How do I lower the cost per click in Google Ads?

What is the cost per click? Basically, it’s what you pay to Google when someone chooses to click on your ad. It is calculated by dividing the total amount you spend on Google Ads by the total number of clicks that you receive. Generally speaking, you are looking to keep this as low as possible.

You might be asking, “how do I lower the cost per click in Google Ads?” Keep reading for some tips.

Target Low-Bid Keywords

When you are attempting to lower your CPC, avoid the more competitive keywords, as they will have a higher CPC. Finding keywords with lower bids will have lower CPC, though keep in mind that the exact cost relates to how competitive your industry is.

It is also useful to use manual bidding rather than automatic, as this gives you greater control.

 

Use Long-Tail Keywords

This is something that you probably hear a lot about when working on your SEO and using long-tail keywords is a good way to lower your CPC.

Typically, more generic keywords are the ones that receive the most bids, and thus the highest bids. Long-tail keywords are more specific and have a low search volume. While having a low search volume might not sound appealing, long-tail keywords are typically not part of irrelevant searches, thus they do not waste your ad spend.

Long-tail keywords will also typically have a high-quality score, which is perhaps the single most effective means of lowering your CPC.

Make Use of Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are ones that prevent your ad from being triggered by a particular word or phrase. For example, adding the word “free” as a negative keyword signals Google Ads to not display your ad in searches using the word “free” and your ad is far less likely to appear on sites where the content matches your keyword.

Why is this important? Because irrelevant searches can lower your CTR (Click Through Rate), which in turn would lower your Quality Score, and that raises your CPC.

Work on Your Quality Score

The Quality Score is the rating Google gives to the relevance of your landing page, keywords, and ads. This score is used to determine the amount you pay per click, as well as the placement of your ads.

You can increase your CTR by crafting highly targeted ads that are especially relevant to the search queries. Increasing the CTR results in an improved Quality Score and ad rank. This will bring your CPC down.

 

Use Themed Ad Groups

This ties in with the previous tip.

It should be clear by now that the cost per click is related to the Quality Score. The cost per click is reduced as the Quality Score rises, so it is important to raise the Quality Score, and one way to do that is by creating themed Ad Groups.

In order to accomplish this, sort your ad groups and keywords according to the different products and services that you are promoting. Once done, choose the best landing page for each group.

By doing this, you are making each themed group highly relevant, earning yourself a higher Quality Score, and thus a lower cost per click.

 

Use Ad Scheduling

If you know when your ads typically get the best response, you can schedule your ads specifically for that day and time. This benefits you by getting your ads in front of your customers when they are most likely to convert. By keeping the ads from displaying at other times, you can reduce the number of irrelevant clicks and lower your CPC.

 

Start Geo-Targeting.

If you are not already geo-targeting, you should consider it. Geo-targeting allows you to focus your efforts on the areas where you are most likely to find customers. You will be able to run your ads in a specific region, city, postal code, or even in a radius around a particular location.

By displaying your ads where your potential customers reside, you once again increase your CTR and thus lower your CPC.

These tips are not the only ways to lower your CPC, but they are a good place to start when using Google Ads. Likewise, lowering your CPC is not the only way to reduce your ad spend, but is a good part of an overall strategy.