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:
The future of keyword targeting
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Google’s Ads Data Hub: What you need to know
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Adopting vs. hacking Google Ads features: The great debate
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How to maximize PPC and SEO data with co-optimization audits
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When and how to fire PPC clients
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TikTok Search Ads Campaign launch in U.S.
Tiktok's keyword-based search ad solution allows brands to target users directly in search results, stepping up its competition with Google's ad business.
Reddit launches AI-powered tools to boost ad creation
Reddit unveils AI-powered advertising tools – ads inspiration library, copywriter and image auto-cropper – to help small businesses.
How causal impact studies work and when to use them in PPC
This analysis method lets you evaluate the true effects of your paid media campaign adjustments when other testing approaches fall short.
4 Reddit ad formats you need to know
Learn how to use Promoted Posts, Free-form ads, Takeovers and more to connect with a high-value audience across 100,000+ communities.
Google Ads adds Video Enhancement for Performance Max
Google's Video Enhancement feature sparked concerns among advertisers about automated adjustments and potential loss of creative control.
Google Search Ads 360 (SA360) starter guide
Learn about SA360, how it differs from Google Ads and the features and benefits that make it a valuable tool for large-scale advertisers.
Google adtech antitrust trial: Everything you need to know
The antitrust trial over allegedly monopolistic practices in the $200 billion digital advertising industry could lead to significant changes.
7 best AI ad creative tools, for beginners to pros
Not a designer? Learn about the top AI ad creative tools to help you look like an expert and increase campaign performance.
Mastering Performance Max using scripts
Learn to negate poor performers, track disapproved products and exclude spammy placements with Google Ads scripts.
Amazon Ads launches AI-powered video
Amazon Ads AI-powered video allows advertisers to create engaging video and animated content quickly and cost-effectively.
How to develop a paid search strategy
A comprehensive guide to developing a paid search strategy that drives results at every stage of the customer journey.
New guide: Improve your Google Ads performance
Get practical strategies to reduce your cost-per-click by improving targeting, enhancing landing page performance and leveraging AI tools.
Google wins $1.7B EU antitrust fine appeal
$1.7 billion Google fine from the EU overturned, with the Court ruling that the European Commission failed to consider all relevant factors.
What YouTube learned by analyzing over 8,000 top ads
YouTube's AI-powered analysis reveals how top brands are innovating with diverse storytelling, fantasy elements and creator partnerships.
How brands can turn the political ad blitz into an advantage
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4 Google Performance Max updates: New insights and reporting
Google's Performance Max updates provide advertisers with deeper insights, streamlined reporting and enhanced tools.
Google brings negative keyword exclusions to Performance Max
Advertisers will soon be able add campaign-level negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns – something advertisers have long desired.
Meta gives advertisers new ad tools ahead of holidays
Advertisers can now use new AI-powered tools and creative formats to drive holiday sales, including promo features and reminder ads.
Google Ads ad copy: what works and what doesn’t in 2024
New data reveals that common optimization strategies like Ad Strength and creative length may not correlate with better ad performance.
How to make your display campaigns profitable
Combine top, middle and bottom-of-funnel strategies with display and search campaigns for a more profitable, multi-touchpoint ad approach.
How to create and optimize Google Ads custom segment audiences
Boost your PPC performance by learning how to create and refine custom segments for your Google Ads campaigns.
CPCs keep increasing – here’s what you can do about it
Thrive amid rising CPCs: Focus on optimization, diversification and insights to spend smarter and achieve your digital marketing goals.
Google Ads bug hits GCLID conversion tracking
Advertisers may lose critical insights and optimization opportunities due to a Google Ads issue affecting GCLID offline conversion tracking.
YouTube First Position Ads now available across Display & Video 360
First Position lets advertisers secure the first in-stream ad viewers see across any content, maximizing visibility and engagement.
Google launches confidential matching for data privacy
Confidential matching leverages advanced computing technology to securely process first-party data, enhancing privacy and data protection.
Google tests more noticeable ad labels in search results
Google is testing a more noticeable ad format, using a taller gray background with labels like 'Sponsored' and 'Promoted results.'
How to manage a paid media budget: Allocation, risk and scaling
Find out how to allocate your PPC budget, optimize spend across platforms and scale campaigns without compromising performance.
Meta to restrict data in Business Tools, impacting ad targeting
Meta's data restrictions aim to enhance privacy but may complicate ad targeting and potentially pause ads with highly targeted UTMs.
EU’s top court upholds $2.7 billion fine against Google
The record $2.7 billion fine against Google was for favoring its own price-comparison service in search results.
Google tightens verification for lawyers in Local Services Ads
Google's new ID verification requirement for lawyers using LSAs aims to combat fraud but may pose challenges for some businesses.
Google vs. DOJ: Why Google’s ‘hundreds of competitors’ claim doesn’t add up
Google is defending its ad tech dominance, but are their claims of market competition, low fees and benefits for businesses misleading?
How to do PPC competitor analysis
Monitor your PPC competitors, analyze their ad strategies and leverage insights to optimize your campaigns and post-click experiences.
Google is hiding search data from advertisers and profiting
Here’s how it affects your ad campaigns and what you can do to optimize performance despite limited visibility.
Scaling local advertising with automation in the new media landscape
How to improve performance and efficiency.
Google Ads to deprecate enhanced CPC for Search and Display Ads
Google Ads will begin phasing out enhanced CPC in October with the goal of transitioning all remaining campaigns to manual CPC by March 2025.