PPC
Search Engine Land is your source for PPC news, trends and content. You’ll find a range of up-to-date and authoritative resources to help you work smarter and make better decisions. What is PPC? Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a digital marketing model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. This fundamental concept is crucial to understanding the world of online advertising. For an effective strategy, it’s important to understand how PPC and SEO can work together to improve your overall marketing efforts.
Our coverage
We provide the latest news in the PPC industry, keeping you informed about changes, updates, and emerging trends that can impact your campaigns. For example, leveraging AI-driven search advertising can be a game-changer for campaign success. You can also explore the best practices in paid search strategy to refine your campaigns. Check out our recent articles on topics like making display campaigns profitable and managing paid media budget allocation. Our content spans from beginner-friendly introductions to advanced strategies, ensuring we cater to all levels of PPC expertise.
Expert insights
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team and subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies. This diverse group of contributors ensures you get well-rounded, expert perspectives on PPC topics. Explore our latest job opportunities in search marketing if you’re looking to take your career to the next level. Our experts cover a wide range of subjects, from PPC competitor analysis to winning video advertising creative. We pride ourselves on providing authoritative information to guide your PPC decisions and strategy.
Practical tips and strategies
Our content includes tactic-rich tutorials designed to help you work smarter and make better decisions in your PPC efforts. Whether you’re looking to optimize your campaigns or explore new strategies, you’ll find valuable guidance here. For example, our Google Analytics 4 guide for PPC dives deep into how data can drive better campaign performance. We dive deep into important issues like the high cost of PPC efficiency and provide insights on ad platform updates for B2B in 2024.
Data-driven decision making
We offer the latest data to support your PPC initiatives. Our content is designed to provide you with the information you need to make informed choices and improve your campaign performance. Leveraging Google Analytics 4 will help you navigate the evolving landscape of PPC measurement and optimization. 
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Dig deeper into PPC:
Agentic media buying needs malware guardrails: A PropellerAds view
As AI takes on more campaign decisions, traffic-quality and security signals need to become part of the optimization logic.
Google opens Conversion Lift to Search and Performance Max
Google is making incrementality testing more accessible by opening self-serve Conversion Lift measurement to eligible Search and PMax campaigns.
Google Ads adds new AI Max columns for deeper campaign analysis
New AI Max reporting columns give advertisers more visibility into targeting, location and brand settings across their campaigns.
Google Ads tests new Direct Offer asset for AI Mode promotions
Google Ads’ new Direct Offer asset lets advertisers serve targeted promotions to high-intent shoppers directly within AI Mode.
The top 10 tools for PPC management in 2027
See which tools can help you analyze accounts faster, streamline workflows, collaborate with clients, and spend more time on PPC strategy.
Google Display migration to Demand Gen: How to protect your ad budget
Demand Gen removes familiar Display controls. See what changes, what to audit, and how to limit wasted spend after migration.
Google Ads tests Video Campaign Groups for cross-campaign reach and frequency
Google Ads’ new Video Campaign Groups help advertisers manage reach and frequency across multiple Demand Gen campaigns.
Google rolls out Merchant Center UCP integration hub in the U.S.
Google is giving U.S. merchants new options to connect carts, checkout and customer identity through its UCP integration hub.
SMX Advanced San Diego 2027 speaker pitches are now open
Want to be on stage in March? Now is your chance to pitch advanced, actionable sessions on SEO/GEO, AI-driven search, PPC, and more.
Google Ads can now calculate Target ROAS from profit margins
Google Ads’ new Target ROAS calculator uses profit margins to help advertisers set bidding targets around profitability.
Top PPC tactics to try for all levels of AI adoption
Whether you’re using AI for insights, as a campaign copilot, or to automate tasks, these tactics can help you get more from your campaigns.
Microsoft Advertising updates pricing rules for U.S. automotive ads
Microsoft is tightening pricing requirements for U.S. automotive ads to improve transparency and accuracy for car shoppers.
Google changes view-through conversion reporting for Demand Gen Display ads
Google is changing how Demand Gen Display ad views are counted for view-through conversion attribution.
