An ad network refers to a platform that can deliver your ads to users. Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords) is an example of an ad network.

Ad spend, also known as advertising spend, is your ad network budget. It’s how much you’re willing to spend with ad networks, whether for the year or the month.

You can advertise across the Internet with PPC ads.

The most popular locations include:

Search results
Third-party websites
Social media

Yes! Ads that appear in search results earn more than 45% of page clicks.

Prices for a PPC ad campaign vary by business, industry, and strategy. The average, however, is $900 to $1000 per month for small-to-midsize companies.

With PPC, what you pay per click depends on several factors, including:

Bid: In PPC, your bid is how much you’re willing to pay for someone to click on your ad. While you may pay less than your bid (depending on the ad auction) you won’t pay more than your bid.
Targeting: Targeting, from keywords to demographics, can also influence your PPC costs. Bidding on a competitive keyword like “consumers insurance agency,” for instance, can result in higher costs because it features a higher cost-per-click (CPC).
Ad quality: Quality score also matters in pay-per-click advertising. Big brands can’t pay-to-win in PPC because ad networks, like Google Ads, look at the quality and relevance of ads. Often, high-quality ads can maintain lower costs than low-quality ads.

Advertising with PPC ads offers your business several advantages in the marketplace, including:

Set a custom budget that you can change at any time
Access useful targeting options unavailable in traditional advertising
Receive insightful audience and campaign data
Respond to campaign performance in real-time to maximize performance
Show up above organic results in online searches
Outrank competitors
Accomplish various goals, from brand awareness to purchases
Reach people when they’re looking for you
Support other digital marketing initiatives, like search engine optimization (SEO)

PPC can work in a few different ways, depending on your ad network and ad type. For example, while similar, Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising use different algorithms for their ad auctions.

While more than 70% of companies haven’t checked their PPC campaigns in over a month, you want to look at your ads more often. For the best results, PPC experts recommend weekly campaign check-ins.