HOW TO UNDERSTAND ADSENSE CPC OR COST PER CLICK

THE TERM CPC OR ‘COST PER CLICK.’ IF YOU ARE USING GOOGLE ADSENSE ON YOUR WEB PAGES THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT THESE ARE ADVERTS FROM GOOGLE’S ADWORDS ADVERTISING PROGRAM. ADVERTISERS USING THE ADWORDS PROGRAM PAY GOOGLE FOR EVERY CLICK MADE ON THEIR ADVERTS.

WHEN YOU PLACE ADSENSE BLOCKS ON YOUR WEB PAGES AND BLOGS, YOU GET PAID A PERCENTAGE OF WHAT ADVERTISERS PAY GOOGLE. CURRENTLY THIS IS 68% OF THE BID PRICE FOR THAT ADVERT. SO IF SOMEBODY IS PAYING GOOGLE $2 FOR EVERY CLICK ON A SPECIFIC ADVERT FOR A SPECIFIC KEYWORD, THEN YOU GET $1.36 EVERY TIME A VISITOR TO YOUR SITE CLICKS ON THAT ADVERT IF GOOGLE HAS PLACED IT ON YOUR PAGE.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO DO YOUR BEST TO MAXIMIZE THE CPC PRICE, SO THAT THE ADVERTS ON YOUR WEB PAGES AND BLOG POSTS MAKE YOU MOST MONEY EVERY TIME A VISITOR CLICKS ON THEM. THIS INVOLVES GETTING GOOGLE TO PLACE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE VALUE ADVERTS ON YOUR PAGES. YOU CANNOT DECIDE THE PPC OF THE PUBLISHED ADS YOURSELF – GOOGLE DECIDES THAT BASED ON SEVERAL ASPECTS OF YOUR WEB PAGE/BLOG PAGE/BLOG POST.

THERE ARE TWO FACTORS INVOLVED HERE: THE CPC AND CTR (CLICK THROUGH RATE) – THE LATTER IS THE RATIO OF VISITORS WHO ACTUALLY CLICK ON AN ADVERT RATHER THAN JUST READ THE PAGE CONTENT AND IGNORE THE ADS. A HIGH CTR IS OFTEN BETTER THAN A HIGH CPC.

THUS, IF YOU GET A CTR OF 2% WITH ADVERTS WITH A CPC OF $0.75 (2 VISITORS IN EACH 100 CLICK ON AN ADVERT), THEN THAT IS BETTER THAN A CTR OF 1% WITH ADVERTS WITH A CPC OF $1.20. WITH THE FORMER, EACH 1,000 VISITS WILL MAKE YOU $10.20 (68% OF $15) WHILE WITH THE LATTER YOU WOULD MAKE ONLY $8.16. SO CTR MATTERS, NOT JUST EARNINGS PER CLICK. IT’S HOW MANY THAT CLICKS THAT OFTEN MAKES YOUR MONEY, NOT ALWAYS THE COST OF EACH CLICK.

THESE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY, AND YOUR INCOME PER 1,000 VISITORS WILL DEPEND UPON THE RELEVANCE OF THE ADSENSE ADS TO YOUR VISITORS AND WHERE THE ADVERTS ARE SITUATED ON YOUR SITE. THERE IS ALSO A LOT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE CTR, BUT LET’S FIRST FOCUS ON HOW YOU CAN ATTRACT THE BEST PAYING ADVERTS: THOSE WITH THE HIGHEST CPC.