Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on one of their ads, calculated as total ad spend divided by total clicks.
What drives CPC
In auction-based platforms like Google Ads, CPC depends on competition for the keyword or audience, your bid, and the quality and relevance of your ad and landing page. Better landing pages can lower CPC because they raise quality scores.
Why CPC is not the goal
A low CPC means nothing if clicks do not convert. The number that matters is cost per acquisition: what you pay for a lead or sale. Improving conversion rate usually does more for profitability than cutting CPC. Unbounce's analysis of 41,000 landing pages puts the median conversion rate at about 6.6% (Unbounce, Q4 2024 data), and moving from below that to above it changes the economics of every click.
Formula
CPC = total ad spend / total clicks. Cost per acquisition = total ad spend / total conversions.