One of the earliest forms of search engine advertising was Pay Per Click (PPC). With a landscape filled with many different advertising options, many businesses and marketers devalue PPC. Some even wonder whether choosing PPC ads over other possibilities is really in their best interest.
Statistics demonstrate that expert PPC advertising is vital to building repeatable and scalable marketing. The power of placing your brand atop the search engine results page using Google ads is undeniable.
At Valve+Meter, we help businesses and organizations achieve growth when you stop viewing marketing as a cost by embracing data and statistics.
Understanding PPC as an Asset, not an Expense
Even as search engine marketing has evolved, Pay Per Click advertising remains one of the most effective tools for building a sustainable marketing strategy. Statistics continue to bear out the value of using Pay Per Click in search engines, including Google Ads and Bing.
The key benefits of Pay Per Click are reaching exact target audiences at the top of the search engine results page, filling gaps within other paid media and organic SEO strategies, and providing cost-effective insights into new opportunities.
Data-Driven Marketing
Deciphering the differences between marketing tools can be difficult for businesses and organizations. Fortunately, performance marketing eliminates the guesswork. By auditing the unique needs of your business, every dollar you spend is deliberate and based on research.
So many advertising options are a testament to the array of platforms and broad landscape audiences now use. A comprehensive digital marketing strategy includes six components beginning with Pay Per Click and including:
Why You Should Choose PPC Ads in Numbers
The statistics tell the value and influence of Pay Per Click advertising. While the role of PPC varies between traditional marketing and performance marketing, statistics show advertisers are deeply invested. When you want to reach your target audience quickly and make nimble decisions, there are few better methods than PPC.Â
- With more than 99,000 search queries every second, Google processes at least 8.5 billion daily searches (Internet Live Stats, 2022).
- Google Ads is the most popular platform for PPC advertising, followed by Bing ads and Facebook Ads.
- Google Ads continues to be one of the simplest ways to keep your brand top of mind with existing customers and potential customers searching terms relevant to your industry. According to Google, businesses that use Google Ads see an average of 220% more traffic than those that don’t.
- PPC ads do not simply increase traffic. When used properly, they influence the likelihood of making a sale. Studies have shown Google ads have a higher conversion rate than other forms of advertising. Google found businesses that use Google ads saw an average conversion rate of 3.75% for search ads and .77% for display ads.
- This is likely because PPC ads can be targeted to specific audiences and locations. This allows businesses to reach the right people at the right time and increase the likelihood of making a sale.
- PPC ads can be tracked and measured. This allows businesses to see which ads perform well and adjust their campaigns accordingly.
- Google Ads reaches users on all devices. In 2021, mobile devices accounted for the majority of PPC ad clicks, with tablets and smartphones generating more clicks than desktop computers.
PPC Search Ad Stats (ROI)
Delivering high-quality leads will always be the primary responsibility of marketing campaigns. Whether using traditional search and shopping ads or expanding into social media PPC, performance marketing measures success against lead generation, return on investment, and optimizing the capacity of your business.
The goal of performance marketing is never to have the lowest ROI but to create repeatable and scalable campaigns. Across all PPC platforms, optimizing ad groups, identifying negative keywords, and effective ad placements define successful PPC campaigns. These statistics indicate that PPC can provide a high ROI under the right circumstances.
- For every $1 spent on Google Adwords, businesses earn an average revenue of $2 (Google).
- In 2021, the average cost-per-click (CPC) for Google Ads ranged from $1 to $2 for search ads and $0.10 to $0.50 for display ads.
- 40 percent of brands want to increase their PPC budget, indicating that this is an effective and lucrative tool for marketers (SocialMediaToday).
- According to Formstack, PPC ads are one of the top three generators of on-page conversions.
- 65 percent of all clicks made by users who intend to purchase go to paid ads (Wordstream).
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Versus Pay Per Click (PPC) Statistics
Search engine optimization and PPC can operate in harmony. In performance marketing models, these two strategies combine to bring in more traffic. Both strategies offer advantages and disadvantages. Google ads used alongside organic content help search engine visibility improve for businesses.
Organic SEO continues to be one of the most cost-effective marketing methods. Highly skilled SEO specialists create content targeting leads at different marketing funnel levels. Once organic content ranks well, search engine performance is more stable.
When search engine algorithms change, and websites are neglected, SEO performance declines. Great companies with great marketing campaigns always test and measure the results of their efforts. Thus, great marketing considers organic and paid advertising harmonious efforts in search engines.
These statistics highlight some of the advantages of PPC advertisements over SEO.
- New Media Campaigns reports that paid search results gain 1.5 times as many conversions from click-throughs as organic search results.
- PPC ads can put you on the first page for a given search term within a day (New Media Campaigns).
- The idea that many consumers cannot differentiate between paid ads and other content has radically transformed. As late as 2018, ScienceDaily showed fewer than 20% of users accurately identified native advertisements. In 2021, nearly 60% of users can’t distinguish between a paid and an organic result (Marketing Tech News via Truelist).
