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Cost Per Click (CPC)
George Jameson avatar
Written by George Jameson
Updated over a year ago

What is CPC (Cost Per Click)?

CPC, which stands for Cost Per Click, is like the amount of money you pay each time someone clicks on your online advertisement. It’s a way to measure the cost of driving traffic to your website through advertising.


Example of CPC:

Let’s say you’re running an online ad campaign on a social media platform. You’ve set a budget of £100 for the campaign, and during the campaign, your ads were clicked on a total of 200 times. Your CPC would be calculated as:

CPC = Total Cost of Campaign / Total Clicks

CPC = £100 / 200 clicks

CPC = £0.50 per click

So, in this case, your CPC is $0.50, meaning you paid 50 cents for each click on your advertisement.


Why Tracking CPC is Important:

Tracking CPC is important for several reasons:

  • Cost Control: It helps brands understand how much they’re spending for each visitor that clicks on their ads, allowing for better budget control.

  • Performance Evaluation: Brands can assess the efficiency and effectiveness of their advertising campaigns based on the cost per click.

  • Competitor Analysis: Monitoring CPC can provide insights into the competitiveness of your advertising efforts compared to competitors.

Using CPC for Data-Driven Decisions: #

For brands looking to stay competitive and adapt to market trends, here’s how to use CPC effectively:

  • Budget Planning: Calculate how much you’re willing to pay per click based on your advertising goals and budget constraints.

  • Ad Platform Selection: Choose the advertising platforms that offer the best CPC rates for your target audience and industry.

  • Ad Campaign Optimisation: Continuously monitor CPC and adjust your ad campaign settings, such as keywords, targeting, and ad creatives, to achieve a lower CPC while maintaining performance.

  • Conversion Tracking: Implement conversion tracking to understand how CPC relates to actual conversions and ROI (Return on Investment).

  • Keyword Research: If you’re using search engine advertising like Google Ads, conduct keyword research to identify cost-effective keywords that align with your goals.

  • A/B Testing: Experiment with different ad variations to find the ones that generate the lowest CPC while maintaining high-quality traffic.


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