Cost per click (CPC) is a widely used term in paid advertising, where advertisers pay publishers for each click on an ad. Also known as pay per click (PPC), CPC is a key metric that helps advertisers determine the cost of displaying ads to users on search engines, social media platforms, and other publishers.
CPC plays a significant role in determining bidding strategies and conversion bidding types, helping businesses maximize clicks relative to their budget size and target keywords. Various types of ads, including text, rich-media, and social media ads, use CPC as a factor in calculating total paid advertising campaign costs. However, certain ad types are only displayed on specific networks, such as Google Search Network (ads at the top of Google’s search engine result pages) and Display Network (Google-owned or partnered sites like YouTube and Gmail).
Calculating CPC involves dividing the cost of a paid advertising campaign by the number of clicks received. Popular online advertising tools like Google AdWords often show CPC for target keywords. Other related metrics include average cost per click and maximum cost per click, with the latter referring to the highest amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a click.
Manual CPC bidding is an approach where advertisers set the maximum CPC for each ad by hand, while enhanced CPC is an automated conversion bidding strategy in Google AdWords used to maximize ad conversions for certain types of ads on Google’s Search and Display Network.
CPC has several advantages, including its ability to help businesses drive traffic to their sites or stores, improve paid advertising campaigns, determine the most effective ad types, and choose manual or automated bidding strategies based on their understanding of their business, audience, and paid advertising strategies.
In summary, CPC is a crucial metric for businesses looking to run effective online advertising campaigns. By understanding how CPC works and how to calculate it, businesses can optimize their advertising campaigns to generate more clicks and conversions, leading to increased revenue and growth.
