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 not enough, incorporating PPC into your overall marketing strategy is the way to go.
See our Infographic:
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%
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%
- Jewelry – 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.
Worldwide Spend on Paid Search from 2015 to 2017
The Worldwide Spend of paid search if projected to grow. In 2015, the global paid search spend is $73.04 Billion and $83.06 Billion for 2016. Paid search is showing no signs of slowing down with a projected global ad spend of $92.4 Billion by 2017.
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!