BY Kathy Crosett
How much should your accounts invest in paid search? Gartner reports that paid search accounts for 13.9% of total digital advertising. For the average SMB, paid search can run up over $100K a year. There’s good reason for this spending. In the past month, according to AudienceSCAN, 40% of U.S. adults have responded to a paid search (PPC) ad. As your clients wonder about how AI will impact the effectiveness of their paid search investment, help them develop a paid search ROI strategy.
Which metrics should your accounts be monitoring?
Prospeo.io has put together a summary of average stats for paid search this year.
- 6.64% Click-through rate (CTR)
- $5.42 Cost per click (CPC)
- 8.18% Conversion rate
- $66.69 Cost per lead
It’s easy to focus on costs and conversion rates. But it’s important to remind your accounts that great variability exists between verticals.
What does CPC tell your accounts?
The CPC number is measured by the amount your client spent/divided by total clicks. The lower the number, the better. The most expensive CPC verticals include attorneys and legal services ($9.87), dental services ($8.33) and home improvement services ($8.33.)
Verticals with lower CPC numbers include:
- Arts and entertainment $1.63
- Restaurants/food $2.05
- Travel $2.14
While your accounts should understand how this number is derived, they shouldn’t focus too much on it. In their haste to get to a lower CPC number, your accounts may end up with poor quality leads. That strategy won’t contribute to a strong paid search ROI strategy.
Why do high CPC numbers happen?
If your account’s initial offer in the ad isn’t appealing or connecting with the right audience, they won’t get sufficient clicks. In these cases, you have an opportunity to promote your services as a paid search expert.
General industry trends and economics also impact clicks. Skai data, based on its platform activity and reported by emarketer.com, shows a big drop in clicks in the jobs and education vertical between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Analysts suggest that AI may impact the paid search industry for many verticals. Shifting some resources into social and video can help marketers improve general advertising ROI.
What do click-through rates tell your clients?
The click-through rate measures how many people clicked against how many people saw an ad (impressions).
- Verticals with high CTRs include:
- Arts & entertainment 12.76%
- Finance & insurance 9.83%
- Travel 9.32%
What is the value of higher CTRs?
Your accounts can take some comfort in high CTRs. Those numbers confirm that an offer is interesting and that the right audience is seeing the ads.
What is a conversion?
In a paid search campaign, the conversion rate is the number of people who take a desired action – such as downloading a report or a coupon — divided by the number of clicks. A high conversion rate indicates a higher level of success.
In a recent Local IQ study, the highest converting verticals were:
- Animals & Pets 16.22%
- Automotive service/repair/parts 15.51%
- Education/instruction 13.14%
What is the cost per lead?
If you’re selling paid search services, your account may find more meaning reviewing in cost per lead data. With this information they can compare how one media format performs against another.
If your account operates in the B2B verticals, the cost per lead by channel of marketing investment varies widely as these data points show.
- Facebook ads $142
- LinkedIn ads $408
- Trade shows $840
One company, First Page Sage, put together a listing of lead costs by vertical for 2026. At the high end, $982 for higher education, reflects a highly competitive market with a long lead time and a high-value audience. eCommerce, at $91, reflects a different type of buyer and purchase intent.
On average, the cost per lead is 4.88% less than last year. But it’s significantly more expensive than it was in 2012 ($41.40). As more businesses use paid search, the increased competition has driven up costs. Be sure to give your accounts some context as you share data points with them.
Some of your accounts may find value in measuring other paid search costs.
They may want to calculate the cost per qualified lead or the cost per acquisition. These numbers will be significantly higher than a simple cost per lead.
How to optimize your accounts’ paid search campaigns
Experts recommend that marketers monitor the details of their paid search campaigns on a regular basis. Strategies must change as the industry changes.
When your accounts make adjustments, they may need 30 days to see the impact.
If your accounts haven’t explored Smart Bidding for Google Ads, educate them. You can help them be more competitive within the limits set on the campaign.
Even with the new reality of AIOs being listed in search results, keywords still matter. Help your accounts target specific keywords, especially where small businesses can maintain a competitive edge.
And with a subscription to AdMall's advanced search tools, you can show your accounts their paid search history, specifically their estimated position, ranking and volume.
You’ll also see consumer intent for specific keywords. For example, informational searches are all about consumers seeking to solve a problem. As they move through the sales funnel, keywords become more transaction oriented. Finally, a navigational keyword indicates that they’ve decided on a brand to buy. Your accounts can see big improvements once they focus on paid search ROI strategy.
Image by FirmBee on Pexels.
