What is paid search?
Paid search — also called PPC or search advertising — is advertising bought against a person’s typed query on Google Ads or Microsoft (Bing) Ads, so the ad appears only when someone is already searching for a related term. It is the only major channel inside paid ads that captures existing demand rather than creating it.
Campaigns are built around three keyword tiers. Branded terms are searches for your own company name. Commercial (generic) terms describe the problem or category — “fractional CMO,” “paid search agency” — without naming a vendor. Competitor terms name a rival directly. Each tier converts differently and needs its own bids, ad copy, and landing page.
Paid search runs on both engines a buyer might use. Google Ads carries the largest volume; Microsoft (Bing) Ads often carries less competition and lower cost per click for the same terms, especially in B2B.
Why paid search is different from SEO
Paid search buys placement instantly with a bid; SEO earns placement over months through content and authority. A campaign can be live within a day, but the traffic is rented — it stops the moment spend stops. SEO traffic is owned; it compounds after the work is done. A mature program treats paid search as the fast lane for demand you need this quarter, not a substitute for organic authority.
The branded-search debate
One contested call is whether to bid on your own branded terms when you already rank organically for them. The case for bidding: you control the message and block competitor conquesting ads. The case against: you may pay for clicks you’d have gotten free. The right call depends on how aggressively competitors bid on your name.
Paid search vs. organic search vs. paid social
These channels get lumped together as “marketing spend,” but they behave on different timelines and cost curves.
| Channel | Speed to results | Cost curve | Durability |
|---|
| Paid search | Live in days; captures existing intent | Pay per click; scales with volume | Stops when spend stops |
| Organic search (SEO) | 3–12 months to rank | Upfront investment, low marginal cost after | Compounds after launch |
| Paid social | Live in days; interrupts, doesn’t capture intent | Pay per impression; rises as audiences fatigue | Stops when spend stops |
Most operators run all three: paid search to capture demand that exists, paid social to build awareness with people not yet searching, and SEO to reduce dependence on both over time.
How do you measure paid search?
Paid search is measured on cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) against pipeline or revenue — not clicks or impressions. Click-through rate and Quality Score matter only as levers that lower conversion cost.
A senior operator tracks conversion rate by keyword tier, since branded, commercial, and competitor terms convert at different rates, and tracks impression share — the share of eligible auctions you appear in — since a capped budget means demand goes uncaptured.
Ad copy and extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets) get tested continuously, since small click-through gains compound into lower CPA. Landing page message match — whether the landing page repeats the ad’s exact promise — is its own lever; this overlaps with landing page design, since a mismatch is a common cause of wasted spend.
How to hire a paid search expert with GTM 8020
GTM 8020 is a curated marketplace of senior go-to-market operators — the 20% of talent that drives 80% of growth. Instead of sifting agency pitches, you tell us your challenge and we hand-match you:
- 1. Book a free 30-minute call. Walk us through your funnel, current spend, and which engines you’re running.
- 2. Get matched in less than 48 hours. We introduce a vetted paid search expert who has managed Google and Bing accounts at your stage.
- 3. Work together directly. Your expert embeds fractionally — no agency overhead, scale spend and hours up or down as you grow.
Common paid search mistakes
- No branded-search decision. Leaving your name undefended lets competitors bid on it and steal clicks you’d otherwise get free.
- Skipping negative keywords. Without a negative list, budget leaks to irrelevant queries that never convert.
- Poor landing page message match. Sending a click to a generic homepage instead of a page repeating the ad’s exact promise kills conversion rate.
- Testing headlines but not extensions. Sitelinks and callouts move click-through rate and are rarely tested with the same rigor.
- Ignoring Bing entirely. Microsoft Ads often carries lower CPCs for the same terms, especially in B2B.
GTM 8020’s bench includes operators who’ve run paid search across B2B and B2C. Browse our experts or book a free call to get matched.
