Google Ads Benchmarks by Industry
Pick your industry and see the average cost per click, click-through rate, conversion rate, and cost per lead for Google Search ads — real, sourced data, not guesses.
All industries (average)
Source: WordStream by LocaliQ — Search Advertising Benchmarks (2025) · 16,000+ US search campaigns, Apr 2024–Mar 2025 · Verified against source August 7, 2026
All industries at a glance
| Industry | Avg. CTR | Avg. CPC | Avg. Conv. Rate | Avg. Cost/Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals & Pets | 6.58% | $3.97 | 13.07% | $31.82 |
| Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry | 6.77% | $4.31 | 3.99% | $101.49 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 13.10% | $1.60 | 4.84% | $30.27 |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | 5.97% | $8.58 | 5.09% | $131.63 |
| Automotive — For Sale | 8.29% | $2.41 | 7.76% | $38.86 |
| Automotive — Repair, Service & Parts | 5.56% | $3.90 | 14.67% | $28.50 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 5.71% | $5.70 | 7.82% | $60.34 |
| Business Services | 5.65% | $5.58 | 5.14% | $103.54 |
| Career & Employment | 6.57% | $5.16 | 4.33% | $62.80 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | 5.44% | $7.85 | 9.08% | $83.93 |
| Education & Instruction | 5.74% | $6.23 | 11.38% | $90.02 |
| Finance & Insurance | 8.33% | $3.46 | 2.55% | $83.93 |
| Furniture | 6.11% | $3.86 | 2.73% | $121.51 |
| Health & Fitness | 7.18% | $5.00 | 6.80% | $62.80 |
| Home & Home Improvement | 6.37% | $7.85 | 7.33% | $90.92 |
| Industrial & Commercial | 6.23% | $5.70 | 7.17% | $85.63 |
| Personal Services | 7.69% | $5.81 | 9.74% | $53.52 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | 6.73% | $5.00 | 11.62% | $56.83 |
| Real Estate | 8.43% | $2.53 | 3.28% | $100.48 |
| Restaurants & Food | 7.58% | $2.05 | 7.09% | $30.27 |
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | 8.92% | $3.49 | 3.83% | $47.94 |
| Sports & Recreation | 9.19% | $2.64 | 7.62% | $47.47 |
| Travel | 8.73% | $2.12 | 5.75% | $73.70 |
How to actually use benchmarks
Averages hide as much as they reveal. Here's how to read this table without misleading yourself.
Compare within your industry, never across
A 3% conversion rate is poor for an auto repair shop (industry average 14.67%) but above average for Finance & Insurance (2.55%). Intent differs by vertical: someone searching "emergency plumber" converts today; someone searching "life insurance quotes" researches for weeks. Always benchmark against your own row.
Your unit economics beat any benchmark
Paying above the average CPL isn't automatically bad — it depends what a customer is worth to you. A law firm profitably pays $200+ per lead; an ecommerce store selling $30 products cannot. Work out your ceiling with the Max CPA calculator and your break-even point with the ROAS calculator, then use the benchmark as a sanity check.
Averages include badly-run accounts
These averages blend well-optimized accounts with neglected ones running broad keywords and no negatives. That means the average is beatable: tight keyword match types, a maintained negative list, and ad copy that mirrors the search query routinely put accounts meaningfully ahead of their industry row. If you're at or below average, that's usually opportunity, not a ceiling.
Google Ads benchmark FAQs
What is a good CTR for Google Ads?
Across industries, average search click-through rates cluster between roughly 5% and 9%, with the cross-industry average around 7%. Arts & Entertainment sees the highest average CTR at 13.10%, while Dentists & Dental Services sits lowest at 5.44%. As a rule of thumb, a search CTR above your industry average means your ads and keywords are well matched to what people search; below 3–4% usually signals weak ad copy or overly broad keywords.
What is the average CPC in Google Ads?
Average cost per click varies enormously by industry — from around $1.60 in Arts & Entertainment to $8.58 in Attorneys & Legal Services. Most industries pay between $2 and $6 per click on the Search network. Your actual CPC depends on your keywords, Quality Score, location, and competition, so treat the industry average as a starting point, not a ceiling.
What is a good conversion rate for Google Ads?
The average Google Ads conversion rate lands around 7% across industries, but the spread is wide: Automotive Repair converts at 14.67% on average while Finance & Insurance averages just 2.55%. Lead-gen industries with urgent, local intent (repairs, pets, physicians) convert far better than considered purchases (furniture, apparel, finance). Compare yourself to your own industry row, not the overall average.
What is a good cost per lead for Google Ads?
Average cost per lead ranges from about $28.50 (Automotive Repair, Service & Parts) to $131.63 (Attorneys & Legal Services). Whether a CPL is 'good' depends entirely on what a lead is worth to you — a $130 lead is a bargain for a law firm whose average case is worth thousands. Work backwards from your customer value with our Max CPA calculator, then compare against your industry benchmark.
Where does this benchmark data come from?
The numbers on this page are transcribed from WordStream by LocaliQ's published 2025 Google Ads benchmarks report, based on over 16,000 real US search advertising campaigns running April 2024 through March 2025, across 23 industries. We show the source and the date we last verified the table against it, and we update the numbers when newer benchmark data is published publicly — we never invent or adjust the figures.
Related guides
Go deeper with these guides from our blog.
