Definition
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked, regardless of impression volume — the dominant pricing model on Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and most search and social platforms.
PPC put online advertising on a measurable footing. Unlike CPM (paying for impressions), PPC ties cost directly to a measurable action — the click — so advertisers can compute cost-per-acquisition and ROAS with relative honesty. Google's AdWords (launched 2000, now Google Ads) made PPC the default model for search advertising; Meta and LinkedIn extended it to social.
PPC's strength is also its trap. Optimising for clicks alone produces clicks that don't convert. The real metric is cost per qualified action (lead, signup, purchase), not CPC. Account managers who chase CPC down without watching downstream conversion end up with cheap traffic that doesn't pay back.
Origin
Bill Gross's GoTo.com (1998, later Overture) pioneered keyword-based PPC. Google AdWords (2000) refined it with quality scoring, decoupling cost from raw bid. The combination of bid + quality made modern PPC viable.
How it works
- Set up campaigns by goal — search, display, video, shopping — with one objective per campaign.
- Build tightly themed ad groups (one product, one audience, one offer).
- Write 3–5 ad variants per group; let the platform learn which performs.
- Set a daily budget and bid strategy (manual CPC, target CPA, target ROAS).
- Monitor Quality Score, search-term reports, and downstream conversion.
- Iterate weekly — pause underperforming creative, expand winners, refine audiences.
When to use it
Use when
- When you need traffic on day one and can wait for SEO to compound.
- For high-intent commercial queries where the buyer is already searching.
- When testing offers, audiences, or messages — PPC gives fast feedback.
Skip when
- Without conversion tracking. PPC without it is incinerating money.
- On low-margin products where the lifetime value can't support paid CAC.
Key metrics
- Cost per click (CPC).
- Click-through rate (CTR).
- Conversion rate post-click.
- Cost per acquisition (CPA).
- Return on ad spend (ROAS).
Examples
- The PPC campaign generated 200 leads in its first month at $42 per lead.
- PPC gets you traffic on day one, while SEO compounds over months.
- Quality Score 8 → CPC 35% lower than the 4 we started at.
In practice at Makreate
Makreate's Advertising retainer handles PPC across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and X — managed by people who optimise daily, not weekly. A recent B2B SaaS client came in spending $18,000/month on Google Ads with a $480 CPA. We restructured the account (tighter ad groups, better landing pages, exact-match keyword discipline), shipped 30 new creative variants over six weeks, and brought CPA to $190 at the same monthly spend. Same budget, 2.5× the leads.
Advertising →Common mistakes
- Judging PPC on impressions or CTR alone. The only number that matters is cost per qualified action.
- Cutting CPC by lowering bids until impression share collapses. Better creative + audience beats lower bids.
- Letting broad-match keywords run without negative-keyword discipline.
- Sending PPC traffic to a homepage instead of a campaign-specific landing page.
- No conversion tracking. The platform optimises for whatever it can measure — make sure that's what you actually want.
Frequently asked
Google Ads or Meta Ads?
Google for high-intent search demand. Meta for visual demand-generation and audiences defined by interests/behaviour. Most B2C uses both; B2B leans Google + LinkedIn.
How long until PPC results?
First leads within days. Stable, optimised performance: 4–8 weeks for the platform's algorithms to learn and for you to test enough creative.
DIY or agency?
Below ~$5K/month — DIY with templates is fine. Above that — an agency or specialist usually pays back through better account hygiene and creative testing.