CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPC (cost per click) is the amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks their ad, calculated as total spend divided by total clicks.
CPC (cost per click) is the amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks their ad. It is calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of clicks: CPC = spend ÷ clicks. In a click-priced campaign you only pay when someone actually clicks, not just when the ad is shown.
CPC is the headline pricing model on most native ad networks, where advertisers set a bid for a placement and the network charges per click delivered. A $0.40 CPC means 1,000 clicks cost $400. Your real average CPC is usually lower than your max bid, because auctions clear at the second-highest price plus a small increment.
Why it matters#
CPC ties cost directly to engagement, so it is the natural unit for traffic buyers and affiliates who care about getting visitors to a Landing Page cheaply. But a low CPC is only good if those clicks convert, a cheap click that never turns into a sale is still wasted spend. That is why media buyers always read CPC alongside conversion economics rather than chasing the lowest number.
CPC differs from impression-based pricing like CPM (Cost Per Mille), which charges per thousand views regardless of clicks, and from outcome-based pricing like CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), which charges per conversion. When a network optimizes a CPM buy toward clicks, the blended result is reported as eCPC (Effective Cost Per Click).
Related terms: CPM (Cost Per Mille), CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), eCPC (Effective Cost Per Click), and Smart Bidding (Automated Bidding).
