Cost per click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on its ad, on Google Ads, Meta or a metasearch site. It is set by an auction: the price depends on competition for the keyword or audience and on the quality of the ad. For hotels, CPC only makes sense when compared with the bookings it brings.
Key takeaways
- CPC = total cost of clicks ÷ number of clicks.
- In Google Ads, you never pay more than your maximum bid, and a better Quality Score lowers the price.
- Travel is one of the cheaper sectors per click, but competition from OTAs pushes prices up on destination searches.
How is cost per click calculated?
The formula is simple: divide the total amount spent by the number of clicks. If a campaign costs 500 euros and brings 250 clicks, the average CPC is 2 euros. In Google Ads, the actual price of each click comes from the auction: it takes into account your bid, the expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience (the Quality Score).
What is the average CPC for hotels and travel?
According to WordStream's 2025 Google Ads benchmarks (data from April 2024 to March 2025), the average CPC in the travel sector is about 2.12 dollars, against 5.26 dollars across all industries, with a click-through rate of 8.73% and a conversion rate of 5.75%. These are averages: brand searches on a hotel's own name usually cost much less, while competitive destination searches can cost much more.
How can a hotel lower its cost per click?
- Improve Quality Score: ads that match the keyword and fast, relevant landing pages.
- Protect the brand: brand keywords are cheap and convert well. See brand protection campaigns.
- Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches (jobs, cheap hostels, other cities).
- Target precisely: markets, devices and periods that actually book.
- Track bookings, not clicks: a higher CPC can be profitable if the conversion rate is high.
Which metrics should you look at alongside CPC?
- Cost per booking (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS).
- Click-through rate and conversion rate of the booking engine.
- Comparison with the commission paid to OTAs on the same booking.
How does Influence Society manage CPC for hotels?
At Influence Society, we do not chase the lowest CPC: we look at the cost of each direct booking compared with OTA commission. Bids are adjusted by market, season and campaign type. Read our guides What is Google Ads? and Google Ads strategies for hotels, and browse the Google Ads category.
Sources: WordStream, Google Ads Benchmarks 2025 (data April 2024 to March 2025); Google Ads Help, Quality Score and actual CPC (accessed November 2026).
FAQ
How is cost per click calculated?
Divide the total ad spend by the number of clicks. For example, 500 euros for 250 clicks gives an average CPC of 2 euros.
What is a good CPC for a hotel?
There is no single figure: a good CPC is one that keeps the cost per booking below the commission you would pay to an OTA.
Why are brand clicks cheaper than destination clicks?
Brand searches are highly relevant to your ads and face less competition, so Google rewards them with a better Quality Score and lower prices.