Benchmarks 2018 Vs 2019-Google-Ads

Google Ads
Industry
Benchmarks:
2018 vs. 2019
Introduction
Each year, we here at WordStream dig into our massive store of customer and prospect data to pull four
very important benchmarks for Google advertisers: average click-through rate (CTR), average cost per click
(CPC), average conversion rate (CVR), and average cost per acquisition (CPA) across industries. That’s right:
that means that if you advertise on Google, you can use our benchmarks to see exactly how you stack up to
competitors in your industry.
In 2019, we’re upping the ante—bringing you more data, more precise data, and better insight into how to
use that data to improve Google Ads performance. The numbers present a clear picture of what paid search
success looks like; but it’s difficult to truly put performance into context without looking at how the definition
of success in each industry has evolved over time.
In this guide, we’ll show you how our Google Ads benchmarks evolved from 2018 to 2019, how they stayed
the same, and what those trends mean for successful advertising down the line.
Average Click-Through Rate (CTR)

How have click-through rates changed since 2018?
On the search network

2018:
7%
6% 6.05
5%
4.68
4.41
4% 4.00
SEARCH
3.78 3.71
3.27
3% 2.91 2.93
2.69 2.61
2.41 2.41 2.42 2.44
2.09
2%
1%
0%
ADVOCACY AUTO B2B CONSUMER SERVICES DATING & PERSONALS E-COMMERCE EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
FINANCE & INSURANCE HEALTH & MEDICAL HOME GOODS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LEGAL REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY
GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 2

2019:
8%
7.83
7%
7.35
6.63
6%
6.19
5.86
5.56
5%
5.15
4.97
4.89
4.67
4%
3.90
3.83
3.82
3.58
3.49
3%
3.27
2%
1%
0%
Click-through rates have gone up across the board year-over-year: from 3.17% to 5.06%. Users are clicking on
ads at a much higher rate: but why? One likely source is the continued development of Google products—from
expanded text ads, to responsive search ads, to the increase in audience sophistication and ubiquity. Search
ads are bigger than ever, smarter than ever, and advertisers are increasingly leveraging strategies like combined
audiences and in-market audiences to serve search ads to prospects who are more likely to click.
“Human” industries get clicks at the highest rates. If, through your ad copy and your offer, you can motivate
prospects to have positive human responses to your product or service, you are going to be able to drive a higher
percentage of clicks-through. We see this trend in industries like Dating & Personals and Travel & Hospitality in
2018; and it’s continued with Travel & Hospitality and Dining & Nightlife in 2019. Even if you’re not in a particularly
“human” industry, you can write compelling ad copy by making sure to appeal to your prospects’ human
motivations.
Which industries might have to work a little harder to write compelling ad copy? Those that are typically considered
less “human,” or a little more dry. We see this in industries like B2B and Technology in 2018; and the trend carries
over in 2019 with industries like Computers and Computer Electronics and Finance.
The rich get richer! Travel, Auto (or Vehicles), and Real Estate—three industries that have enjoyed better than
average CTR growth in the past few years—again took huge leaps this year. Products and services in these niches
generally require more research and multiple searches before a purchase is made, allowing advertisers to take
advantage of recent improvements in RLSAs and demographic targeting.

On the display network
2018:
1.25%
1.08
1.00%
0.75% 0.72
0.59 0.60 0.59 0.59 0.59
0.51 0.51 0.53 0.52
0.50% 0.49 0.50
0.46
0.39
0.25%
0%
2019:
0.75%
0.64
0.50%
0.59
0.58
0.59
0.54
0.54
0.52
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.48
0.45
0.43
0.39
0.39
0.25%
0.37
0%
While the increase was not as drastic, click-through rates also took a small leap across industries on Display. One
prominent cause is creative: immersive formats like HTML5 are enjoying greater usage than ever, as are free tools
like our Smart Ads Creator, which help advertisers create compelling display creative easily and efficiently.
Increase in audience building capabilities has not just touched Search. Not only are custom intent and custom
affinity audiences highly effective at targeting users on the display network that have a higher likelihood of clicking
your ad, but advertisers are actually using them far more frequently and effectively.

Though real estate advertisers regressed closer to the mean in 2019, they still boasted the second highest click-
through rates on average (tied with Apparel) across industries. Go figure—homes, apartments, and the like are
highly visual and evoke positive emotional responses in people.
Technology and Healthcare both come in below their respective averages on Display. If you advertise in one of
these niches, you should consider using similar audiences to target larger segments of high-
intent prospects.
Average Cost Per Click (CPC)

How has cost per click changed since 2018?

