Pay-per-click advertising is an advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee to the platform or online resource displaying their advertising and drive visitors to their designated pages more quickly than waiting for it to happen organically. One of the key players in PPC Advertising is Google Adwords. PPC Advertising is a simple, straightforward model that must be used strategically to be profitable. It is the online equivalent of having a sign spinner outside of a store to attract attention and encourage people to visit the store rather than wait for them to walk in independently.

Any type of marketing requires an understanding of the 4 Ps of Marketing. These are product, pricing, placement, and promotion. A PPC Marketer also must understand how the internet works in particular and make sound judgment calls about the best way to reach the target audience. This requires knowing who that audience is and what their basic online behaviors are. PPC only works if the ads draw people to your site who are positioned to follow through on the final sale. Being a PPC Marketer requires a combination of understanding the basics of marketing and having a good understanding and intimate knowledge of the target audience. Each click must support the marketing goal.

Both PPC (pay-per-click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) leverage the power of the internet to drive consumers to a given website. The core difference is that PPC is a paid service while SEO is organic. Both involve creating conditions that will guide target consumers toward a website more quickly and more often than they would without marketing intervention, but PPC is a formalized service while SEO is not. Both require an understanding of how keywords influence consumer browsing habits and how best to attract the intended audience.