Cost-per-click

What is cost-per-click (CPC)?

Cost-per-click (CPC) is what you pay each time someone clicks on one of your pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Tracking CPC helps you understand if your ads are profitable.

A high CPC could mean you're targeting the wrong keywords, your Quality Score is low, or your ads need better messaging.

Why does CPC matter?

CPC affects how much return you get from your ad spend. The goal is to get cheap clicks from people who are likely to convert. Low-cost, high-quality clicks improve ROI.

CPC is also tied to how Google Ads ranks your ads. Google gives discounts to ads with high Quality Scores. Ads with scores of 6 or more can get 16% to 50% off. Low scores (4 or under) may lead to CPC increases of up to 400%.

To manage CPC well, you need to:

Improve Quality Score
Find relevant keywords
Cut out expensive or low-performing clicks

The lower your CPC, the cheaper it is to get a conversion.

How to calculate CPC?

Formula:
Average CPC = Total Ad Cost / Number of Clicks

Example:
If you spend $150 and get 42 clicks, your CPC is $3.57.

Attribution and ROI tracking

Different platforms measure results differently.

Google Ads gives credit to the last ad click, even if the user converted later from another channel.
Google Analytics (default setting) gives credit to the last non-direct source.

Know how each platform attributes conversions so you can judge performance accurately.

How to optimize your CPC?

A good PPC campaign has a strong structure and well-targeted ads. Here’s what to focus on:

Campaigns and ad groups

Organize ads by product or category. Create different ad groups for different products so you can test what works best.

Ad networks

Google Ads is the biggest player, but don't ignore Bing, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Adroll. Different platforms work for different goals.

Keywords

Pick keywords that match your buyer’s intent. Use long-tail keywords to target more specific searches. Avoid broad or vague terms that attract unqualified clicks.
Use negative keywords to block irrelevant traffic.

Note: keywords don’t apply to social media ads-they rely more on audience demographics.

Ad copy

Strong ads focus on:

Features
Benefits
Clear call to action

Your ad should explain what’s in it for the user. Use clear language, avoid repetition, and try different CTAs. For social ads, images and headlines are more important. Humor and curiosity often work better than a sales pitch.

Landing page

Never send paid clicks to a generic page. Build a page just for that ad.

Must-have elements:

A clear, relevant headline
Concise, benefit-driven copy
A strong call-to-action (button)

Your landing page should match your ad’s promise and design. Keep testing different versions to improve your results.

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