What is cost per click?

Cost per click, or CPC, is the average amount you pay each time someone clicks on your online ad, calculated by dividing total ad spend by total clicks.

Cost per click helps you understand how efficiently your ad budget is working. If two ads bring in the same results but one has a lower CPC, you get more visits for the same money. It is a key number for anyone running paid social campaigns.

Most ad platforms, including those on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Pinterest, report CPC automatically. Costs vary widely depending on the network, your audience, your industry, the time of year and how many other advertisers want the same people. Some ads are charged per click, while others are charged per thousand impressions.

A low CPC is not always better if the clicks do not turn into customers, so look at conversions too. Improve CPC with a clear, relevant ad, a well-defined audience and an image or video that stands out. Test small budgets before spending more.

Example

A dog walking service compares its ads and finds that a video of happy pups has a lower cost per click than a plain text ad.