Cost per click (CPC)
CPC is what you pay, on average, for one click on your ad: total cost divided by clicks. It is the price of traffic, not of results.
In the platformBasics
Avg. CPC
CPC is what you pay, on average, for one click on your ad: total cost divided by clicks. It is the price of traffic, not of results.
On Google Search you rarely pay your full maximum bid. The auction charges about what you needed to hold your position, so actual CPC moves with competition, Quality Score and the bid strategy. A cheap click that never converts is still expensive, so always read CPC together with conversion rate.
Where you'll see it
In Google Ads, "Avg. CPC" is a default column in the Campaigns, Ad groups and Keywords tables; "Max. CPC" is the keyword bid you set with manual bidding. In Meta Ads Manager use "CPC (cost per link click)" rather than "CPC (all)". TikTok Ads Manager reports CPC (destination) at campaign, ad group and ad level.
Worked example$1,200 a week, 800 clicks
- CPC = $1,200 ÷ 800 = $1.50
- If 4% of clicks convert: 800 × 4% = 32 conversions, so cost per conversion = $1,200 ÷ 32 = $37.50
- If competition pushes CPC to $1.80 with the same conversion rate: $1.80 ÷ 4% = $45.00 per conversion
Do
- Judge CPC together with cost per conversion
- Look at a week or more; auctions move daily
- Fix the ad and landing page when Quality Score is low
Don't
- Treat a lower CPC as a win; cheaper, less relevant clicks can raise cost per conversion
- Compare Meta’s “CPC (all)” with Google’s Avg. CPC; they count different clicks
- Raise bids to fix a high CPC caused by low Quality Score