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Paid Advertising

Cost Per Click (CPC)

The amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.

What is Cost Per Click?

Cost Per Click (CPC) is a paid advertising model where advertisers pay each time someone clicks on their ad. It’s commonly used in search engine advertising (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads) and social media advertising.

How CPC Works

In platforms like Google Ads, CPC is determined through an auction system. Advertisers set maximum bids, and the actual CPC is often lower than the max bid, depending on competition and quality score.

Average CPCs by Industry

  • Legal: $6-9
  • Insurance: $5-7
  • Home Services: $3-6
  • E-commerce: $1-2
  • B2B Software: $3-5

Optimizing CPC

Improve Quality Score through relevant ad copy and landing pages, use negative keywords to filter irrelevant clicks, adjust bids by device and location, and focus on high-intent keywords that convert.

MORE PAID ADVERTISING TERMS

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Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

The total cost of acquiring one paying customer through a specific campaign or channel.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

An advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked, buying visits rather than earning them organically.

Quality Score

Google Ads metric that measures the quality and relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages on a 1-10 scale.

Remarketing

A strategy that shows targeted ads to people who have previously visited your website or used your app.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

A marketing metric that measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

A form of digital marketing that promotes websites by increasing visibility in search engine results through paid advertising.

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