Cost per Click is what the platform actually charged you per ad click. It falls out of CPM and CTR — if your CPM is €10 and your CTR is 1%, you're paying €1 per click. Higher CTR for the same CPM means cheaper clicks; same offer, better creative.
CPC = Ad Spend / Clicks
Why it matters
CPC is the metric where creative quality compounds. Two campaigns with the same audience and bid will have very different CPCs if one has a strong hook. It's also the cost variable downstream tools (landing-page CRO, checkout optimisation) need to know to compute their break-even.
Typical ranges
- Meta cold prospecting (DTC ecommerce): €0.60 – €1.50
- Meta retargeting: €0.30 – €0.90 (warmer audience clicks more)
- Google Search branded: €0.10 – €0.50 (already-intent traffic)
- Google Search high-intent commercial: €1 – €15+ depending on category
- LinkedIn B2B: €4 – €15 — the highest of the major platforms