Where PPC runs
Search ads on Google and Microsoft, shopping ads, and ads on social platforms like Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok. Some of these also charge per thousand impressions, but the term PPC is often used for paid digital ads in general.
How costs work
Prices are set by auctions. Your cost per click depends on competition, your bid and the quality of your ad and landing page. LocaliQ's 2025 benchmarks put the average search cost per click across industries at about $5.26.
How to judge a campaign
Clicks and impressions aren't the goal. Track conversions and compare cost per acquisition and return on ad spend against what a customer is worth to you.
Why PPC matters
PPC is fast and controllable. You can start, stop and adjust spending any day, target specific searches or audiences and see results within days, which makes it useful for launches, testing and steady lead flow.
When a cheaper click costs more
A store cut its average cost per click by targeting broader keywords. Clicks went up, but sales fell, because the new visitors weren't ready to buy. Going back to specific, high-intent searches raised its click cost but lowered its cost per sale.
Common mistakes
Optimizing for clicks
Cheap clicks that don't convert waste budget. Optimize for conversions and revenue.
Set and forget
Auctions, competitors and search terms change constantly. Campaigns need regular reviews of search terms, bids and ads.
Weak landing pages
Paying for traffic that lands on a slow or unclear page throws money away. Fix the page before raising the budget.
Where we work on this
The decision this number feeds into