For this reason, we’ll be focusing primarily on pay-per-click paid search in this guide, while also noting where other types of paid search ad differ from it.

However, PPC (the cost-per-click model) is still the most widely-used form of paid search, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. The guide author goes on to note that paid search and pay-per-click – PPC – are not directly interchangeable terms, as paid search marketing can also encompass other types of payment model, including CPM (which stands for cost per mille, or cost per thousand impressions) or CPA (cost per action / acquisition). “Paid search marketing affords businesses the opportunity to advertise within the sponsored listings of a search engine or a partner site by paying either each time their ad is clicked (pay per click) or less commonly, when their ad is displayed (CPM or cost per thousand) or when a phone contact is generated, which is ‘pay per call’.” Paid Search: Best Practice Guide The basicsĪccording to Econsultancy’s own Paid Search Best Practice Guide:

This guide is aimed pretty squarely at beginners, so if you consider yourself an expert in paid search, it might not be for you – but please leave any tips or advice you have in the comments! In this article, we’ll give you a basic overview of what paid search consists of and what it looks like, explain the different abbreviations and ad types you’ll come across, and examine the benefits and drawbacks of investing in paid search. And that’s before you start to involve the names of specific advertising programmes and ad types, such as Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), Google Product Listing Ads, Google Shopping Ads, and Bing Ads.īut never fear: Econsultancy is here to demystify everything. Search engine marketing (SEM, which can include SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), search engine advertising, sponsored listings… the list goes on. Paid search marketing is known in the marketing and advertising industry by many different names (and abbreviations).

Google ads pay per click