Week 1 - PPC Platforms

 

What is PPC?

PPC stands for pay-per-click, a digital advertising model in which advertisers pay each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, you pay for targeted visits to your website (or landing page or app). When PPC works properly, costs are minimal because clicks are worth more than what you pay. PPC ads come in different shapes and sizes (literally) and can be composed of text, images, videos, or a combination. They can appear on search engines, websites, social media platforms, and more. One of the most popular forms of PPC is search engine advertising. It allows advertisers to bid on ad placements within the search engine's sponsored links when someone performs a search related to their business.

How does PPC advertising work?

PPC advertising looks different depending on the platform, but in general, the process is:

• Choosing your campaign type based on your goals.
• Optimizing your settings and targeting.
• Providing your budget and bidding strategy.
• Entering your target URL.
• Creating your ad.

Where and when your ads appear and how much you pay per click are algorithmically determined based on your budget, bids, campaign settings, and the quality and relevance of your ads once they go live. Since all platforms that offer PPC advertising want to keep their users happy, they reward advertisers who create relevant, trustworthy pay-per-click campaigns with higher ad targeting and lower costs. 

How PPC works in Google Ads

When an advertiser creates an ad, they select a set of keywords to target the ad and bid on each keyword. Google uses a set of formulas and an auction-style process to decide which ads to show for any given search. If your ad enters the auction, it first gives you a Quality Score from 1 to 10 based on your ad's relevance to your keywords, expected clickthrough rate, and landing page quality. It then multiplies your Quality Score by your maximum bid to determine your Ad Rank. The ads with the highest Ad Rank scores will be shown. The system allows winning advertisers to reach potential customers at a cost that fits their budget.