Cost per click (CPC) is a pricing model where advertisers pay publishers for every click on their ad. CPC is the metric behind pay per click (PPC) advertising: PPC is the pricing model, while CPC is what you pay for each click. CPC is used to determine costs of showing users ads on search engines, the Google Display Network in Google Ads, social media platforms and other publishers. CPC is a significant factor in choosing bidding strategies and conversion bidding types to maximize clicks relative to budget size and target keywords.

What types of ads use CPC?

A variety of text, rich-media and social media ads use CPC to calculate total paid campaign costs. Some ad types are only displayed on certain networks, such as the Google Search Network (ads at the top of Google’s search engine result pages) and Display Network (Google-owned or partnered sites like YouTube and Gmail).

CPC is a factor in ad types including:

  • Text ads
  • Shopping ads
  • Image ads
  • Video ads
  • X (formerly known as Twitter) promoted posts
  • Facebook ads
  • Instagram ads
  • LinkedIn ads

How do you calculate cost per click (CPC)?

Cost per click is calculated by dividing the cost of a paid advertising campaign by the number of clicks. Advertising platforms like Google Ads display the CPC for your target keywords when you bid on them.

Cost per click = Advertising cost / number of clicks

Related metrics that involve CPC include average cost per click and maximum cost per click. Within paid advertising platforms like Google Ads, there are certain strategies like manual cost per click bidding that marketers may want to utilize depending on their goals.

What is average cost per click?

Average cost per click is the average an advertiser spends for every ad click.

Average CPC = total cost of clicks / total number of clicks

What is maximum cost per click?

Maximum cost per click is the highest amount you think a click is worth and the highest you want to pay. Your maximum CPC is rarely the exact amount you pay for the click.

What is manual cost per click bidding?

With manual CPC bidding, advertisers set the maximum CPC for each ad by hand, rather than relying on automated strategies.

What is enhanced cost per click?

Enhanced cost per click was an automated conversion bidding strategy in Google Ads for certain types of ads that appeared on Google’s Search Network and Display Network. Advertisers used enhanced CPC when their goal was to maximize ad conversions. Google retired Enhanced CPC for Search and Display campaigns in March 2025 and moved remaining campaigns to manual CPC bidding.

Pros of measuring cost per click

  • Meet goals to drive traffic. Attract more customers to your site or store by paying publishers to display ads where your target audience spends their time.
  • Measure CPC metrics to improve paid advertising campaigns. Compare the cost of paid advertising campaigns to revenue generated or other metrics by calculating CPC.
  • Determine which ad types to use. When CPC stops paying off for certain ad types, shift your budget to channels that generate higher revenue or traffic.
  • Choose manual or automated bidding strategies. Once you understand your audience and CPC strategies, automate your bidding to focus on broader business goals.

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