Paid search is advertising that shows your ad on a search engine's results page when someone searches for a related word or phrase. You usually pay each time someone clicks, so it is called pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. It sits next to paid social, which includes Meta ads, as one of the two largest paid media channels.
How paid search works
- You choose keywords, the searches you want your ad to appear for.
- You write ads and set a bid and a budget.
- When someone searches, the platform runs an auction among the advertisers who match.
- The winning ads appear above or beside the results, marked as ads.
- You pay when a person clicks, at a cost per click set by the auction.
The ad is shown because the person typed the search. That is why paid search is often called intent-based. Because ads are matched to keywords, the quality of the ad and the landing page affects how often the ad shows and what each click costs, so relevance matters as much as budget.
Let Madgicx's AI do the work
Its AI marketer finds what's working and prepares the next move. You approve.
Try for Free ($0 Trial)Paid search and paid social side by side
| Paid search | Paid social (Meta ads) | |
|---|---|---|
| Reaches people | When they search | While they browse feeds, Stories and Reels |
| Main signal | The keyword they typed | Audience, interests and behavior |
| Strength | Catches demand that already exists | Creates and builds demand with visuals |
| Creative | Mostly text | Images and video |
| Typical use | People ready to look for or buy a product | Discovery, consideration and retargeting |
Neither replaces the other, and the right split depends on whether your buyers already know what to search for. Our comparison of Facebook Ads and Google Ads goes deeper on when each fits.
Paid search results are also easy to measure, since each click and each keyword reports its own cost and conversions. That makes it a useful check on what Meta ads are building higher up the funnel.
How the two work together
- Social builds the search. Someone sees a Meta ad for a product, forgets it, then searches the brand name later. The search ad collects what the social ad started.
- Search feeds the audience. People who clicked a search ad can be retargeted with Meta ads.
- Each reads the same goal. Judge both on return on ad spend or cost per acquisition, not clicks.
- Match the funnel stage. Use search for people who are ready to act and Meta ads to reach those who are not yet looking.
- Watch attribution. Each platform counts conversions in its own way, so one sale can show up in both. Compare totals against the store's own orders.
Example. A plumbing company runs paid search for "emergency plumber" and spends $1,500 a month on it, with 300 clicks at $5.00 each. It also spends $900 on Meta ads showing seasonal maintenance offers to homeowners in its area. Search brings urgent calls, while Meta fills the booking calendar weeks ahead. Reviewing both together, the owner sees that Meta ads raise the branded searches that come later.
In Madgicx. Madgicx optimizes Meta ads only. Its reporting, including One-Click Report, also covers Google Ads, and the Madgicx Google MCP lets an AI assistant analyze Google Ads accounts and performance, including custom GAQL queries.
FAQ
What is paid search?
Paid search is advertising on search engine results pages. Advertisers bid on keywords, and their ads show when people search for them, usually with payment per click.
What is the difference between paid search and SEO?
SEO earns unpaid placement in search results through content and site quality, which takes time. Paid search buys placement above or beside the results and starts once the campaign is live.
What is the difference between paid search and paid social?
Paid search shows ads when someone searches a keyword. Paid social, like Meta ads, shows ads to people browsing a platform, chosen by audience and interests.
Is paid search the same as PPC?
Mostly. PPC means pay-per-click and is the common payment model for paid search, though paid social ads can also be bought on a click basis.
Should I run paid search and Meta ads together?
Many advertisers do. Search captures people looking for a product, and Meta ads reach those who haven't searched yet, so the two can support each other.
Related
- Related terms: Paid media, Cost per click, Retargeting, Cross-channel advertising
- In depth: Facebook Ads vs Google Ads
