You can reduce your Cost-Per-Click (CPC) by improving Quality Score and using better keyword targeting.

Sustainable results come from a balanced approach that combines stronger relevance with careful bid adjustments. It allows you to get more clicks from the same budget and supports stronger conversion performance.

If that sounds confusing, don’t worry. Here at SlamStop, we help businesses reduce their Google Ads costs while still keeping the conversions consistent. We simplify your campaigns so your ads reach the right people at the right time.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to reduce CPC through keyword optimisation. We’ll also share bidding strategies and how to analyse performance data.

Read on to learn how to stop overpaying for clicks.

How Do You Lower Your CPC in Google Ads?

You lower CPC by focusing on relevant keywords, cutting wasted spend with negative keywords, and improving your ads. Since these tactics support each other, the best idea is to combine them instead of relying on just one change.

Here are the strategies to reduce your CPC:

• Long Tail Keywords: Broad match keywords can trigger irrelevant searches that waste budget. For example, someone searching “women’s trail running shoes size 8” is more likely to buy than someone searching “shoes”, so search volume drops but conversion rates improve.
• Negative Keywords: Check your search terms every week to detect wasted ad money. We’ve seen how a plumber targeting “emergency plumbing Sydney” often appears for “plumbing courses” or “plumbing jobs”. So you should add those terms as negative keywords to avoid losing money.
• Quality Score: Google scores ad relevance, expected Click-Through-Rate (CTR), and landing page experience from 1 to 10. When you improve these scores, ads often cost less because Google prioritises higher-quality adverts that create a better experience for users.
• Landing Page Match: If your ad mentions “free shipping on orders over $50”, that message should appear clearly above the fold on your landing page. When messages don’t match, users leave quickly, which can negatively affect Quality Score over time.
• Assets: Since you’re already paying for the click, you should give searchers more reasons to choose your ad. We recommend using sitelinks and callouts because they can increase visibility on search engine results pages.

These tactics create more efficient Google Ads campaigns that cost less while delivering higher-quality traffic.

What Bidding Strategies Reduce CPC?

Bidding strategies that reduce your cost-per-click include manual CPC and automated bidding with maximum CPC limits. The best option for you between them depends on how much conversion data you have and how much control you want over your bids.

Let’s get into more detail about these bidding strategies.

Set Maximum CPC Limits on Automated Bidding

Some campaigns can see CPC rise well above the average, for which many people rely on automated bidding. But there’s a problem with this strategy. Google may bid higher when it predicts a strong chance of conversion, and it can sometimes result in paying a lot more for a click than usual.

The solution is to use portfolio strategies. They let you limit your maximum CPC on Target ROAS or Target CPA campaigns.

For example, if your average CPC is $3, you can set your max limit between $9 and $15. It gives the algorithm room to bid up for high-value clicks while protecting you from budget-draining spikes.

Try Manual CPC for New Campaigns

New campaigns usually lack enough conversion data for automated bidding to work well. While there’s no fixed minimum, these systems perform better once more data is collected. Until then, manual bidding helps you control costs and avoid overspending early on.

Now, to set up manual CPC, you need to check which keywords bring conversions at a reasonable cost each week. Then increase your bids by 10 to 20 per cent on those terms (it’ll prevent runaway bid escalation).

As a rule of thumb, you can switch to automated bidding once you’ve got consistent conversion volume (often around 30-50 in recent weeks). The algorithm finally has enough information to optimise properly.

Here’s a quick comparison table to give you a better understanding of available bidding strategies:

Bidding Strategy	Best For	Control Level	When to Use
Manual CPC	New campaigns, testing	Full control	Limited conversion data
Automated with Max Limits	Mature campaigns	Controlled automation	Prevent cost spikes

How Do You Use Performance Data to Cut Costs?

You can cut costs by looking at what’s actually working in your data and then adjusting bids for the right times, locations, and devices. This way, you spend more on what works and less on what doesn’t.

We’ll explain how to use your performance data correctly.

Adjust Bids by Time and Day

Did you know your conversion data shows which hours and days deliver the best results? For instance, you might be paying for clicks at 2 AM when no one is buying, while missing peak hours when your target audience is actively searching.

So, take a look at your “When and where ads showed” report to find your best-performing time slots. If conversions cost $45 between 11 PM and 6 AM but only $28 during business hours, you’re ultimately wasting money.

That’s why we recommend actively decreasing bids during low-performing times to reduce wasted spend and increasing them when conversion rates are the highest.

Target High-Converting Locations

Location reports show which areas deliver the best cost per conversion. To give you an idea, a Sydney campaign might find that North Sydney converts at $32 per lead while Parramatta costs $58. Same city and same ads, yet you’re seeing a completely different performance.

Here’s what you need to do: adjust your bids down for locations with high CPC but low conversions. Honestly, you don’t need to exclude these areas entirely. Just reduce what you’re willing to pay.

Also, don’t forget to focus your budget on regions where your target audience actually converts. Spending money evenly everywhere is how many companies lose their budgets, which we see frequently in our audits.

Pro tip: Apply smaller bid changes first, then measure impact over at least two weeks before scaling.

Optimise for Best-Performing Devices

Device performance can differ a lot across phones, desktops, and tablets, so results aren’t always the same. In many cases, people research on mobile but wait until they’re on a desktop to complete a form or enquiry.

As an example, someone might be researching lawyers on their phone during lunch. However, they often wait until they’re home on a desktop before submitting a contact form.

What can you do then? Well, check device performance weekly and adjust bids based on conversion rates and cost per conversion. In our experience, if mobile brings cheap clicks but desktop converts at twice the rate, increasing desktop bids by 15 to 25% is usually enough.

Your Next Steps to Lower Ad Spend

We’ve reached the end of our guide on reducing CPC without losing conversions. You now know that Quality Score improvements and negative keywords deliver quick wins, while bidding strategies give you long-term control over costs.

Remember that you don’t need to do everything together. Start small by checking your search terms for one week, then add negative keywords the next to stop wasted clicks. After that, review your Quality Score and fix anything hurting your ad rank.

And if you want the expert to optimise your Google Ads campaigns, don’t hesitate to contact us at SlamStop. Our team will help you cut costs while maintaining conversions.