CPC
CPC is the auction price of one visit from an ad, the bridge between media cost and site economics.
What CPC is
CPC, cost per click, is what one visit from an ad costs: the auction price paid when someone actually clicks through, the pricing model where the platform sells traffic instead of exposure.
Why CPC matters
It’s the bridge metric between media cost and site economics: CPC times the visits needed per sale is the acquisition math in two numbers, and revenue per visitor against CPC says instantly whether a channel can ever work. Search advertising runs on it; social buyers use it as the diagnostic between CPM paid and conversions earned.
Working the number
- Decompose it: CPC is CPM divided by click-through, so creative and targeting both move it
- Judge it against value: a high CPC on buying-intent queries beats a cheap one on browsers
- Watch it per keyword and audience: averages hide the auction’s real shape
- Pair with conversion rate: cheap clicks that bounce are the expensive kind
Frequently asked questions
What’s a good CPC for ecommerce?
The one your funnel affords: revenue per visitor and conversion rate set each store’s ceiling, and category auctions set the floor. Comparing your CPC to another category’s benchmark imports their intent and margins without their business.
Why did CPC rise when nothing changed?
Because the auction did: new competitors, seasonal bidding, fatigued creative dragging click-through down, or the platform shifting delivery. CPC is a market price wearing your account’s name; diagnose the auction before blaming the campaign.