Cost per Click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is the average price you pay for a single click on a paid ad. The formula is total spend / total clicks. CPC ties spend directly to action, making it the go-to metric for traffic and conversion campaigns where a click is the first step toward a sale or signup. It is shaped by audience competition, ad quality, bid strategy, and CTR, since a higher click-through rate typically lowers CPC. Marketers use CPC to forecast budgets, compare creatives, and judge whether traffic is affordable relative to the value of a converted visitor. A low CPC is only good if those clicks convert, so always read it next to conversion rate and ROAS.