pay per click

Definition

An advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked, commonly used in search engine marketing. Abbreviated PPC, it's a system where you literally pay for attention one click at a time.

Example Usage

Our pay per click campaign is hemorrhaging money at $15 per click, but at least we know exactly how much we're overpaying.

Origin

Pioneered by GoTo.com (later Overture) in 1998, popularized by Google AdWords in 2000

Fun Fact

The most expensive PPC keywords cost over $50 per click, primarily in legal and insurance industries where customer lifetime values justify the insanity.

Source: Search engine marketing and digital advertising terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

media mix

The combination of different advertising channels and platforms used in a campaign, from traditional print to digital display to carrier pigeons if your budget allows. It's the marketing equivalent of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

Brand Equity

The intangible value of a brand name that makes people pay $5 for a coffee they could make at home for 30 cents. It's basically the financial measurement of how successfully you've brainwashed the public into thinking your logo means something.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

Retargeting

The internet's way of following you around like a persistent salesperson after you looked at one pair of shoes for three seconds. You'll see ads for those shoes on every website for the next six months, long after you've already bought them from a competitor.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

ad exchange

A digital marketplace where publishers and advertisers buy and sell ad inventory in real-time through automated auctions. Imagine the New York Stock Exchange, but instead of trading equity in companies, you're trading the privilege of annoying someone with banner ads.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

ghostwriter

The invisible literary puppet master who writes books, speeches, or tweets for people too busy, untalented, or important to write their own content. They're the reason your favorite celebrity's memoir sounds suspiciously eloquent, or why that CEO's LinkedIn posts suddenly got interesting. The ultimate behind-the-scenes credit that appears nowhere except on their own tax returns.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

marketing mix modeling

A statistical analysis technique that quantifies the impact of various marketing activities on sales, using historical data to determine what actually works. It's the marketing equivalent of finally checking the receipts after years of trusting your gut.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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