CPC
Also known as: Cost Per Click
The price you pay each time someone clicks one of your Sponsored Products ads.
CPC (Cost Per Click) is the price you pay each time a customer clicks one of your Amazon PPC ads. CPC is determined by Amazon's real-time auction: you set a maximum bid for a keyword/target, Amazon runs the auction every time the keyword is searched, and the winning bidder pays slightly more than the second-highest bid.
Average CPCs vary wildly by category. Low-competition niches can have CPCs in the $0.20-0.40 range. High-competition categories like supplements, electronics, and home goods can run $1.50-4.00+ CPC. CPCs also fluctuate by time of day, day of week, and seasonal demand cycles.
The relationship between CPC, conversion rate, and AOV (Average Order Value) determines whether a campaign is profitable. Worked example: $1.50 CPC × 100 clicks = $150 spend. 10 conversions at $30 AOV = $300 revenue. ACoS = 50%. Whether that's profitable depends entirely on your unit margin. CPC is what you control via bid; conversion rate is what you control via listing quality, price, and image.