PPC Benchmarks by Industry 2026: Complete Guide to CPC, CTR, and Conversion Rates

Overview of Key Metrics

Understanding overall PPC benchmarks provides context for evaluating your campaigns. These cross-industry averages serve as baseline comparisons before diving into industry-specific data.

Key Benchmark Insights

• CPC trends: Cost per click increased for 87% of industries in 2025, averaging 10% higher
• Quality Score impact: Improving Quality Score from 5 to 8 can reduce CPC by 37%
• Mobile vs desktop: Mobile CPCs are typically 20-30% lower but conversion rates also vary
• Seasonality: CPCs can increase 30-50% during peak seasons (Q4, Black Friday)
• Competition factor: CPCs correlate strongly with competition level and customer lifetime value

Ecommerce & Retail

Ecommerce and retail benefit from some of the lowest CPCs in PPC, though conversion rates and margins vary significantly by product category.

Ecommerce Sub-Categories

• Fashion & Apparel: $0.89 CPC, 2.4% CVR, high volume but lower margins
• Electronics: $1.42 CPC, 1.8% CVR, competitive with research-heavy buyers
• Home & Garden: $1.05 CPC, 2.9% CVR, seasonal patterns
• Health & Beauty: $1.28 CPC, 3.2% CVR, strong repeat purchase potential
• Sporting Goods: $0.95 CPC, 2.5% CVR, seasonal with strong brand loyalty

Ecommerce Shopping Ads

• Shopping CTR: 0.86% average (lower but high intent)
• Shopping CPC: $0.66 average (most cost-effective)
• Shopping CVR: 1.91% average (varies by category)

Legal Services

Legal services consistently has the highest CPCs in PPC, justified by high case values. Strategic keyword targeting is essential to maintain profitability.

Legal Sub-Categories

• Personal Injury: $100-200+ CPC for competitive terms, highest case values
• Criminal Defence: $50-150 CPC, urgent need drives conversions
• Family Law: $30-80 CPC, emotional decisions with research phase
• Immigration: $20-60 CPC, growing market with specific targeting needs
• Business Law: $25-75 CPC, longer sales cycles, higher lifetime value

Legal PPC Strategies

• Call-only campaigns: Critical for legal, urgent cases convert via phone
• Location targeting: Legal is highly local, tight geo-targeting essential
• Negative keywords: "free," "pro bono," "DIY" - protect your budget
• Ad scheduling: After-hours ads can capture urgent legal needs

Healthcare & Medical

Healthcare PPC requires navigating strict advertising policies while targeting high-intent patients. CPCs are rising as competition increases.

Healthcare Sub-Categories

• Dental: $2.50-6.00 CPC, location-dependent, strong local competition
• Cosmetic Surgery: $4.00-12.00 CPC, high procedure values
• Urgent Care: $2.00-5.00 CPC, urgent intent, mobile-heavy
• Mental Health: $1.50-4.00 CPC, growing market, sensitive targeting
• Addiction Treatment: $50-150+ CPC, heavily regulated, high value

Healthcare Compliance Notes

• Policy restrictions: Google has strict healthcare advertising policies
• Certification required: Some healthcare ads require certification
• Landing page compliance: Pages must meet healthcare-specific requirements
• HIPAA considerations: Conversion tracking must respect patient privacy

SaaS & Technology

B2B SaaS and technology companies face long sales cycles and high customer lifetime values, requiring different success metrics than transactional businesses.

SaaS-Specific Benchmarks

• CPL ranges: $70-$819 depending on software category and deal size
• Trial conversion: 15-25% of free trials convert to paid
• Sales cycle: 90+ days typical for B2B SaaS
• LinkedIn performance: $31 median CPM, $75.86 CPC, 3.11% CVR

Technology Sub-Categories

• Enterprise SaaS: $50-200 CPL, long cycles, high LTV
• SMB SaaS: $30-100 CPL, faster decisions, higher volume
• Developer Tools: $20-80 CPL, technical audience, content-driven
• Marketing Technology: $75-200 CPL, competitive market

Real Estate

Real estate PPC is highly competitive in metropolitan areas, with moderate CPCs but expensive conversions due to long decision cycles.

Real Estate Sub-Categories

• Residential Sales: $1.50-4.00 CPC, highly local, seasonal patterns
• Commercial Real Estate: $3.00-8.00 CPC, longer cycles, higher values
• Property Management: $2.00-5.00 CPC, recurring revenue model
• Luxury Real Estate: $5.00-15.00 CPC, affluent targeting, high values

Real Estate Strategies

• Local targeting: Real estate is inherently local - tight geo-targeting essential
• Lead nurturing: Long cycles require follow-up sequences
• Landing pages: Property-specific pages outperform generic

Travel & Hospitality

Travel benefits from relatively low CPCs and high consumer interest, though performance is highly seasonal and competitive during peak periods.

Travel Sub-Categories

• Hotels: $1.00-3.00 CPC, date-specific, strong metasearch competition
• Airlines: $1.50-4.00 CPC, dominated by OTAs, brand bidding wars
• Tours & Activities: $0.80-2.50 CPC, destination-specific
• Car Rental: $1.00-2.50 CPC, location and date-specific

Travel Seasonality

• Peak seasons: CPCs increase 30-50% during summer and holidays
• Booking windows: Different strategies for last-minute vs advance bookings
• Mobile critical: 65%+ of travel searches on mobile

Home Services

Home services face high demand and competition, with CPCs varying dramatically by service type and location.

Home Services Sub-Categories

• Remodeling: $8-18 CPC, high project values ($150-400 CPL)
• HVAC: $5-15 CPC, emergency services premium pricing
• Plumbing: $4-12 CPC, urgent need drives quick conversions
• Roofing: $6-20 CPC, high ticket, insurance-driven
• Landscaping: $2-6 CPC, seasonal, lower average ticket
• Cleaning Services: $2-5 CPC, recurring potential, local focus

Home Services Strategies

• Call extensions: Critical for emergency services
• Local Service Ads: Google Guaranteed badge increases trust
• Review strategy: Reviews heavily influence local service decisions
• Seasonality: HVAC, roofing, landscaping have strong seasonal patterns

Industry Comparison Tables

These comprehensive comparison tables allow you to quickly compare key metrics across all industries.

CPC by Industry (Lowest to Highest)

Conversion Rate by Industry (Highest to Lowest)