CPC — Cost Per Click
Cost Per Click — what you pay each time someone clicks your ad.
What it means
CPC stands for Cost Per Click. It is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your online ad. On a CPC campaign, if nobody clicks, you usually pay nothing.
How it works
Here is how to find your average CPC.
CPC = total ad spend ÷ total clicks
On auction platforms like Google Ads, you do not simply pick a price. You set a maximum bid, which is the most you are willing to pay for one click. The actual price is decided by an auction each time your ad is shown, so you often pay less than your maximum. Think of your max bid as a ceiling, not a fixed price.
The auction also considers how relevant and useful your ad is, not just your bid.
A simple example
Priya runs a small café in Pune. She spends ₹2,000 on Google Ads to promote her new weekend brunch menu. Her ads get 400 clicks.
Her CPC is ₹2,000 ÷ 400 = ₹5 per click.
Next month she improves her ad text and shows ads only to people near her café. She spends the same ₹2,000 but gets 500 clicks. Her CPC drops to ₹4.
Why it matters
CPC tells you how expensive it is to bring people to your website or landing page. A lower CPC means more visitors for the same budget.
But cheap clicks are not always good clicks. If people click and leave without buying, a low CPC does not help much. Always look at CPC together with conversion rate and cost per lead.
Beginner tips
- Start small and watch your CPC for a week before changing things.
- Use specific keywords, like "birthday cake shop in Pune", instead of broad ones like "cake".
- Improve your ad text and landing page, because relevant ads often earn cheaper clicks.
- Common mistake: chasing the lowest CPC while ignoring whether those clicks turn into customers.