- PPC visitors are 50 percent more likely to purchase organic visitors (Unbounce).
- PPC statistics are easier to measure than SEO statistics, making it easier for marketers to track ROI and manage budgets (Unbounce).
- PPC is more effective when used with SEO (New Media Campaigns).
- Ignoring PPC marketing omits a quarter of search queries, as 27% of website traffic comes from paid search (Higher Visibility).
PPC Statistics and Trends
Just as PPC helps to reveal trends for the future growth of your business and organization, smart marketers watch the trends within PPC and other advertising.
- The industries spending the most on PPC advertising in 2018 include retail, travel, publishing and education. The consumables, automotive and home improvement industries are spending the least on PPC advertising.
- The most effective PPC channels are text ads, remarketing and mobile.
- 4 out of 10 marketers want to increase their PPC budget.
- Google AdWords, Facebook and mobile are the most popular PPC platforms.
- 80 percent of respondents surveyed view artificial intelligence as an important player in the digital advertising industry during 2018. This group has risen exponentially year over year.Â
- Programmatic is gaining importance and popularity as a PPC channel.
- 85% of respondents in one survey put more importance on visual information than text in ads.Â
PPC and Local Search Ads
Google Local Search Ads continue to evolve. These ads show on Search and Google Local when users seek services like yours in their local area. Additional features including Google Screened and Google Guaranteed demonstrate the power of this tool for reaching discerning local audiences.
- 82 percent of smartphone users are actively searching for businesses near them (Google).
- Nearly 30 percent of searches for something in a specific location will result in a purchase (Google).
- Three out of four people who find helpful information based on their location consider visiting brick-and-mortar stores (Google).
- Almost one-third of all searches made on mobile phones are location-based (Google).
- More than 40 percent of consumers use their smartphones to conduct research while inside a brick-and-mortar store (Google).
- 76 percent of people who search for something nearby on a smartphone will visit a business within one day (Google).
- Consumers spend 10 percent more money in a store if they have clicked on the retailer’s Google search ad before visiting (Google).
- 40 percent of in-store purchases begin online (Blue Corona).
- Almost 70 percent of searches on mobile will call a business using a link from the search (PowerTraffick).
PPC Statistics for Industry Benchmarks
Broad statistics can often be deceptive like average click-through rate across all industries and most searched terms annually. While recognizing the limitations of this data, there are valuable insights to consider.Â
- The average click-through rate across all industries on Google AdWords in 2018 is 3.17 on the search network. Through 2021 that trend has held with a good rate falling between 3-5%.
- The highest average click-through rate in Google AdWords is found in the dating and personals industry, while the lowest click-through rate is found in the legal industry.
- The average cost-per-click across all industries in Google AdWords on the search network is $2.69. The highest cost-per-click is found in the legal industry, while the lowest cost-per-click is found in the dating and personals industry.
- The average conversion rate across all industries in Google AdWords on the search network is 3.75 percent. Conversion rates are highest in the dating and personal industry at over 9 percent. Conversion rates are the lowest in the advocacy industry at 1.96 percent. (WordStream)
- The average cost-per-action across all industries in Google AdWords on the search network is $48.96. Cost-per-action is highest in the technology industry at over $133. Cost-per-action is the lowest in the auto industry at $33.52.
What Makes People Click and Convert
Nimbly responding to the interactions of people with advertising is vital to developing strong campaigns. Monitoring the types of advertisements most likely to earn clicks and conversions is important. Understanding these trends helps marketers position themselves for the best conversion rates.
- More than 40 percent of clicks go to the top three paid ads in search results (Wordstream).
- 90 percent of consumers say they trust online reviews (Google).
- More than 95 percent of clicks go to the top four search results (Blue Corona).
- Retailers can raise conversions by 16 percent when they include cross-device data (Google).
Surprising PPC Statistics
Some statistics defy categorization but support the value of building a marketing campaign that balances PPC with organic SEO.Â
- While the average click-through rate for PPC ads is only 2 percent, the average click-through rate for the top paid result on the screen is almost 8 percent (Accuracast).
- More than half of all searches are longer than four words (Wordstream).
- Click-through rate declines considerably as position on the first page of search results drops. However, the last position on the first page of search results and first position on the second page of search results have a slightly higher click-through rate than some higher positions on the first page (Accuracast).
- More than 96 percent of Google’s total revenue comes from paid advertisements (PowerTraffick).
- Microsoft advertising continues to grow with ambitions to double in size (Searchengineland.com)
- Watching the growth of TikTok is vital for marketers keen on following the trends of users. As the most downloaded app in Q3 2022, marketers without video ads are falling behind.
- Money is on the top of searchers’ minds with the most expensive keywords including insurance, loan, attorney, credit and lawyer. (Wordstream).
Ready to Give PPC a Try for Your Business?
Valve+Meter Performance Marketing specializes in PPC strategies that lead to clicks and conversions. Our team is eager to build a complete strategy that audits your business to find the potential and empower transformational growth. Request a free marketing analysis from our team today.