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:
Google expands its list of local advertising codes
Google is giving advertisers more guidance on regional advertising rules across six international markets.
Google expands AI Brief and adds deeper AI Max reporting
Advertisers are getting more ways to guide AI Max and see exactly how its automation shapes Search ad journeys.
Retail media is evolving. Here is what marketers should value now
Navigating fragmented retail media networks is exhausting. Discover how to evaluate key partners, prove incrementality, and build a cohesive commerce strategy.
Google opens native AI checkout to eligible Shopify merchants
Eligible Shopify merchants can now be automatically enrolled in native checkout across Google’s AI shopping experiences.
Google Ads reframes Smart Bidding learning around 50 conversions
Google now says Smart Bidding learning can take up to around 50 conversions or three conversion cycles.
Google Analytics adds hostname allowlists to fight spam traffic
Advertisers can now keep analytics data cleaner by allowing traffic only from approved domains.
Google Ads to test gun accessory ads on Search in the U.S.
Select firearm accessories will become eligible for advertising under a limited U.S. policy pilot starting in October.
Display ad costs fall ahead of the holiday shopping rush
Lower display ad costs could give holiday marketers a cheaper way to reach value-conscious shoppers before competition intensifies.
Google Ads lets offline uploads fill gaps in tag-based conversions
Advertisers can now supplement tag-based conversions with offline data to improve measurement and bidding accuracy.
Smarter ways to visualize search marketing data in 2027
Better data storytelling puts performance changes in context, surfaces hidden patterns, and gives stakeholders a clearer path forward.
CPC’s up, conversions down? Orchestrate data to find performance shifts
Decision Intelligence joins your Google Ads or ChatGPT Ads data to the whole market and hands back the action, not another chart to read.
Google Merchant Center adds API support for product reviews
Merchants can now automate product review uploads and management through Google’s Merchant API.
Google Ads rolls out AI video dubbing in Asset Studio
Google ads now allows select advertisers to localize video campaigns across 33 languages and locales without costly reshoots.
Why your highest-converting B2B landing page might be hurting your pipeline
A lower conversion rate can deliver better results when leads are more qualified. See how to measure lead quality beyond the form.
Google Ads’ Smart Bidding update appears to have ended bid suppression
New analysis suggests Google’s Aug. 17 Smart Bidding update is driving higher CPCs and lower IS for budget-limited campaigns.
Google Ads tests Product Value Optimization for AI bidding
Google Ads’ new beta lets advertisers adjust product values to steer automated bidding toward their most important inventory.
Pinterest turns visual search into a new ad opportunity
Pinterest's new format helps brands bid for prominent placements in Pinterest Search Results and Pin closeups.
Google faces six years of court oversight in ad tech antitrust case
A judge says behavioral remedies can 'effectively pry open to competition' key ad markets through new access, data-sharing and conduct rules.
How to tell which Google Ads controls actually control anything
Some Google Ads settings are firm rules. Others are suggestions. Knowing the difference can prevent slow, invisible performance losses.
OpenAI is turning ChatGPT ads into conversations
OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT Ads with conversational Sponsored Agents, AI-powered campaign tools and new 3rd party integrations.
Google Ads is showing advertisers how their spending compares with peers
Google Ads’ new Spend Benchmarks report shows advertisers how their budgets and clicks compare with similar businesses
Google expands agentic commerce tools ahead of the holiday shopping rush
Google’s agentic commerce updates give advertisers new ways to boost AI visibility, engage shoppers and turn discovery into sales.
Your competitors’ negative reviews could improve your PPC ads
What customers complain about can reveal what they value. Use those insights to find stronger PPC messages to test.
Matt Van Wagner shares what’s changed, what disappeared and what PPC still gets wrong
Paid search veteran Matt Van Wagner reflects on 20 years of Google Ads, lost PPC tactics, rising automation and more
Google Ads AI needs guardrails, not blind trust ft Mike Ryan
Mike Ryan shares lessons from AI Max mistakes, campaign over-segmentation and advertiser overreactions to Google Ads changes.
Google Chrome launches new metrics to measure ad-heavy websites
Chrome’s new ad metrics give advertisers more visibility into ad clutter, page quality and inventory value.
What happens before search strongly shapes the decision
Search can confirm a decision that was shaped before the query. Here’s where that influence comes from and what you can do.
AI Overviews and paid search: When to fight, influence, or generate demand
Classify queries by intent and AI visibility to decide where to bid, influence the answer, or shift budget to demand generation.
3 ways to make AI safer in a live ad account
Automation layering techniques can be deployed to successfully make AI-driven PPC safer.
Facebook ad costs fall as traffic and lead performance improves: Report
Facebook ad performance improved in 2026, with traffic CTR rising 12.87% to 1.93% and CPC falling 14.29% to $0.60.
Microsoft Advertising sets rules for AI-generated ads
Microsoft is tightening AI ad transparency, requiring advertisers to disclose synthetic content, and preserve provenance data
Why ChatGPT Ads deserve a place in your 2027 media plan
Cheap inventory and low competition make ChatGPT Ads worth testing. But Google’s distribution advantage may make it short-lived.
Google Analytics launches customizable Dashboards
Google Analytics has launched customizable Dashboards that bring key metrics and visualizations into one report.
Advertisers report Google Ads credits being revoked after spending
Advertisers report Google Ads promotional credits being invalidated after they’ve already spent budget to qualify for them.
TikTok rejects Meta ads pushing rivals to join child safety settlement
TikTok rejected Meta ads urging it and YouTube to join Meta’s multibillion-dollar child safety settlement with U.S. states.
Google Ads data shows query length shift post-AI Mode
Longer, more specific searches are gaining impression and conversion share, while short queries continue to lose ground.
The availability heuristic: 7 ways Google Ads can steer your decisions
What gets your attention in Google Ads can influence where you spend, what you change, and how you judge performance. Here's what to watch.
Amazon pilots ChatGPT Ads through its DSP
Amazon is piloting access to ChatGPT Ads through Amazon DSP, letting U.S. advertisers extend campaigns into conversational ads.
OpenAI reportedly blocks rival AI tools from advertising in ChatGPT
OpenAI is reportedly blocking ads for competing image and audio AI tools from running inside ChatGPT.
How to use multiple MMMs to make better paid media decisions
Compare MMM outputs to expose hidden assumptions, surface uncertainty, and identify which budget decisions need further testing.