Glossary

CPC (Cost per Click)

CPC (cost per click) is the average amount you pay for one click on your ad. It reflects competition for your audience: the more advertisers bid on the same keywords or users, the higher the CPC. It's the price tag on your traffic.

Formula: CPC = Cost ÷ Clicks

How to read it

CPC only means something next to conversion rate: a €5 CPC converting at 10% beats a €1 CPC converting at 0.5%. Judge CPC as an input to CPA, not as a goal.

Where it misleads

Chasing cheap clicks drifts campaigns toward low-intent audiences and broad matches. The cheapest click is usually cheap for a reason.

Related terms

Clicks →

Clicks count how often someone clicked on your ad. A click is the first active decision in the funnel: a user chose your ad over everything else on the page. Clicks drive traffic; whether that traffic is worth anything shows up later, in conversions.

CPA (Cost per Acquisition) →

CPA (cost per acquisition, also cost per conversion) is the average amount you spend to get one conversion. It's the efficiency metric for lead and signup campaigns: as long as a customer is worth more than their CPA, the campaign makes economic sense.

CPM (Cost per Mille) →

CPM (cost per mille) is the price for one thousand ad impressions. It's the standard buying unit for awareness and social campaigns, where you pay for visibility rather than clicks. CPM tells you how expensive it is to be seen by your audience.

Metrics explained are nice. Metrics watched are better.

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