Have you seen this yourself? Particularly in the last 30 days we have seen a marked rise in Cost Per Click (CPC) across most client accounts.
The biggest increases in CPC have been in accounts where there are no specifically created landing pages. We have seen CPC increases in accounts where we are using specific landing pages, but at a much smaller percentage. Here’s an example: account a used to be able to get geo-targeted clicks on terms at $6.50 per click. Now the CPC has moved closer to $7.50 and up to be shown in the same position on the same keywords. Account b used to be able to get geo-targeted clicks on terms at $1.23 per click. Now the CPC has moved closer to $1.53 and up to be shown in the same position on the same keywords. Between both accounts that’s a 15 to 24% increase in CPC.
Why is there an increase? Part of the increase is due to supply and demand and I feel that part of the increase is due to the change in the quality scores for accounts based on their landing pages or lack of use of them. I am still working to identify what is causing this increase in CPC, but I have to say that it is nearly across the board on the client accounts that we manage.
What are you seeing in your Google AdWords accounts? What are you doing to keep your CPC the same or lower than what you paid about 30 to 45 days ago? Leave your comments below.