Pay Per Click, also referred to as PPC, is a method of charging for advertising based on results, not on the number of times an advertisement is displayed. The advertiser agrees to pay a certain amount (called a bid) for every click that users make which results in that user being redirected to the advertiser’s website.
In many PPC business models, advertisers bid on keyword phrases–and the higher their bid the higher up they will appear in the search results. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! keep their Pay Per Click advertisements separate from the organic or natural search engine listings, although they will appear on the same search results page (usually next to or above the search results). By using Pay Per Click, websites can appear in a search engine’s search results (guaranteed) within a few days rather than having to wait a few months to be listed in the organic or natural search engine results.