Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Also known as pay-per-click or pay-for-performance, direct-per-click is an advertising revenue presence used by search engines and ad networks in which advertising companies pay an agreed amount for each click of their ads. This Click-Through Rate-based payment structure is considered by some advertisers to be more command-effective than the Cost-Per-Thousand payment structure, but it can at times command to Click Fraud.