OpenAI brings visual ads and expanded measurement to ChatGPT
OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT Ads with visual formats, third-party measurement and new brand suitability tools.
Why Google is pushing advertisers toward demand-led budgeting
Viral trends and weak brand loyalty can quickly shift demand. Google’s answer is flexible budgets backed by ROI targets and AI guardrails.
The latest jobs in search marketing
Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.
Google Ads loosens business name rules for some advertisers
Google is giving eligible advertisers more flexibility to use recognized brand names that don’t exactly match their destination domains.
Google Ads brings A/B testing to Performance Max asset groups
You can now run controlled creative experiments in PMax to measure whether changes to creatives actually improve performance.
Google Ads will automatically pull promotions from advertisers’ websites
Google will soon automatically turn eligible website deals and coupons into promotion assets for Search and PMax campaigns.
Google Ads adds AI-powered campaign localization for international expansion
Google's Generative AI can now translate Search campaign assets, keywords, images and landing pages for new international markets
ChatGPT adds virtual try-on for clothes and accessories
Shoppers can now visualize clothing and accessories on themselves and save products for later without leaving ChatGPT
Publishers’ Google ad-tech antitrust claims clear a major legal hurdle
A judge’s ruling keeps publishers’ antitrust claims alive, preserving their path to seek potentially billions in damages from Google.
Google clarifies ‘Destination not working’ ad policy with more examples
Google expanded its “Destination not working” guidance to help advertisers diagnose and fix ad disapprovals
Microsoft Advertising adds HubSpot integration ahead of holiday season
Microsoft latest updates help lets advertisers connect campaigns to revenue, scale B2B targeting and test changes with less manual work.
Google location asset requirements: What you need to know
Wrong address? Missing location? Disapproved asset? Here’s where to look before changing your Google Ads setup.
OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads with bulk product campaigns and deeper reporting
ChatGPT Ads now offer faster product campaign creation, deeper conversion reporting and expanded access across Southeast Asia.
Google expands cross-channel conversion reporting to app campaigns
Advertisers can now include app conversions in performance and attribution reporting while managing their attribution independently.
Report: ChatGPT Ads are growing fast, but advertisers are still figuring them out
New research reveals how early advertisers are approaching creative, landing pages and campaign strategy
Amazon Ads taps Yelp to turn product purchases into local service leads
Amazon Ads is turning high-intent shopping signals into local service leads, connecting shoppers with Yelp professionals.
Is your Google Ads account ready for Q4?
Black Friday isn’t the time to discover problems with your tracking, product feed, or margins. Here’s what to sort out beforehand.
Why Performance Max isn’t a YouTube ad strategy for ecommerce
YouTube can create demand that Search and Shopping can’t capture. But it needs creative and measurement built for how the channel works.
Microsoft opens Excluded Content Terms to all advertisers
Advertisers can now block up to 1,000 unwanted page-title terms, adding another layer of control over where their ads appear.
The August 17th Post-Mortem: What Google’s Smart Bidding update really changed
Join us on October 15th where Mike Ryan shows how Google’s August 17 update reshaped ROAS, CPCs, budgets and advertiser behavior.
Google tests a new look for mobile ad sitelinks
Google is testing a redesigned mobile ad sitelink layout that makes individual links darker, clearer and more prominent.
PPC monitoring: What to check between audits
Catch PPC account changes, budget problems, and unusual performance between audits — without turning every fluctuation into an alert.
Microsoft Ads API adds deeper search reporting and more PMax controls
Microsoft’s latest API update gives advertisers deeper search-to-landing-page insights, device exclusions for PMax and more.
Google Ads API v25.2 adds competitive benchmarks and PMax upgrades
Advertisers are getting more data and control across competitive benchmarking, PMax, Search bidding and creator insights.
Google tests bigger Local Services Ads
Google may be giving local advertisers more visibility possibly meaning a growth of investment in its pay-per-lead ad business.
Google Ads adds IP address and timestamp matching to Customer Match
Google Ads adds IP addresses and timestamps to Customer Match, promising stronger matching and new privacy considerations.
When more PPC budget doesn’t equal more leads
If search is carrying your lead generation strategy, increasing spend won’t replace the awareness and trust built across other channels.