What is CPC?
Cost per click, priced and explained · Updated July 2026
CPC (cost per click) = total ad spend / total clicks
CPC stands for cost per click: the price you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Work it out by dividing total ad spend by total clicks. Spend £500, get 208 clicks, and your CPC is £2.40. Across 24 industries, the average Google search CPC in 2026 is $5.42. Google Ads Help, definition LocaliQ, 2026 data
Lot 01 · What your budget buys
208 clicks a month
At a typical 5-10% search conversion rate, roughly 10 to 20 enquiries. The 2026 cross-industry average is 8.18% (LocaliQ).
Currency symbol is a label only; the maths is the same in any currency. Full workbench with five modes: the CPC calculator.
Is your number normal?
Industry averages run from $1.63 to $9.87 per click in 2026 LocaliQ, 2026 data. A £2.40 CPC that looks scary in a week-old account can sit well under your industry's median. Find your CPC, place it on the band, then judge it against your break-even, not against a stranger's screenshot.
Not the ad metric? CPC also means
The 2026 bid board
LocaliQ, 2026 dataTen industries with dedicated pages above; all 24 dataset rows on the full benchmarks board. Cross-industry averages: $5.42 CPC, 6.64% CTR, 8.18% conversion rate LocaliQ, 2026 data.
Four ways in
Lot 02
The calculator
Five modes: clicks from budget, budget planner, find your CPC, max CPC, break-even CPC.
Lot 03
2026 benchmarks
Average CPC for 24 industries, vintage-stamped, with ten deep-dive industry pages.
Lot 04
The platforms
Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Amazon, YouTube: how each auction charges.
Lot 05
The vocabulary
CPC vs CPM, CPA, PPC, CPL and CPV, plus Quality Score, Ad Rank and bidding strategies.
Quick answers
What does CPC stand for?
CPC stands for cost per click: the price you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Outside advertising it can also mean Driver CPC, the Certified Professional Coder credential, the Cooperative Patent Classification, or the UN's Central Product Classification.
All five meaningsHow is CPC calculated?
Divide total ad spend by total clicks. £500 spent for 208 clicks is a £2.40 CPC. Platforms set the per-auction price separately, but your average CPC is always spend over clicks.
How CPC is calculatedWhat is the average CPC in 2026?
Across 24 industries, the average Google search CPC in 2026 is $5.42 (LocaliQ, 2026 data). Industry averages run from $1.63 in arts and entertainment to $9.87 in legal.
2026 benchmarksWhat is a good CPC?
A good CPC is one below your break-even: profit per customer multiplied by conversion rate. Benchmark position tells you if your number is normal for your industry; break-even tells you if it makes money.
What is a good CPCWhy is my CPC so high?
Usually one of five causes: loose match types letting expensive searches in, low Quality Score, competitive keywords, weak ad relevance, or an expensive industry. Check the search terms report first.
Diagnose a high CPCHow do I lower my CPC?
Eight levers work: negative keywords, tighter match types, Quality Score improvements, better ad relevance, dayparting and geo trims, long-tail keywords, bid caps, and cleaner campaign structure. Negatives are usually the fastest.
How to lower CPCAll 14 answers on the FAQ page.