Benchmarks change by industry. So does the playbook.
A 6.64% click-through rate is strong in one vertical and poor in another. Average CPC runs from $1.63 in Arts & Entertainment to $9.87 in Legal, and conversion rates swing from 2.64% to 16.22%. We tune every account to its own industry numbers, the full set lives in the Benchmark Observatory.
Attorneys & Legal Services
The most expensive clicks in search. With a high cost per lead, a thin negative-keyword list burns real money, every form fill has to count.
- CTR
- 5.87%
- CPC
- $9.87
- Conv.
- 5.55%
- CPL
- $131.63
Home & Home Services
High-intent and high-cost. Negative keywords and call tracking decide whether the budget turns into booked jobs.
- CTR
- 6.47%
- CPC
- $8.33
- Conv.
- 8.05%
- CPL
- $90.92
Dentists & Dental Services
Local intent with a strong conversion rate. The lever is geo-tight campaigns, not paying premium clicks for the next town over.
- CTR
- 5.66%
- CPC
- $8.00
- Conv.
- 10.67%
- CPL
- $72.97
Finance & Insurance
A high CTR pulls clicks in, but a low conversion rate means the landing page, not the ad, is the bottleneck.
- CTR
- 9.83%
- CPC
- $3.39
- Conv.
- 2.64%
- CPL
- $74.44
Ecommerce & Retail
Shopping and Performance Max territory. The job is a ROAS target tied to margin, not the 4:1 myth, plus a clean product feed.
- CTR
- 8.28%
- CPC
- $4.14
- Conv.
- 4.01%
- CPL
- $49.40
Apparel, Fashion & Jewelry
Crowded auctions and a high cost per lead. Creative and feed quality separate profitable accounts from the rest.
- CTR
- 6.64%
- CPC
- $4.44
- Conv.
- 4.50%
- CPL
- $97.51
Real Estate
Cheap clicks but a low conversion rate. Lead quality and fast follow-up matter more than raw volume.
- CTR
- 7.61%
- CPC
- $3.22
- Conv.
- 3.70%
- CPL
- $102.51
Automotive Repair & Service
One of the highest conversion rates in search, local, urgent intent. The win is showing up for "near me" at the right hours.
- CTR
- 5.56%
- CPC
- $4.35
- Conv.
- 15.51%
- CPL
- $29.96
Health & Fitness
Mixed local and ecommerce intent. Match-type discipline keeps clicks on real buyers, not researchers.
- CTR
- 5.81%
- CPC
- $6.17
- Conv.
- 6.94%
- CPL
- $67.36
B2B & Business Services
Long cycles and a high cost per lead. Offline-conversion import keeps bidding aimed at revenue, not form fills.
- CTR
- 6.10%
- CPC
- $5.87
- Conv.
- 4.85%
- CPL
- $93.69
Every industry, side by side
Sort and filter all 23 industries from the 2026 search benchmark report. Find yours, then see how your account compares.
| Attorneys & Legal Services | 5.87% | $9.87 | 5.55% | $131.63 |
| Home & Home Improvement | 6.47% | $8.33 | 8.05% | $90.92 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | 5.66% | $8.00 | 10.67% | $72.97 |
| Personal Services | 7.16% | $7.17 | 12.34% | $54.60 |
| Health & Fitness | 5.81% | $6.17 | 6.94% | $67.36 |
| Business Services | 6.10% | $5.87 | 4.85% | $93.69 |
| Industrial & Commercial | 6.57% | $5.87 | 8.20% | $75.19 |
| Career & Employment | 5.88% | $5.81 | 3.05% | $67.36 |
| All industries (avg) | 6.64% | $5.42 | 8.18% | $66.69 |
Industry benchmark FAQ
Intent, competition, and purchase value differ by vertical. Legal clicks cost $9.87 because a single case is worth thousands, while Arts & Entertainment clicks run $1.63. Conversion rates swing from 2.64% in Finance to 16.22% in Animals & Pets. Holding every account to the blended 8.18% average hides whether it is actually doing well.
Attorneys & Legal Services top the list at $9.87 average CPC, followed by Home & Home Improvement and Dentists. High click costs make negative keywords and landing-page quality the difference between profit and waste, since a few hundred wasted clicks add up fast at those prices.
No. These are common verticals where the benchmark gaps are clearest, but the five-lever method works for any account running search, Shopping, or Performance Max. If your industry is not listed, the audit still holds your numbers against the right benchmark from the same 2026 dataset.
We start from your industry benchmark, then adjust for your offer, average order value, and margin. A 5% conversion rate is strong in Finance and weak in Personal Services. The goal is a rate above your industry figure and trending up, measured against clean tracking rather than a vanity number.
See where your account sits in your industry
A free PPC audit scores your account against the right industry benchmark, not the blended average, and shows the gap in plain numbers.