A paid channel is any marketing channel where you invest money to gain access and visibility, or "pay-to-play", to reach your target audience. Compared to an organic approach where a company hopes to reach potential customers, a paid channel offers a direct route to their ideal target audience.

By paying to ensure the right message is reaching the right audience at the right time, paid channels are more effective for generating leads, driving traffic to a website, or boosting brand awareness. Usually paid channels also offer tools within their platform to easily track metrics and lead generation. However, paid channels require careful planning and budget management to make sure they maintain a positive return on investment.

The most common types of paid channels include advertising that showcases brand messaging on certain websites to content syndication that distributes your content across multiple platforms. It can also involve search engine marketing (SEM), a strategy used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results.

Related: Marketing channels: Expand your business reach beyond Google.