Digital Gurus

PPC (pay per click)

Pay per click is a way of buying ads where you pay when someone clicks your ad, and nothing when it's only shown.

Reviewed by Chris Day, COO Last reviewed

Shown 12,000 times
£0 Being seen costs nothing
Clicked 240 times
£300 Every charge is a visit to the website
Java Roasters' ad was shown 12,000 times for nothing, and charged £300 for its 240 clicks.

What it means for your advertising

PPC is the standard pricing on search engines. You set how much you're willing to pay for a click, and an auction decides whose ad shows and what each click costs: your CPC.

People often say PPC to mean search advertising in general. Other pricing exists: per 1,000 impressions (CPM) or per conversion (CPA). ChatGPT campaigns, for example, can bid on clicks, conversions or impressions, each with a ceiling on the bid.

An example

Java Roasters' ad was shown 12,000 times but charged only for the 240 clicks, £300 in total.

Java Roasters is a fictional business, and its figures are illustrative.

How we handle it

We run PPC campaigns on Google Search and choose click-based bidding on other channels where it suits your goal. There are no setup fees or retainers on top of your campaign; see pricing.

Are you ready to grow your business?

No retainers. No lock-ins. Campaigns when you need them.

Book a strategy call Start in the Guru

Strategy calls run for 30 minutes — bring your business and your goal, we will do the rest.