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Glossary

What is PPC (Pay-Per-Click)?

A way of buying online visits where you pay each time someone clicks your advertisement, as in Google Ads and social media ads.

In plain words

With PPC you set a budget and bid for clicks on search results or social feeds. You pay for the clicks whether or not they buy, so the quality of the targeting, the ad and the landing page decides whether it pays off.

Where it goes wrong

Common problems are wasted spend on the wrong searches, no conversion tracking, ad accounts owned by the agency, and reports that show clicks but not sales.

Questions to ask a company that offers this

  1. Will the ad accounts be in my name?
  2. How do you set up conversion tracking?
  3. What is your fee on top of the ad spend?
  4. What counts as success after 90 days?

A good company will answer these plainly and in writing. Vague or evasive answers are worth noting.

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Explanation last read through on 25 October 2026. It is general guidance in plain language, not advice for your particular project. Tell us if something is wrong or unclear.