PPC
Pay-per-click advertising where you pay each time someone clicks on your ad in search results.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is an online advertising model where you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. Google Ads is the most popular PPC platform, showing ads at the top of search results. You bid on keywords, and if you win the auction, your ad appears.
PPC and SEO are complementary strategies, not competitors. PPC gives you instant visibility (your ad appears immediately), while SEO builds long-term organic traffic. Many businesses use both — PPC for immediate results and competitive keywords, SEO for sustainable growth.
Key PPC concepts: CPC (Cost Per Click) is how much you pay per click. Quality Score is Google's rating of your ad's relevance. Conversion rate is the percentage of clicks that result in a desired action. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures your advertising profitability.
PPC data is also valuable for SEO. You can test which keywords convert before investing months in ranking for them organically. PPC ad copy testing can inform your meta title and description optimization.
Why It Matters for SEO
Understanding PPC helps you see the full search landscape. The keywords with the most PPC competition often have the highest commercial value. SEO and PPC data together give you a complete picture of search opportunity.