2018:
$8
$6.75
$6.40
$7
$6
$5
$3.80
$3.44
$3.33
$4
$2.78 $2.94
$2.62 $2.56
$2.46 $2.40 $2.37
$3 $2.04
$1.43 $1.53
$2 $1.16
$1
$0

2019:
$7
$6
6.35
$5
$4
3.56
$3
3.13
2.77
2.77
2.58
$2
2.27
2.24
2.16
2.03
1.68
1.47
1.46
$1
1.42
1.30
1.38
$0
Across 2018 and 2019, there is generally an inverse correlation between CTR and CPC. So if you’re in an industry
like Legal (or Law & Government), which has lower CTRs, you’re generally going to be paying a higher CPC.
You can lower your CPCs on the search network by writing more relevant ads. That means catering your ad copy
to your audience. So if you’re serving ads to a similar audience based on a customer list, try appealing to those
prospects by surveying the pain points of your existing customers and then applying them to your ads.
CPCs fell across industries year-over-year—from $2.69 to $2.41. This trend runs counter to the argument that CPCs
are always rising, and has a lot to do with the boost in CTR we already talked about.
Due to sky-high CTRs, the Travel industry once again had one of the lowest CPCs across industries, dropping from
an already inexpensive $1.53 to an insanely low $1.42.
If you’re serving ads to a similar audience based on

a customer list, try appealing to those prospects by
surveying the pain points of your existing customers
and then applying them to your ads.

2018:
$2.00
$1.49
$1.50
$0.81 $0.86
$0.79 $0.78 $0.72 $0.75
$1.00 $0.62 $0.63 $0.60
$0.58 $0.54 $0.51
$0.45 $0.47 $0.44
$0.50
$0
2019:
$1
$0.75
0.81
0.81
0.71
0.67
0.60
0.64
0.60
$0.50
0.63
0.55
0.53
0.52
0.51
0.49
0.51
0.49
0.44
$0.25
$0
Like on the search network, CPCs fell year-over-year on the display network, from $0.63 to $0.59. That’s great
news for display advertisers!
The drop in CPCs across industries is a reversal of the trend our data showed from 2016 to 2018, when CPCs
increased as a result of more advertisers crowding the display network. Better audience targeting plays a big role
in the reversal.
In niches like Real Estate, where social advertising is becoming more prominent and impactful, we’re seeing lower
CPCs as a result of advertisers devoting more budget to Facebook and Instagram.

In niches like Real Estate, where social advertising
is becoming more prominent and impactful, we’re
seeing lower CPCs as a result of advertisers devoting
more budget to Facebook and Instagram.
Average Conversion Rate (CVR)

How have conversion rates changed since 2018?

2018:
10%
9% 9.64%
8%
7%
6.98%
6% 6.64%
6.03%
5%
5.00% 5.13% 5.10%
4%
3.97%
3% 3.55%
3.39% 3.36% 3.37%
3.04%
2.75% 2.92%
2% 2.58% 2.81%
2.51%
2.70% 2.55% 2.57%
2.58% 2.47%
1.96% 1.91%
1%
0%

2019:
8%
7.98
7%
7.45
6%
5%
4.74
4.63
4.51
4%
4.23
4.26
4.17
4.15
3.95
3.83
3.71
3%
3.39
3.40
3.16
2.77
2%
1%
0%
Conversion rates increased drastically on Search year-over-year, from 3.75% to 4.40%. You can point to better
audience targeting and a better understanding of on-page CRO (conversion rate optimization) here.
For the second straight year, Legal advertisers enjoyed the second highest conversion rates. All hail call-only ads!
Industries that leverage ecommerce—take Apparel—generally have lower conversion rates across the board. It’s
more difficult to influence someone to purchase your product outright than call your business or fill out a form.
Ecommerce is also a highly competitive space.
Travel CVRs increased year-over-year—from 3.55% to 3.95%—but it still represents one of the lower industries
in terms of average conversion rate. It’s important to note—high CTRs and low CPCs don’t necessarily mean
high CVRs. Monitor your campaigns’ average session durations and pages-per-session to make sure you’re not
getting low quality traffic; and if you are, make sure you’re using traffic from those campaigns to build higher intent
audiences down the line.

