What is Cost Per Click (CPC)?
The cost per click (CPC) is the amount that an advertiser pays to a publisher for each click on their promotional ads. The CPC for an ad is determined by the advertiser and varies by each campaign a brand runs and operates. In the case of email marketing, the CPC can vary depending on the method used to track clicks (e.g. using a unique URL for each email recipient).
CPC is a widely accepted advertising pricing model in which advertisers are charged based on the number of times their ad is clicked. CPC is commonly used in online advertising, as it is a way for advertisers to control how much they spend on advertising. In email marketing, CPC can be used to measure the cost of email advertising.
Types of Cost per Click
There are two types of cost per click: Flat rate and Bid-based.
In Flat rate CPC, the advertiser pays a fixed amount for each click, regardless of the keywords that were used or the position of the ad.
Whereas in the Bid-based CPC, the advertiser pays a certain amount for each click, based on how much they are willing to bid for the keywords that were used. The higher the bid, the more likely the ad is to be shown in a higher position.
Factors affecting Cost per click
There are a number of factors that can affect the cost per click of an advertisement, including the:
- Advertiser’s budget
- Ad targeting options selected
- Competition for the ad space
- Quality of the ad and its creatives
- Click-through rate
What Is Maximum Cost Per Click?
Max CPC is the most amount you are willing to pay for a click on your advertising campaign. You set these limits in your advertising accounts.
While choosing your max CPC bid, make sure to select the highest amount that is worth for your campaign and product. When you select max CPC to a limit, you won’t be charged more than that for the clicks on your advertisements.
A higher bid might give you a higher position on the page. Though, quality of your ads, landing page, copy-text, and creatives might affect your ranking.
Importance of Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per click (CPC) is an important metric in online advertising, as it represents the amount advertisers are willing to pay for each click on their ad. CPC is used to measure the effectiveness of an online ad campaign and to determine the value of each click.
DTC brands and startups generally do not have time and runway to build their online content and wait for their SEO to work for them. Thus, CPC campaigns help them to achieve their user acquisition goals, conversions, and revenue faster. Although, depending on the organization and competition of the niche, the ROAS (return on ad spend) will increase or decrease. Thus, marketers and brands should work on improving their ad quality and bids to gain a better market share.