What is CPC?

The estimated cost per click from Keywords Everywhere

CPC (Cost Per Click) is the estimated amount that advertisers pay each time someone clicks their Google Ad for a given keyword. It comes from the Keywords Everywhere API, sourced from Google Keyword Planner data. While it's a paid search metric, it's incredibly useful for organic SEO too.

Why CPC matters for organic search

CPC is one of the best proxies for keyword value and commercial intent. When advertisers are willing to pay $15 per click for a keyword, it means that keyword drives real business outcomes: purchases, signups, leads. If nobody's bidding on a keyword, the traffic it drives may be less commercially valuable.

Example: CPC as a value signal

Keyword	Volume	CPC	Signal
"what is project management"	12,000	$0.50	Informational, low buyer intent
"best project management software"	8,000	$12.00	High buyer intent, comparison shopping
"project management tool pricing"	1,200	$18.50	Very high intent, ready to buy

The third keyword has the lowest volume but the highest CPC. Ranking for it likely drives more revenue than the first keyword, despite having 10x fewer searches.

How CPC is used in your metrics

CPC feeds into two other metrics you'll see throughout the app:

Value: Calculated as Clicks × CPC. This tells you the dollar value of your organic traffic for each keyword
Search Score: CPC is a factor in the daily composite score. Higher-CPC keywords contribute more to your overall score because they represent more valuable traffic

Data source and refresh

CPC data comes from the Keywords Everywhere API, which pulls from Google Keyword Planner. It's refreshed every 30 days to keep values current. CPC values can shift over time as advertiser competition changes, but they tend to be relatively stable for most keywords.

Note: When CPC is $0.00, it usually means there's no advertiser data available for that keyword in Google Keyword Planner. This is common for very niche or non-commercial terms. The Value column will show $0 for these keywords.

Using CPC to prioritize

When deciding which keywords to focus your SEO efforts on, CPC helps you prioritize by business impact rather than just traffic volume. A keyword with 500 monthly searches and $20 CPC could be worth more to your business than a keyword with 5,000 searches and $0.30 CPC.