2018:
3.5%
3.0% 3.34%
2.5%
2.0%
1.84%
1.5%
1.57%
1.28%
1.0% 1.19%
1.19%
1.00% 0.88%
0.98% 0.94%
0.82% 0.86%
0.5% 0.80% 0.80%
0.59% 0.51%
0.50%
0.43%
0%
2019:
1.25%
1.00%
1.12
0.75%
0.80
0.80
0.75
0.75
0.50%
0.58
0.56
0.53
0.51
0.50
0.46
0.39
0.38
0.25%
0.36
0.35
0.29
0%

Conversion rates decreased on Display across the board, from 0.77% to 0.57%. This is not necessarily a bad thing;
and if you’ve seen conversion rates decrease year-over-year in your display campaigns, don’t panic. The display
network is tailor-made for brand awareness, and you can use it to not only to build higher intent audiences for
your search campaigns, but to increase conversions through direct and organic.
Conversion rates are generally lower on mobile; so if your business get a lot of traffic from mobile, don’t be alarmed
by lower than average conversion rates. Make sure your landing page and checkout process is fully optimized for
mobile by improving page speed and checking for mobile-friendliness.
Given that you’re targeting passive searchers on Display, and you can’t take advantage of commercial intent,
matching your creative, your messaging, and your call-to-action to your audience targeting becomes all the more
important for increasing conversion rates.
Average Cost Per Action (CPA)

How has cost per action changed since 2018?

2018:
$150
133.52
$125 116.61
116.13
$100 96.55
90.70 87.13 86.02
81.93 78.09 79.28
76.76
$75
72.70
$50 45.27 48.04 44.73

33.52
$25
$0

2019:
$120
$100
101.40
$80
85.29
77.28
75.48
71.44
68.94
$60
61.41
52.45
52.98
$40
44.38
41.09
40.38
36.65
35.35
27.04
$20
26.17
$0
Industries—like Dining & Nightlife—with high conversion rates and high click-through rates often
experience low CPAs ($35.35). But CPA also hinges on things like price point and market trends, so don’t
be fooled into thinking that correlation will always be true.
Real estate continues to boast one of the highest CPAs ($77.28) due to limited housing inventory and
competitive lead gen advertising.
Don’t be afraid to lengthen your conversion path. Contrary to popular belief, making your conversion path
longer (by, say, sending prospects to your homepage instead of a product page) can help qualify traffic and
convert at a lower cost.
While many industries have seen CPAs increase, advertisers in niches like Education have lowered their
CPA goals ($72.70 to $61.41) to stay competitive.

2018:
$150
143.36
130.30
$125
116.17
103.60
$100 99.13
$75 72.58 74.79

70.69
65.80
60.48 60.23 59.47 56.76
51.58
$50
39.52
$25 23.68
$0
2019:
$200
$150
152.03
133.43
129.05
124.59
123.81
119.55
$100
115.42
110.14
101.50
99.59
35.43
84.10
81.50
$50
70.56
62.83
60.86
$0

CPAs increased across industries on the display network, from $75.51 to $90.80. More advertisers are willing to pay
a premium for conversions on Display than ever before.
Business & Industrial ($152.03) took the helm from Education ($143.36 in 2018) as the niche with the highest CPA
outright.
Legal (or Law & Government), Auto (or Vehicles), and Travel (or Travel & Hospitality) all saw big increases in CPA
year-over-year.
Data Sources
This report is based on a sample of over 15,000 US-based WordStream client accounts in all verticals (representing over $200 million in
aggregate AdWords spend) who were advertising on Google Ads’ Search and Display networks between August 2017 and January 2019. Each
industry includes at minimum 30 unique active clients. “Averages” are technically median figures to account for outliers. All currency values are
posted in USD.

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MONEY IN
GOOGLE ADS
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Google Ads

Average Click-Through Rate (CTR)

On the search network

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 2

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 3

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 4

Average Cost Per Click (CPC)

On the search network

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 5

If you’re serving ads to a similar audience based on

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 6

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 7

Average Conversion Rate (CVR)

On the search network

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 8

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 9

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 10

Average Cost Per Action (CPA)

On the search network

$50 45.27 48.04 44.73

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 11

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 12

$75 72.58 74.79

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 13

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 14

GRADE YOUR ACCOUNT

GOOGLE ADS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS: 2018 VS 2019 | 15

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