What is CPC?
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen · Growth Hacker · Fractional CMO · Meta Ads Nerd · 8 July 2026 · 3 min.
Definition
CPC (Cost Per Click) is ad spend divided by the number of clicks. Pay €55 for 100 clicks and your CPC is €0.55.
Also called: CPC, Cost Per Click, Click price
Sådan virker det
CPC (Cost Per Click) er prisen for ét klik. Den falder, når CTR stiger (bedre kreativ/relevans) eller CPM falder (mindre auktionspres). CPC er tættere på resultatet end CPM, men det er stadig konverteringsraten bagved, der afgør, om klikket tjener penge.
01What determines your CPC
CPC is a product of CPM and CTR: CPC = CPM / (CTR × 10). Make your creative or search ad more relevant, CTR rises and CPC falls — even at an unchanged CPM. In paid search, Quality Score also plays in: higher relevance and a better landing page lower the price you actually pay per click.
So CPC is as much a relevance measure as a price measure. The cheapest route to a lower CPC is rarely to bid lower, but to make the ad more relevant.
02CPC isn't the finish line
A low CPC is only worth something if the clicks convert. A channel with expensive clicks that often turn into purchases can be cheaper per order than a channel with cheap clicks that rarely do. That's why we steer by CPA and POAS — not CPC alone.
CPC is useful for diagnosis: if CPA rises, you can see whether it's from more expensive clicks (CPC) or worse conversion (CVR), and fix the right thing.
Frequently asked questions
How do I lower my CPC?+
Most often by raising relevance: better creative or ad copy lifts CTR, which lowers CPC at the same CPM. In Google Ads, a better Quality Score (relevance + landing page) also improves the click price. Bidding lower is rarely the best route.
Is a low CPC more important than conversion rate?+
No. What counts is the total cost per order (CPA). Expensive clicks that convert well beat cheap clicks that don't. Always read CPC alongside conversion rate.
Related terms
Glossary
What is CPM?
CPM (Cost Per Mille) is the price for 1,000 ad impressions. Spend €6 to reach 1,000 people and your CPM is €6.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is CTR?
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, expressed as a percentage. If an ad gets 30 clicks from 1,000 impressions, CTR is 3%.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is conversion rate (CVR)?
Conversion rate (CVR) is the number of conversions divided by the number of visitors, expressed as a percentage. If 2 out of 100 visitors buy, CVR is 2%.
Read the entry →Glossary
What is CAC?
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is your total sales and marketing costs divided by the number of new customers in the same period. It's the price of winning one customer.
Read the entry →
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen
Growth Hacker · Fractional CMO · Meta Ads Nerd at Oaksmond
Growth hacker and fractional CMO with 10+ years' experience and hundreds of millions in managed ad spend behind him. Background from larger Danish and international scale-ups, and from the agency world.
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