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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Study: ChatGPT ads appear on 26% of commercial prompts
New research finds ChatGPT is already serving ads at scale, while highlighting challenges around targeting relevance.
Google investigates Merchant Center outage
Google says it is investigating reports of an issue affecting Merchant Center, but has not yet shared details on the cause or expected resolution.
Yelp brings restaurant reservations and waitlists to ChatGPT
ChatGPT users can now reserve a table or join a Yelp waitlist without leaving the conversation, streamlining discovery to booking.
Google brings new AI agent capabilities to Ads and Analytics
Google is bringing automated dashboards and conversational reporting to Google Ads and Analytics for faster analysis.
How to run ChatGPT ads: A step-by-step guide from early campaigns
ChatGPT Ads work differently from other ad platforms. Here’s what early campaigns reveal about CPCs, targeting, measurement, and performance.
ChatGPT Ads rolls out oCPC campaigns, AAM and product carousels
ChatGPT ads now allows for conversion-optimized product feed campaigns, expanded measurement integrations and carousel ads
Google expands Limited Ad Serving policy across all Ads
Google is introducing new qualification criteria based on trust signals, verification and account history.
Microsoft Advertising adds bulk editing for disapproved assets
Microsoft's now lets advertisers appeal multiple disapproved text & image assets at once, reducing time spent resolving policy issues.
YouTube tests image ads during horizontal mobile playback
YouTube is overlaying static image ads during landscape mobile videos, potentially giving advertisers a new placement.
Google Ads adds dedicated reporting for new customer acquisition
Google now lets advertisers measure new customer acquisition without affecting bidding, replacing a reporting workaround.
Google to auto-upgrade automatically created assets to AI Max
Google will upgrade eligible Search campaigns to AI Max from Sept. 1, enabling search term matching and text customization.
New Google help doc details Deal Ends annotations for Shopping ads
A new Google help document explains how experimental Deal Ends annotations highlight eligible Shopping ads with urgency badges.
New Google Ads help doc outlines corporate email rules
A new Google Ads help document explains how corporate email requirements will affect sensitive account actions during the pilot.
The demand capture trap that’s making search more expensive
Search can only capture existing demand. Learn why YouTube helps create future buyers, making search campaigns more efficient over time.
How SEO and PPC build trust across search: Case study
A 26-week case study shows how connected search marketing efforts improved visibility, addressed buyer friction, and reduced CPA.
Microsoft Advertising adds excluded content terms for Audience Ads
Microsoft now lets advertisers block Audience Ads from appearing next to specific page titles, for more control over ad placement.
Google tightens Ads policy for government document providers
Advertisers now need to prove explicit government authorisation before promoting government documents through Google Ads.
What happens when AI Overviews contradict paid search ads?
AI recommendations can steer users toward competitors, leaving advertisers to absorb the impact on CTR, CPC, and campaign performance.
Why paid search could be your AI search advantage
The search terms, ads, landing pages, and product feeds you've already built can strengthen your visibility across AI search.
Google releases help doc for Performance Max pay-per-lead goals
The new guides explain how advertisers can set up, target and optimise Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals.
Google launches secure API access pilot for manager accounts
The new pilot lets advertisers restrict sensitive API actions to approved applications, adding an extra layer of security.
Google tests clickable hyperlinks in Search ad descriptions
Google is highlighting selected phrases within ad copy as clickable links, potentially helping advertisers improve CTR.
How to troubleshoot automated bidding in Google Ads
Poor data, conversion tracking, and campaign settings can derail automated bidding. Learn what to check and when manual bidding can help.
How AI visibility adds context to PPC performance
Traditional PPC metrics show what happened. Grounding queries, citations, and share of authority help explain why.
Google expands Data Manager API with smarter audience management
Google is providing flexible audience management, smarter validation and richer Google Analytics data collection.
Ana Kostic shared why “best practice” cost her client 40% of revenue.
Ana Kostic explains why blindly following PPC best practices can backfire—and why understanding the business should always come first.
4 Google Ads settings and recommendations worth a closer look
Auto-apply, Display Expansion, Search Partners, and budget recommendations deserve a closer look. Learn what to review before making changes.
Google publishes guidance for text disclaimers in Search ads
Google explains how advertisers can add legal disclosure assets to Search campaigns and what to expect when they serve.
Google publishes its first dedicated guide for YouTube audio ads
Google YouTube audio ads help doc, brings the format's setup, specifications, and best practices into one place.
Google Analytics adds campaign diagnostics for missing aggregate identifiers
The new Google Analytics alert helps marketers identify missing URL parameters that can reduce campaign attribution accuracy.
OpenAI appears to be building chatbot-native ads that launch AI agents
A new ChatGPT ad format is being tested that starts a conversation with an AI business agent instead of sending users to a website.
Why separating brand and non-brand campaigns improves ROAS
Strong ROAS can mask where your budget goes. Here's how separating brand campaigns drives revenue growth and new customer acquisition.
Google launches Structured Data Files v10.1 for Display & Video 360
Google Display & Video 360's latest Structured Data Files update adds AI labels, DOOH support and new bulk management features.
Google tests AI-generated descriptions in Shopping ads
Google extends its AI-generated ad description test to Shopping ads, expanding it experiment they confirmed earlier this month.
Google rolls out AI content labels in asset studio
Google's AI content label helps advertisers disclose AI-generated or edited creatives as transparency requirements expand worldwide.
Google Ads appears to separate Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding strategies
Google is giving Smart Bidding targets greater visibility, potentially making bidding strategy selection easier for advertisers.
Attribution vs. incrementality: Why you need both
Attributed conversions don’t always equal incremental growth. Knowing the difference can lead to better campaign and budget decisions.
Putting Google Ads AI Max’s automated ad copy to the test
See where AI-generated assets helped ecommerce, B2B, and B2C campaigns — and where human control still delivered better results.
Microsoft Ads adds Ad Preview Hub to Performance Max
Microsoft advertisers can now securely preview and share PMax creatives across placements before campaigns go live.
Google begins rolling out in-account certification applications
Eligible advertisers will soon be able to apply for select policy certifications directly within their Google Ads accounts.