CPC — cost per click
The average cost that an advertiser pays for each click on their ad. The basic budget optimization metric in Google Ads, Meta Ads, and all paid advertising platforms.
CPC
The average cost that an advertiser pays for each click on their ad. The basic budget optimization metric in Google Ads, Meta Ads, and all paid advertising platforms.
Total spending ÷ total clicks
Derivatives & related terms
- Max CPC
- Enhanced CPC (eCPC)
- Target CPC
- Average CPC
- CPC bid
- CPC optimization
- Smart Bidding CPC
- Blended CPC
- CPC vs. CPM
- Quality factor → CPC
- Actual CPC
- Manual CPC
SEO tip
A high quality score can reduce auction CPC by 20-50%. Ad rank = quality score × max CPC — optimizing landing page relevance is the most effective CPC lever.
Source: Georgia Business & Technology Glossary by Del-Ops Technology & Consulting Team. Last Updated: February 2026.