Calculate CPC correctly and diagnose what is driving it.
A useful CPC calculation
Report outbound CPC as spend divided by outbound clicks, and label the date range and currency. Example: $240 spent for 120 outbound clicks is $2.00 per outbound click. Then compare landing-page views: if only 75 pages loaded, the effective cost per loaded visit is $3.20. Segment this by creative and placement. Use a benchmark table only when its industry, geography, objective, period, and click definition match yours; otherwise your own last 30 to 90 days are the meaningful baseline.
Define the measure
CPC is spend divided by clicks. Check which click metric a report uses: link clicks, outbound clicks, and all clicks answer different questions. Compare like with like before quoting a benchmark.
Inspect the conditions
Segment by placement, audience, device, and creative. High CPC can come from low relevance, weak creative, expensive competition, or a narrow audience; the number alone cannot identify the cause.
Use it correctly
Pair CPC with landing-page views and conversion value. A more expensive click that leads to qualified enquiries can be better than a cheap click that never loads the page.
Official reference
Check the current platform controls and policies at this official source ↗. Interfaces and eligibility can vary by account, country, and date.