CPC (Cost per Click) is a model of online advertising where the advertiser only pays the host site for the total number of clicks during the ad campaign. The link may come from PPC advertisements or even organic listings from SEO.By means of CPC campaigns the advertiser will be paid based on a the number of clicks on their advertisements, which direct one visitor towards the website of the advertiser. [1]

Short Overview

In the case of banner advertisements, CPC is the reward received by the advertiser based on the visitor's clicks of the advertisements which lead to his website. These advertising programs are also referred to as PPC or paid listings. Having this in mind, the terms pay-per-click (PPC) and cost-per-click (CPC) are sometimes used interchangeably and sometimes have a different meaning. sometimes as distinct terms. The difference between these two advertisement methods is the following:PPC indicates payment based on clicks while CPC indicates the measurement of cost per click based on contracts. [2]

A "click" represents one's visit by following a link or advertisement, expressed as an interaction with the company's products and services. Every click expresses one's attention for that business/website based on the search criterion set by each person. Based on the keywords that the visitor is looking for one's business can seem relevant or not.

The importance of CPC

Based on the results of the CPC campaign the financial outcome is being determined. The more clicks, the higher the profit. Having this in mind, when developing a CPC campaign the main objective should be profit maximization by means of maximizing the return on investment. When thinking of CPC campaigns it is important to take into account both the costs and the value associated. In order to achieve maximum profit the costs should be minimum while the value should be as large as possible.

CPC versus PPC

Even if these two models are sometimes used as synonyms, there is an important distinction which must be taken into consideration. The Pay per click (PPC) model is an online advertising model used on websites where advertisers pay only when an advertisement is clicked. Considering search engines, advertisers usually choose specific keywords which are relevant for their target market. In the case of PPC campaigns, it is usually used a fixed rate per click. As compared to PPC, the Cost per click (CPC) model represents the sum paid by an advertiser to search engines and various other Internet publishers on the basis of a single click, which has the purpose of directing the visitors to the advertiser's online website.[3]

CPC versus CPM

A website using CPC campaigns would bill based on the number of times a visitor clicks a banner as compared to the number of impressions in the case of CPM. Cost per click (CPC) is often used when advertisers have to reach a daily budget and once this is achieved the advertisement is then removed.[4]

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