My Adwords CPC just doubled - wtf?

HI svedski,

Have you been monitoring your Quality scores?

There are only 2 reasons that your CPC would double like that. One is due to increased competition, the other is due to a drop in Quality Scores.

As ppcmanager suggested, wait until you have enough data for a valid conclusion. CPC will often vary a great deal from one keyword to the next, and can vary throughout the day as traffic and competition levels change. So, if you are looking at a small set of data you cannot rely upon that as a true indicator, it will have a high likeliness to be randomly high, or low.

However, do keep an eye on your Quality Score as a drop there would indicate action is required on your part to rectify the situation.

I have seen CPC go up after pausing campaigns due to reactions from competitors. If they are using an automated bidding system, and who isn't these days, their bidding system may have seen an improvement in profitability and raised bids. However, if your campaigns, were paused for only a couple hours this is less likely. Most automated bidding systems do not react on an hour by hour basis unless you are in a niche with extremely high traffic volume.

You should see a return to your previous average CPC range, unless your Quality Scores have dropped, or competition levels have increased.