CPC: NOW How Much Would You Pay?
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Your goal is to show up on page one for the best keyword for your product or service, and as high up on page one as possible so people click on your ad rather than your competitors.
- The good news: regardless of how many times your PPC ad is displayed on search results (each display is called an "impression"), you are only charged if the ad is clicked.
- The bad news: there is no way to know ahead of time what clicks are going to cost you.
Google's goal is to have as many people bidding on those keywords as possible, to drive the cost higher. CPC for popular keywords is based on an ongoing auction among bidders for those keywords. Google says your Cost Per Click (CPC) for a page-one position depends on:
- the competition for the keywords you choose (there is a very wide range)
- the relevance of the text in the page your ad links to. This page (or sequence of pages) is called a "Landing Page".
Are you paying too much per click to get people to your Landing Pages?
That depends on your margin for each sale, the CPC for the keywords you chose, and the likelihood those Landing Pages will turn into sales.
All these numbers are available from Google, and here's how you read them.
