CPC (Cost per Click)

CPC (cost per click) is the amount an advertiser pays for one click on an ad. CPC is both a reporting metric (cost divided by clicks) and a way of buying ads: you pay only when someone clicks.

What is CPC?

In Google Ads, CPC bidding means you pay for each click on your ads and set a maximum cost-per-click (max CPC). Google notes that CPC pricing is sometimes known as PPC, pay-per-click (Google Ads Help, Cost-per-click (CPC), accessed October 2026).

On Meta, CPC means cost per link click, calculated as amount spent divided by link clicks (Meta Business Help Center, CPC (cost per link click), accessed October 2026). For many optimization goals, Meta charges for impressions. Only some goals let you choose to pay per link click, and in that case you are not charged if the ad gets no link clicks (Meta Business Help Center, Charges for ads that don’t receive impressions or clicks, accessed October 2026). So on Meta, CPC is usually a metric you read, while the money is still charged by CPM.

CPC formula

CPC = Ad spend / Clicks

Spend VND 5 million, get 2,000 clicks, and CPC is VND 2,500. If you buy by impressions, CPC = CPM / (CTR × 1,000): a CPM of VND 30,000 and a CTR of 1.2% give a CPC of VND 2,500.

Max CPC, actual CPC and average CPC

Sources: Google Ads Help, Maximum CPC bid and Average cost-per-click, accessed October 2026.

How Google Ads sets your actual CPC

You pay only what is needed to clear the Ad Rank thresholds and beat the Ad Rank of the competitor immediately below you. If there is no competitor below you, you pay the reserve price. Ad Rank combines your max CPC with auction-time ad quality (expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience), Ad Rank thresholds, auction competitiveness and the context of the search (Google Ads Help, Actual cost-per-click, accessed October 2026).

Google’s simplified example: 5 advertisers have Ad Ranks of 80, 50, 30, 10 and 5. The minimum to show above the search results is 40, so only 80 and 50 appear there. The advertiser at 80 pays just enough to beat 50; the advertiser at 50 pays just enough to clear 40. The minimum to show below the results is 8, so 30 and 10 appear below, and the advertiser at 5 does not show. Google also notes that thresholds for the top positions are typically higher, so actual CPC there is often higher.

Example: CPC and cost per lead (hypothetical)

A furniture shop bids on “sofa da” (leather sofa) with a max CPC of VND 12,000. In one week it gets 1,600 clicks for VND 14.4 million, an Avg. CPC of VND 9,000. The landing page converts at 2%, giving 32 leads at VND 450,000 each. Keep the same CPC, lift the conversion rate to 3%, and it gets 48 leads at VND 300,000 each. Cutting CPC is not the only way to make leads cheaper.

Frequently asked questions

What is a reasonable CPC?

There is no universal number. Keyword Planner gives estimated Avg. CPC by keyword (see keyword research). Your own ceiling: affordable CPC = target CPA × conversion rate. A target CPA of VND 300,000 at a 3% conversion rate means a max CPC of VND 9,000.

Do I pay for fake clicks?

Google does not charge for invalid clicks its systems detect; if they are found after you were billed, you receive a credit on your next invoice where appropriate (Google Ads Help, Invalid clicks, accessed October 2026). See also click fraud.

If you need to find out whether your CPC is high because of bids, ad quality or the landing page, contact Adtek.