Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising is a type of online marketing in which advertisers (i.e. you) pay for visitors on a Cost Per Click (CPC) basis. That is, advertisers only pay when a Web searcher actually clicks on a link and visits the their Web site. PPC advertising is different than "traditional" online advertising, where advertisers pay according to how many times their ad is displayed. When done correctly, PPC Advertising can produce highly targeted traffic -- the most sought-after and valuable entity on the Web.

Call it the evolution of the "traditional" search engine. Pay Per Click Search Engines allow advertisers to sign up and bid on specific keywords -- keywords that are relevant to the particular products and/or services available on their Web site. Advertisers bid for priority location in the search results of these relevent keywords. The order in which listings for a particular keyword are displayed is determined by the amount of these bids.

Depending on the specific PPC Search Engine and also on the demand for a specific keyword, the CPC for that specific keyword can be as little as $0.01 or as much as a few dollars. When a Web searcher types in that keyword, that advertiser's listing will be ranked according to the amount bidded, compared with all other bids on that keyword. But regardless of how many times the listing appears, that advertiser only pays when a searcher actually clicks on their listing and visits their Web site.

 

Example: Let's say that Ryan owns a Web site that sells baseball bats. Ryan signs up for a Pay Per Click Search Engine and bids on the keyword "baseball bat." On this specific PPC Search Engine, four other advertisers happen to be bidding on that same keyword. The first advertiser is bidding $0.10, the second $0.08, the third $0.07 and the fourth $0.06. This means that Ryan would have to bid $0.11 in order to get the top listing. Ryan, however, decides that he wants to bid $0.09 instead. This would put Ryan's listing at No. 2 for the keyword "baseball bat." Now, each time a Web searcher visits that search engine, types in the keyword "baseball bat" and clicks on Ryan's listing, Ryan will be charged $0.09.
 

With "traditional" search engines, advertisers submit their Web sites, which are then indexed and ranked based on a number of different factors. This process is time consuming, and it often takes a couple of months to see results. Also, there is no guarantee of top placement within the search results.

With PPC Search Engines, the listing process can take as little as a couple of days, and advertisers can determine the placement of their listing within the search results, depending on how much they are willing to pay.

PPC Advertising is a rapidly growing phenomenon and cannot be ignored by Web site owners or marketers who are serious about growing their online businesses. Sure, there are other ways to advertise online, but right now, PPC Advertising is one of the quickest, cheapest, easiest and most effective methods available.