Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is the amount you pay each time a person clicks your ad. In a pay-per-click (PPC) system like Google Ads, you are not charged when your ad is shown — only when someone actually clicks it. That makes CPC the core unit of cost for most search advertising.

Here is a concrete example. An HVAC company in Portland bids on "furnace repair Portland." Each time a homeowner clicks their ad, they might pay $8. If 60 people click in a week, that campaign cost roughly $480 in clicks — regardless of how many times the ad was displayed.

You do not simply pay whatever you bid. Google runs a live ad auction every time someone searches, and your actual CPC is usually less than your maximum bid. Two big factors decide it:

• Competition: the more advertisers bidding on a keyword, the higher CPCs tend to climb. Terms like "personal injury lawyer" cost far more than "dog groomer near me."
• Quality Score: Google rewards relevant, well-built ads and landing pages with lower costs. A business with a high Quality Score can pay less per click and still rank above a competitor bidding more.

This is why throwing money at bids is rarely the answer. Improving relevance and landing page experience often lowers CPC more than raising bids ever could. For the full picture on what you will actually spend, see our guide to Google Ads budget and cost.