Cost per click (CPC)

CPC is how most Google Ads campaigns are charged: you pay when someone clicks, not when they see the ad. Together with conversion rate, it decides what each result costs.

The price comes from the auction, so it moves with competition, Quality Score and the bid strategy.

1. Add Avg. CPC to any table, and Max. CPC on manual campaigns.
2. Check top of page bid estimates on keywords for the price of a visible spot.
3. Look at Quality Score, since a better score lowers the price of the same position.
4. Use Auction insights to see whether competition rose.

Two keywords cost €0.80 and €3 per click. The €3 one converts at 10% and the €0.80 one at 1%, so the dearer click costs €30 per conversion and the cheaper one €80.

• Picking keywords for their low CPC rather than their cost per conversion.
• Raising bids to cut CPC problems that come from low Quality Score.
• Comparing CPCs across countries or industries.

The audit checks Oppy runs on this, each with its own page.

• One match type is paying more for the same intent
• The same keyword bought at two very different prices
• Quality Score on the non-brand side

• Average CPC: The average cost of one click: total cost divided by clicks.
• Bid: The most you are willing to pay for a click, or the target a Smart Bidding strategy aims at.
• Quality Score: Google's 1 to 10 rating of a keyword, built from expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.