Search engine marketing (SEM, which can include SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), search engine advertising, sponsored listings… the list goes on. And that’s before you start to involve the names of specific advertising programmes and ad types, such as Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), Google Product Listing Ads, Google Shopping Ads, and Bing Ads.

But never fear: Econsultancy is here to demystify everything. In this article, we’ll give you a basic overview of what paid search consists of and what it looks like, explain the different abbreviations and ad types you’ll come across, and examine the benefits and drawbacks of investing in paid search.

This guide is aimed pretty squarely at beginners, so if you consider yourself an expert in paid search, it might not be for you – but please leave any tips or advice you have in the comments!