Editing Pay-per-click (section)

{{short description|Internet advertising model}}
{{Other uses|PPC (disambiguation){{!}}PPC}}
{{Internet Marketing}}
'''Pay-per-click''' ('''PPC''') is an [[online advertising|internet advertising]] model used to drive traffic to [[website]]s, in which an advertiser pays a publisher (typically a [[Web search engine|search engine]], website owner, or a network of websites) when the ad is clicked.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Get More Customers with Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads - Google Ads|url=https://ads.google.com/intl/en_uk/home/campaigns/search-ads/|access-date=2021-05-04|website=ads.google.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fjell |first=Kenneth |date=2009-03-01 |title=Online advertising: Pay-per-view versus pay-per-click — A comment |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1057/rpm.2008.39 |journal=Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2–3 |pages=200–206 |doi=10.1057/rpm.2008.39 |s2cid=153731290 |issn=1476-6930|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This differs from more traditional advertising, which usually requires upfront payment regardless of engagement.

Pay-per-click is usually associated with first-tier search engines (such as [[Google Ads]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] Advertising, and [[Microsoft Advertising]]). With search engines, advertisers typically bid on [[Keyword (Internet search)|keyword phrases]] relevant to their target market and pay when ads (text-based search ads or shopping ads that are a combination of images and text) are clicked. In contrast, content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.

PPC [[display advertisement]]s, also known as [[banner ad]]s, are shown on websites with related content that have agreed to show ads and are typically not pay-per-click advertising, but instead, usually charge on a cost per thousand impressions ([[Cost per mille|CPM]]).

[[Social networking service|Social networks]] such as [[Facebook]], [[Instagram]], [[LinkedIn]], [[Reddit]], [[Pinterest]], [[TikTok]], and [[Twitter]] have also adopted pay-per-click as one of their advertising models. The amount advertisers pay depends on the publisher and is usually driven by two major factors: the quality of the ad, and the maximum bid the advertiser is willing to pay per click measured against its competitors' bids. In general, the higher the quality of the ad, the lower the cost per click is charged, and vice versa.

However, websites can also offer PPC ads. Websites that utilize PPC ads will display an advertisement when a query (keyword or phrase) matches an advertiser's keyword list that has been added in different ad groups, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called ''sponsored links'' or ''sponsored ads'', and appear adjacent to, above, or beneath [[Organic search results|organic results]] on [[Search engine results page|search engine results pages (SERPs)]], or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content site.<ref name=customersnow>"Customers Now", David Szetela, 2009.</ref>

The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through [[click fraud]],<ref>Jansen, B. J. (2007) [https://faculty.ist.psu.edu/jjansen/academic/jansen_click_fraud.pdf Click fraud]. IEEE Computer. 40(7), 85-86. [[Pennsylvania State University|The Pennsylvania State University]]. ([[PDF]])</ref> although Google and others have implemented automated systems<ref>{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/using-data-to-help-prevent-fraud.html|title=Using data to help prevent fraud|author=Shuman Ghosemajumder|author-link=Shuman Ghosemajumder|publisher=[[Google Blog]]|date=March 18, 2008|access-date=May 18, 2010}}</ref> to guard against abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt [[web developer]]s.<ref>[https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1348752?hl=en How Google prevents invalid activity] Google AdSense Help Center, Accessed November 17, 2014</ref>