Cost-per-click (CPC) is an online advertising pricing model where advertisers pay a publisher based on the number of clicks their ads receive rather than the number of impressions served.
Some examples of ad programs that use CPC pricing:
- Google Ads (formerly AdWords) – Google's paid advertising program displays text, image, and video ads on Google's search engine results pages and partner networks when keywords related to the ads are searched.
- Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) – Similar to Google, advertisers pay Microsoft when users click on their ads shown alongside Bing search engine results.
- Facebook Ads – On Facebook and Instagram, ads appear on pages and in feeds. Advertiser payment is triggered by clicks.
- Twitter Ads – Ads shown in Twitter feeds and pages use CPC pricing, only paying when an ad is clicked not just viewed by users.
- Quora Ads – Questions pages on Quora's popular Q&A site show relevant pay-per-click ads to site visitors reading and browsing topics.
The CPC model allows advertisers to maximize ad spend efficiency by paying strictly for the number ad clicks received indicating some qualified level of buyer interest.