Glossary
Paid Traffic
Visitors you get by paying a platform to show your link, such as Google or Facebook ads. It is fast to start and stops when you stop paying.
Paid traffic is the visitors you get by paying a platform to put your link in front of people. Google Ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, and sponsored placements are all paid traffic. You are renting attention.
Its biggest advantage is speed. Unlike organic traffic, which can take months to build, paid traffic can start bringing visitors the same day you launch a campaign. That makes it useful for testing an offer quickly.
The catch is that it only works when the numbers add up. You have to earn more from each visitor than you pay to get them.
Earnings per click > Cost per click = room to profit
Earnings per click < Cost per click = paying to lose money
The other catch is that paid traffic stops the moment you stop paying. It does not build up over time the way a ranking page does. Turn off the budget and the visitors disappear that day.
This is why many beginners burn money on ads before they are ready. Running paid traffic profitably requires knowing what a visitor is worth to you, and that requires tracking. Sending paid clicks to an offer you have not tested is the fastest way to lose money online.
To see how the full advertising equation works, read how paid advertising makes money.