Pay per click advertising, also known as PPC, has becoming an increasingly popular way to put a company’s advertisements on other websites. With pay per click advertising, advertisers and publishers come into a mutually beneficial agreement. For the advertiser, they get to place links to their site throughout websites that appeal to their target audience. For the publisher, they get a sum of money every time an ad is clicked.

Pay per click advertisements can usually be found at the top of any list of search engine results. By purchasing a slot on a specific keyword, companies increase their chances of being selected after a search. In a way, pay per click advertising is like paying to bypass SEO.

For some companies, pay per click advertising can be very important to their business success. Here are 9 statistics about pay per click in 2016:

1. 41% of clicks go to the Top 3 paid ad spots

With 4 out of every 10 researchers selecting one of the first three paid advertising slots after a search, it is easy to see how the money spent could quickly become an investment.

When clicks from a list of search results can possibly translate into a purchase, you will want to do whatever you can to increase your chances of being selected. If your company isn’t appearing in the first bunch of organic results, considering bidding for an ad slot.

2. Businesses earn about $3 for every $1.60 they spend

With Google AdWords, the program that allows companies to purchase an ad slot for specific keywords, it can feel like you’re spending a lot of money for each click you receive. But like anything in business, you need to consider the ROI.

On average, businesses will almost double their investment on AdWords. For every $1.60 they spend on placing their ad, they can receive $3 in revenue.

3. Google makes about 97% of their overall revenue from advertising

As one of the biggest companies in the world, it is actually advertisements that keep the company running. With Google click through rates receiving about 97% of their revenue from companies wanting to place advertisements on the page, it is no wonder pay per click is such a big deal.

4. 32% of companies use PPC to directly sell a product

Unlike many other forms of advertising or a standard SEO strategy, PPC advertising usually pushes a direct product. This means that a company may decide to pay to place a popular item among a list of search results rather than promoting their company as a whole.

If a company gets most of their revenue from a particular product, this might be a great idea to see more return from their investment.

5. Almost 80% of companies focus on Google for PPC

Just as Google tends to set the tone for other search engines when it comes to SEO algorithms, Google also dominates the PPC field. Data shows that 78% of companies focus their advertising money at appearing on Google results.

The other 22% of companies used their money to focus on other search engines, including Bing and Yahoo.

6. 46% of people can’t tell the difference between paid ads and organic results

It’s pretty common knowledge that customers don’t like to feel like they’re being sold on something. When purchasing an ad slot in Google, you don’t necessary want everyone to know that you bought your way there.

Luckily, about half of all searchers can’t tell the difference between a paid advertisement and a company who reach the top through their SEO strategy.

7. The first ad position has a click through rate of almost 8%

With a click through rate of 7.94% for the first advertisement slot, purchasing the position can actually bring in a lot more revenue. For comparison purposes, the average click through rate for other slots is only about 2%.

If you’re deciding if you should bid for the first positon compared to somewhere further down on the list, consider what about 4 times more clicks could do for you.

8. Around 65% of B2B companies can grow their client base through LinkedIn Ads

Google isn’t the only place that a PPC advertisement may appear. When considering where to place your paid advertisements, consider where your ideal customer or client may be looking.

For B2B companies, that place is probably on LinkedIn. In fact, about 65% of business to business companies were able to secure new clients by placing a pay per click advertisement on LinkedIn.

9. You can increase your brand awareness by 80% with a PPC ad

Pay per click ads aren’t just beneficial for companies wanting to push products. Setting up a PPC campaign can also dramatically increase your brand awareness. Even if the searcher does not select your ad, you are getting your name and services in front of them.

Recognition and brand awareness can increase your chances of making a purchase with that customer further down the line.

There are a number of benefits that pay per click advertising can bring to a company. For someone looking to increase their awareness or push out a product, you may be focusing solely on getting your name out there with SEO strategies and social media. While those tactics can work for many companies, they also take time.

One of the biggest rules of business is that you need to spend money to make money. If you’re serious about seeing larger income and revenue and you want to attract additional customers, consider what a PPC campaign can do for you.