What is PPC? Should my small business use it?

Pay per click, or PPC, is an advertising model used on the internet.

The theory behind it is quite simple; sign up with a marketing company and they'll drive traffic to your site – in return you pay them a small fee per click. The fee will vary depending on the keyword used to drive the traffic to your site, more competitive keywords will lead to more expensive clicks.
Google Adwords is the biggest PPC company on the net – and as a result they've got the most affiliate (the websites that publish the ads), making it an attractive proposition for advertisers. It's important to remember that the internet is global – and small businesses usually aren't. So when configuring your Adwords campaign it's essential to set the parameters for geo-targeted traffic, so you're not paying for clicks and traffic that is of no use to you.
Local media is a great way for small businesses to advertise, but sometimes it's no enough. Depending on the field your business is in, PPC could give you the boost in customers that is needed – providing the campaign is correctly configured. There are some great ways to get dirt cheap clicks with Adwords too – by using an image campaign. The only snag is you may need some decent design skills to create some eye catching ads for people to click – if Photoshop isn't your forte it's easy enough to outsource the design work.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is another way of generating traffic and interest in your business online. Unlike PPC it's not a pay as you go scheme – SEO is more a long term strategy that most small business owners can have a go at executing themselves. A little time spent reading about SEO online provides a clear outline on what it's all about. For those looking for instant traffic PPC is the way to go, for those with a long term view SEO is the best option. Many people will adopt the use of both traffic generation methods however, finding a balance can be the best way to generate optimum interest in your business.
Small businesses can and do benefit from using PPC – but be careful to ensure you use a geo-targeted campaign – there's no point paying for clicks from the other end of the country, or even the other side of the world!