The definition of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising is as simple as it sounds. When you have set up an online marketing or advertising campaign as it is set up from both your web platform, or advertising space purchased in the search engine. The amount your company will pay for the campaign is not a flat fee, but based upon the number of clicks on the ad that will follow through to your website, campaign, landing page or other location. One of the primary spaces where PPC ads are used is with Google, where you have the option to place strong keywords in your ad or campaign statement, and with the number of clicks that come through based on your placement at the top of search results, the benefits for you are great visibility with the potential for paying a higher bill because of your appearance at the top of the results list.

Over time many marketing, and advertising, reports have reduced the quality or validity of PPC ads, making it sound like a fraudulent method of pulling in a customer basis. However, there is much to be said for the potential to create your visible ad and pull in both visibility and clicks to your website.

The Pros

• PPC allows you to set your own budget, based on either bid for keywords or if you have a limit for your ad placed within a website, it is pulled for the day or week, depending on how often your ad is clicked.
• PPC ensures your page can be seen, placing your ads are on the top of search engine results, whether they are clicked or not, they will still be seen.
• Having the option to target your audience by location is a great reason to choose PPC advertisement. This makes bidding for specific keywords easier and only receiving clicks from clients that you know are potential ones.
• Oddly enough, you can run your own PPC ads on your own website. Some of the hyperlinks that many keywords are connected to can lead the customer to another one of your pages, or even click on an ad that you will end up paying for, but paying yourself.

The Cons

• ‘Click fraud’ is a real thing. Competitors can continuously click on your advertisement link until your budget ends and your ad disappears.
• Keyword bidding wars can drive up cost.
• PPC advertising takes time. It can take several months for great success in PPC, so planning is crucial.

Overall, you must learn about SEO and how keywords work. While this is not a negative thing you will need to understand it, and it may be overwhelming at first. If you’re just starting out and learning how to advertise, do what works for your company and slowly begin to learn about keywords and search engine optimization. For both the pros and cons it is valuable to work on the mastery of internet advertising and marketing, PPC budgeting can be set up to plan carefully. PPC can be a benefit of the first ads and campaigns that are set up online, but be sure to plan carefully and closely. Good luck!

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References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-per-click, www.business2community.com/online-marketing/simplified-pros-cons-pay-per-click-2-0993603#km3EsWKX20QxqQwd.97, www.blurgroup.com/blogs/marketing/the-pros-and-cons-of-pay-per-click-advertising/, www.vendorseek.com/internet-marketing/pay-per-click-management/pros-cons-of-ppc, www.kickstartcommerce.com/pros-and-cons-pay-per-click-advertising.html, www.burningflameinteractive.com/aj-burning-flame-blog/pros-and-cons-of-pay-per-click-ppc-marketing