pay-per-click

American  

[pey-per-klik] / ˈpeɪ pərˈklɪk /

noun

1. a system used to set prices for online advertisements on a search engine or other website, by which the advertiser pays a small fee to the website publisher each time a user clicks on the advertisement.

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adjective

1. noting or relating to such a system: PPC

   pay-per-click ads to reach your target customers.

pay-per-click British  

noun

1. a system of payment used on the internet in which an advertiser on a website pays the website owner according to the number of people who visit the advertiser's website via the hyperlinked advert on the owner's website

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Etymology

Origin of pay-per-click

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Charity Anastasio, practice and ethics counsel for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the ads are often pay-per-click and targeted at Spanish-speaking users.

From Salon • May 2, 2026

“The pay-per-click environment remains challenging, reducing gross margin, albeit the group’s strong cost reduction focus saw adjusted Ebitda margin grow in period,” Broadfoot says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

A pay-per-click advertisement is an ad where advertisers pay every time someone clicks it.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2020

Mr. Harford, however, gives no context for how the pay-per-click advertising lifeline represented by the auction-based AdWords product came to be.

From New York Times • Aug. 29, 2017

Again let's look at the independent rankings of the most expensive keywords, those that can bring $50 per click to Google – through its opaque pay-per-click bidding system.

From The Guardian • Nov. 5, 2012