What is Cost-per-click (CPC)?
The cost-per-click (CPC) model involves paying for each click on your ads. When using CPC bidding, you establish a maximum cost-per-click bid, or “max. CPC,” which represents the highest amount you are willing to pay for a click on your ad. However, you may end up paying less than your max. CPC bid, with the final amount charged for a click referred to as your actual CPC.
If someone clicks your ad and you have set a max. CPC bid, the click will not cost you more than the specified amount. You can opt for manual bidding, where you choose the bid amounts, or automatic bidding, where Google sets bids to get the maximum clicks within your budget. CPC pricing is also called pay-per-click (PPC).
CPC Bidding basics
Google Ads offers various bidding options to suit your business needs and priorities. These include bidding for clicks, impressions, conversions, or video ad views, depending on your specific goals.
As an advertiser on Google Ads, you likely have a clear objective in mind for your ads. For instance, if you sell coffee, your aim could be to attract more customers to your coffee shop. Alternatively, if you run a hiking club, you might want to increase the number of sign-ups to your newsletter.
Determining the desired outcome of your ads can guide your bidding strategy.
It’s worth noting that Google Ads conducts an auction every time it has ad space available, such as on a search result or a website. Each auction determines which ads will appear in that space at that moment, and your bid places you in the auction.
The bidding options available to you can vary based on your campaign type and may include clicks, impressions, conversions, views, or engagements. Considering your campaign’s goals, which bidding option would you select? Let’s explore these options in greater detail.
Focus on clicks (for Search and Display ads only)
Opting for clicks is suitable for Search and Display ads if your primary objective is to drive traffic to your website. By using cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, you will only be charged when someone clicks on your ad and visits your website.
For instance, if you run a hiking club in Colorado, you could bid higher for targeted keywords such as “Colorado hiking” and bid differently for broader keywords such as “hiking maps.”
Focus on impressions
If your objective is to enhance your brand’s visibility, consider focusing on impressions. This approach is suitable for campaigns targeting only the Search Network. By using Target Impression Share bidding, Google Ads will automatically set your bids to attain your desired Impression Share goal.
For instance, if you choose a target of 65% on the topmost position of the page, Google Ads will automatically set your bids to show your ads on the topmost position of the page 65% of the total possible times.
For campaigns targeting only the Display Network, you can opt to pay for the number of times your ad is displayed rather than by the click. This is known as cost-per-thousand viewable impressions (vCPM) bidding, whereby you pay for every 1,000 viewable ad appearances.
If your objective is to enhance brand awareness, this could be a suitable option. You can set bids at the ad group level or for individual placements with Viewable CPM bidding, similar to CPC manual bidding.
Focus on conversions (for Search and Display ads only)
If your primary objective is to drive conversions on your website, then CPA bidding is a suitable option for your campaign. This advanced bidding method involves specifying the amount you’re willing to pay for each conversion or cost per action (CPA) to Google Ads.
A conversion refers to a specific action you want a user to take on your website, such as a purchase, email sign-up, or another desired action. While you pay for every engaged view and click on Display ads, Google Ads will automatically set your bids to maximize the number of conversions at the cost per action you specified.
However, using CPA bidding requires conversion tracking to be enabled, among other things, so it’s best suited for intermediate and advanced Google Ads users.
Focus on views (for video ads only)
If you want to measure viewer engagement with your video content and track where viewers watch your videos and when they stop watching, you should focus on cost-per-view (CPV) bidding for your video ads. CPV bidding allows you to pay for video views and other video interactions, like clicks on calls-to-action overlays (CTAs), cards, and companion banners.
To set a CPV bid, you will need to enter the highest price you are willing to pay for a view when setting up your TrueView video campaign. Your maximum CPV bid, also known as “max CPV,” applies at the campaign level, but you can also set a CPV bid for each ad format.