What is PPC?

What is a PPC? PPC or Pay per click is an advertising method wherein you get paid based on the number of clicks and worth of ads displayed on your site.

For a more descriptive definition, Pay per click is an Internet advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content sites such as blogs, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.

Websites that utilize PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser's keyword list, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content site.

The PPC advertising model are currently used by many advertising companies, among the largest of these are Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter. All three operate under a bid-based PPC model. Other PPC operators include minor companies such as AdBrite.

The PPC model seems to be the perfect advertising model used today, however, it is open to abuse through click fraud or clicks that had been deliberately made by competitors or corrupt web developers. To guard against abusive clicks, Google and other search engines implemented systems that monitor, track, and prevent such fraudulent clicks. The system, however, can still be cheated although the odds have been reduced to a minimal.

PPC can be a source of income for web developers. These ads can be displayed on websites and can generate income based heavily on site traffic. Common individuals and those with basic computer knowledge may resort to blog in order for them to earn through PPC.