Glossary/Brand & Performance Marketing/Paid Search (PPC)
Brand & Performance Marketing
Paid Search (PPC)
Ads bought on search engines, usually paid per click.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Paid search is advertising bought on search engines such as Google and Bing, usually priced per click, which is why it is often called pay-per-click (PPC). Advertisers bid on keywords, and ads appear alongside search results. It captures active demand from people searching for products or answers.