the list of ads, but in general the ad’s placement is based on how much revenue the ad is generating for the search engine company. It’s a calculation determined by how much the advertiser agrees to pay the company for each click and how often the ad gets clicked.

When you are planning a PPC campaign, keep these simple guidelines in mind:

1. Spend most of your planning time researching keywords. Find the most searched-for keywords in your market that don’t have bid prices out of your range.

2. Write ads that convince the person doing the search to click on your link. Try words like:

• Discount
• The name of a celebrity who’s given you an endorsement
• Money-back guarantee
• Free trials
• Free sample
• Free gifts
• Words that illustrate a major benefit ("Lose weight fast")
• Click here

3. Be sure your landing page (the page the visitor will see when they click your ad) is relevant to the keywords you selected and the ad itself.

4. Determine how much you’re willing to pay for each keyword by watching how other advertisers are placed. Bid so that you’re near the top but don’t exceed a reasonable amount

5. Decide on the maximum amount you’ll invest each day, set the budget, and stick to it.

6. Monitor your campaigns to measure your return on investment and know when to change or stop your PPC campaign.

7. Keep your website content up-to-date and professional. Be sure all of the links function properly and the site is easy to navigate.

Using PPC advertising to promote your products and services allows you to launch an advertising campaign immediately. If your topic is a popular one, you will know within minutes whether or not your ad is enticing.

Additionally, advertising via pay-per-click methods ensures that you are getting pre-qualified traffic to your website. The visitors are people who searched specifically for your keywords, and you can begin to see the results of your marketing messages very quickly.

As you can imagine, there is an art to using pay-per-click advertising to its best effect.