What is CPC (Cost Per Click)?
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. It's the most common pricing model in digital advertising, used across Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and pretty much every major ad platform.
If you're running any kind of performance campaign — driving traffic, generating leads, getting sales — CPC is one of the first metrics you'll encounter.
The CPC Formula
CPC = Total Ad Spend ÷ Total Clicks
So if you spend $500 and get 250 clicks, your CPC is $2.00.
Simple enough. But there's an important distinction: this gives you your average CPC. Individual clicks can cost more or less depending on the auction at the moment someone sees your ad.
How CPC Bidding Works
Most ad platforms use an auction system. When someone searches or scrolls, the platform runs a lightning-fast auction among all advertisers targeting that person. But it's not just about who bids the most.
On Google Ads, your actual CPC is determined by:
- Your Max CPC bid — the most you're willing to pay
- Your Quality Score — how relevant your ad and landing page are
- The competition — what other advertisers are bidding
The key takeaway: your actual CPC is almost always lower than your max bid. The auction only charges you enough to beat the advertiser below you, adjusted by quality. So better ads pay less per click — the platform rewards relevance because it wants users to have a good experience.
CPC Benchmarks by Platform
Average CPCs vary wildly depending on where you advertise:
- Google Search Ads: $1-5 (B2B and legal can hit $10-50+)
- Google Display Ads: $0.50-2.00
- Facebook / Instagram: $0.50-2.00
- LinkedIn: $3-8+ (higher because of professional targeting)
- TikTok: $0.50-1.50
- Twitter/X: $0.50-3.00
These are averages. Your actual CPC depends on your industry, audience, ad quality, and competition. Use our CPC Calculator to crunch your actual numbers.
How to Lower Your CPC
Here are the most effective ways to bring your CPC down:
- Improve your Quality Score. Write ad copy that closely matches search intent, and make sure your landing page delivers what the ad promises. This is the single biggest lever on Google Ads.
- Use long-tail keywords. Instead of bidding on "shoes," bid on "women's running shoes size 8." Less competition, lower CPC, and often better conversion rates.
- Refine your targeting. Exclude audiences that don't convert. If mobile users never buy, exclude mobile. If certain age groups waste budget, cut them.
- Test ad variations. Run A/B tests on headlines, descriptions, and CTAs. Higher CTR signals to the platform that your ad is relevant, which lowers CPC.
- Adjust bid strategy. Consider automated bidding strategies like Target CPA or Maximize Conversions — they can optimize bids per auction in ways manual bidding can't.
CPC vs CPM: When to Use Each
Unlike CPC where you pay per click, CPM charges you per 1,000 impressions — regardless of whether anyone clicks.
Use CPC when your goal is driving traffic, leads, or sales. You only pay for engagement, so it's lower risk if your ads aren't resonating yet.
Use CPM when you want maximum reach for brand awareness. If your ad gets a high CTR, CPM can actually be cheaper per click than CPC because you're paying a flat rate for views.
What Matters More Than CPC
A lower CPC doesn't always mean better results. What matters is your cost relative to the value each click brings.
If a $5 click converts into a $500 sale, that's a great deal. A $0.10 click that never converts is a waste of money. Track your conversion rate alongside CPC to understand true performance, and keep an eye on your ROAS to make sure the math works out.
Use our CPC Calculator to quickly crunch the numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your industry, platform, and what a click is worth to you. Google Search averages $1-5, Facebook averages $0.50-2.00, and B2B industries like legal or insurance often see CPCs above $10. The real question is whether your CPC makes sense relative to your conversion rate and customer value.
Start with Quality Score — it's the single biggest lever on Google Ads. A higher Quality Score means you pay less in every auction. After that, focus on long-tail keywords (less competition) and improving your CTR (platforms reward ads that get clicked). See the full breakdown above.
CPC works the same way on social platforms — you pay each time someone clicks your ad. On Facebook and Instagram, average CPCs range from $0.50-2.00. On LinkedIn, expect $3-8+ because the audience is more business-focused. Social CPC is influenced by audience targeting, ad relevance, and competition for the same audience.
PPC (Pay Per Click) is the advertising model — you only pay when someone clicks. CPC (Cost Per Click) is the metric that measures how much each click costs. Think of PPC as the system and CPC as the price tag within that system.