Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks and
content websites, such as blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an advertisement
to visit the advertisers’ website. with search engine, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to
their target market. When a user types a keyword query matching an advertiser’s keyword list, or views a
webpage with relevant content, the advertisements may be displayed. Such advertisements are called sponsored
links or sponsored ads and appear adjacent to or above the “natural” or organic results on search engine results
pages or anywhere a webmaster chooses on a content page. content websites commonly charge a fixed price for
a click rather than use a bidding mechanism.
Although many pay per click providers exist, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter
are the largest network operators today. Minimum prices per click, often referred to as cost per click (CPC), vary
depending on the search engine and the level of competition for a particular phrase or keyword list – with some
CPC’s as low as US $0.01. Very popular search terms can cost much more on popular search engines. |
