Why it matters for your business
With standard Google Search ads, you pay when someone clicks your ad, not when it’s shown. Your cost per click, together with how many clicks turn into customers, decides whether your ads make money.
Clicks are priced through an auction. You set the most you’re willing to pay, and you often pay less than that maximum. What you pay depends on competition for that search, and on how relevant and useful Google judges your ad and landing page.
Example
If you spend $500 in a month and get 100 clicks, your average CPC is $5. If 10 of those clicks became calls, each call cost you $50.
How to check or improve it
- Use Google’s Keyword Planner to see typical CPC ranges for your services and area before you start.
- Add negative keywords so you don’t pay for irrelevant searches.
- Write ads that match the search closely, and send clicks to the matching service page.
- Judge success by cost per lead or cost per customer, not CPC alone. A more expensive click that brings customers beats a cheap one that doesn’t.