Cost Per Click

Cost per click tells you, on average, how much each ad click costs when you divide the total amount spent on advertising by the number of clicks received. The formula works because it spreads the full spend evenly across all clicks, giving a simple unit cost that makes campaigns easy to compare. If one campaign has a lower CPC than another, it means it is generating clicks more cheaply, although it does not by itself show whether those clicks turn into sales.

Use this when you want to measure the efficiency of paid ads such as search, display, or social media campaigns. It is especially useful for comparing different ads, keywords, audiences, or platforms that may have different budgets and click volumes.

• Dividing clicks by cost instead of cost by clicks
• Using impressions or views in place of clicks
• Forgetting that CPC is an average, not the price of every single click