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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The latest jobs in search marketing
Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.
Merchant Center flags feeds disruption
An incident affecting Feeds on the Google Merchant Center status dashboard could disrupt product listings and Shopping ad performance.
What’s next for PPC: AI, visual creative and new ad surfaces
Google and Microsoft liaisons explain why dynamic ad surfaces, distinct assets and smarter AI inputs will define the next era of paid media.
Emina Demiri talks surviving firing your biggest client
Emina Demiri reveals how firing their biggest client — worth 70% of agency revenue — taught them hard lessons about client concentration.
Google now attributes app conversions to the install date
Google's app conversion attribution just shifted from ad click to install date — and it could meaningfully improve Smart Bidding performance.
How to use GA4 and Looker Studio for smarter PPC reporting
Unify GA4 and ad platform data into dashboards that pace spend, flag wasted budget, and reveal what’s really driving performance.
Google Ads shows how landing page images power PMax ads
Google Ads now gives advertisers clearer visibility into how Landing Page Images may be automatically turned into creatives in PMax campaigns.
ChatGPT ads spotted and they are quite aggressive
ChatGPT ads are spotted by U.S. users — and they're appearing on the very first prompt, not after lengthy conversations as some predicted.
Reddit tests AI shopping carousels in search results
Reddit is turning its trusted community recommendations into shoppable product carousels, directly in search results.
Google Analytics adds AI insights and cross-channel budgeting to Home page
The Analytics updates surface key performance changes automatically and help marketers allocate paid budgets more strategically.
ChatGPT ads collapse the wall between SEO and paid media
ChatGPT ads signal a shift, forcing SEO and paid media to align around prompt intelligence, fanout keywords, and LLM visibility.
Google launches no-code Scenario Planner built on Meridian MMM
Google’s Scenario Planner gives you a no-code way to turn Marketing Mix Model insights into actionable budget and ROI decisions.
Google Ads shows PMax placements in “Where ads showed” report
Google Ads now shows where Performance Max campaigns run, giving advertisers clear insights to optimize performance.
Paid search click share doubles as organic clicks fall: Study
Text ad clicks surged year over year as classic organic fell across key verticals, with paid listings now taking up to one-third of clicks.
Microsoft Advertising adds a multi image creative to Shopping ads
Microsoft Advertising’s multi-image Shopping ads let brands show more product visuals in search to boost engagement.
Microsoft rolls out applied Performance Max learning path
Microsoft Advertising’s new Performance Max learning path helps advertisers run better campaigns and showcase verified expertise.
Google Ads adds Results tab to show impact of applied recommendations
Google Ads now shows the real performance impact of applied recommendations in a new Results tab, comparing outcomes against estimated baseline results.
Perplexity stops testing advertising
Perplexity began testing sponsored placements in 2024. It’s abandoning them, saying labeled ads can erode credibility.
TikTok launches AI-powered ad options for entertainment marketers
TikTok’s new AI-powered ads let entertainment marketers deliver personalized content that boosts engagement and conversions.
Meta adds Manus AI tools into Ads Manager
Meta is embedding Manus AI into Ads Manager, giving advertisers built-in AI tools to streamline reporting, research, and campaign optimization.
Google shifts Lookalike to AI signals in Demand Gen
Google is turning Lookalike audiences into AI signals that expand reach and could significantly change campaign performance.
Google Ads adds beta data source integrations to conversion settings
Google Ads now lets advertisers connect external data to conversions, improving measurement and performance.
Google Ads tool is automatically re-enabling paused keywords
Google Ads may be re-enabling paused keywords automatically, raising concerns about unexpected campaign expense
Andrea Cruz talks about turning client pressure into growth
Andrea Cruz shares how marketers can handle client pressure with better communication and a solutions-first mindset.
Google Ads adds ROAS-based tool for valuing new customers
Google Ads is testing a ROAS-based tool that suggests conversion values to help advertisers bid smarter for new customers.
Why creative, not bidding, is limiting PPC performance
Smart Bidding and Meta’s delivery systems have leveled the field. To scale PPC, fix creative fatigue, increase asset volume, and test faster.
Google outlines AI-powered, agent-driven future for shopping and ads in 2026
Google’s GM of Ads explains how AI and agentic commerce in 2026 will help advertisers create, target, and convert sales.
OpenAI details how ads will work in ChatGPT
Ads will appear only in Free and Go tiers, with sensitive topics excluded and users able to adjust personalization or upgrade to remove them.
Google Ads shows recommended experiments
Google Ads now suggests ready-to-run experiments, helping advertisers test optimizations faster and improve performance with less setup.
Google Ads simplifies product campaign tracking
Google Ads now shows per-product campaign eligibility, making gaps and overlaps easier to spot.
How to reduce low-quality leads from Performance Max campaigns
Performance Max often optimizes for cheap conversions by default. Learn how guardrails and better signals can improve lead quality.
PPC mistakes that humble even experienced marketers
From Friday launches to sloppy imports, PPC veterans share hard-earned lessons on automation traps, Google Ads Editor quirks, and more.
Google pushes AI Max tool with in-app ads
Google is advertising its AI Max feature inside Google Ads campaign settings, promoting its own tools within the paid platform.
How to make automation work for lead gen PPC
Automation isn’t just for ecommerce. Learn how to drive more leads, cut costs, improve quality, and save time with AI-powered campaigns.
Why PPC measurement feels broken (and why it isn’t)
As browser restrictions limit identifiers, PPC measurement relies more on redundancy, modeling, and inference than perfect tracking.
OpenAI starts testing ChatGPT ads
OpenAI is testing clearly labeled ads inside ChatGPT, marking its first step toward monetizing conversational AI.
A preview of ChatGPT’s ad controls just surfaced
A leaked preview of ChatGPT’s ad settings shows advertisers how personalization and privacy will shape ads in conversational AI.
How to diagnose and fix the biggest blocker to PPC growth
Most PPC accounts stall because teams focus on the wrong work. Learn how to identify the bottleneck limiting growth.
Amanda Farley talks broken pixels and calm leadership
Amanda Farley shares lessons on overcoming setbacks and balancing AI with human insight in modern marketing leadership.
Performance Max built-in A/B testing for creative assets spotted
Performance Max now supports built-in A/B testing for creative assets, giving advertisers a clearer way to measure and optimize what works.