What is CPC?
Cost per click
CPC is what you pay each time someone clicks your ad — total spend divided by total clicks.
Formula
CPC = Spend ÷ Clicks
The gap between platforms is the thing worth understanding. On Meta you're interrupting someone who wasn't looking for you, and clicks are cheap — often $0.50–2.50. On Google Search someone has typed a query showing intent, and every competitor wants that same click, so prices are far higher: home services commonly run $15–35 and legal terms routinely exceed $40.
This difference has a practical consequence most people discover the expensive way. Meta bills you for impressions and clicks come along with them, so a small daily budget still buys meaningful delivery. Google bills you per click, so at a $6 CPC a $5/day budget buys under one click a day — not enough for the campaign to gather any signal at all.
The most reliable way to lower CPC on Google is relevance rather than bidding. Tighter ad groups, ad copy that echoes the keyword, and a landing page that matches the promise all raise Quality Score, which directly reduces what you pay for the same position.