PPC Industry Report [2021 Update]
- Home
- PPC Industry Report [2021 Update]
Pay-per-Click Industry report: Generate Instant Traffic with PPC Marketing

Pay-per-click Marketing or PPC, is a form of online marketing wherein ads are displayed when users enter search terms on search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo. When running a PPC campaign, marketers can set when, where, and on which keywords do the ads display. You can also set a limit on the budget and you only pay when your ad is clicked.
With tougher competition, simply having a website and relying purely on organic search is often not enough, incorporating PPC into your overall marketing strategy is the way to go.
In 2020 Marketers will Increase their Budget for Paid Search
Marketers are not only using PPC but they are also allotting bigger budget for it. A study by DemandWave shows that 51% of marketers will be increasing their budget for paid search. Another study shows that marketers are going to invest more on Google Paid search at 60.2%.
Google AdWords Industry Benchmarks
The average click-through rate or CTR in AdWords across all industries is 1.19% on the search network and 0.35% on the display network. The highest CTR on the search network is from Dating and Personals industry at 3.40%. Meanwhile, the highest CTR on the display network is from the Technology industry at 0.84%.
Top 3 click-through rate by Industry for Search
- Dating and Personals – 3.40%
- Finance and Insurance – 2.65%
- B2B – 2.55%
Top 3 click-through rate by Industry for Display
- Technology – 0.84%
- Dating and Personals – 0.52%
- Advocacy – 0.52%
The average conversion rate in AdWords across all industries is 2.70% on the search network and 0.89% on the display network. The highest conversion rate on the search network is from Finance and Insurance industry at 7.19%. Meanwhile, the highest conversion rate on the display network is from Home Goods industry at 2.19%.
Top 3 Conversion Rate by Industry for Search
- Finance and Insurance – 7.19%
- Consumer Services – 5.00%
- Advocacy – 4.16%
Top 3 Conversion Rate by Industry for Display
- Home Goods – 2.19%
- Finance and Insurance – 1.75%
- Real Estate – 1.49%
Looking at US data, the average cost per acquisition or CPA in AdWords across all industries is $59.8 on the search network and $60.76 on the display network. The highest CPA on the search network is from the Legal industry at $135.17.
Meanwhile, the highest CPA on the display network is from the Employment Services industry at $129.69.
Top 3 cost per acquisition by Industry for Search
- Legal – $135.17
- Health and Medical – $126.29
- Employment Services – $105.79
Top 3 cost per acquisition by Industry for Display
- Employment Services – $126.69
- Advocacy – $86.49
- Education – $80.00
Search and Display Ads: Share of Traffic per Category
The highest traffic from search ads is for the home and garden category at 3.95% and the sports category for display at 2.36%. This is higher than the global average of 1.97% for search and 1.32% for display.
Top 3 Search Traffic by Industry
- Home and Garden – 3.95%
- Sports – 3.81%
- Jewellery – 3.07%
Top 3 Display Traffic by Industry
- Sports – 2.36%
- General Merchandise – 1.92%
- Clothing – 1.67%
Ad Spending by Industry
The biggest spender when it comes to Ad Spending is the Finance and Insurance industry with an ad spend of $4 billion followed by the Retail industry at $2.8 billion. The Travel and Tourism industry follows close at $2.4 Billion.
Pay-per-click marketing guarantees instant highly targeted traffic. However, implementing a PPC campaign require high technical skills. Let us help you. Contact us today to learn more on how PPC can help your business grow!