According to a new analysis, Google’s average cost per lead has risen in 91% of business industries. The data was obtained from over 79,000 customer campaigns that ran search advertising on Google between October 2021 and September 2022. Businesses in the arts and entertainment industry (up 134%), travel sectors (up 69%), and furniture (up 54%), have been hit the hardest by these changes.
Why Is This Happening?
The cause of the increase is thought to be for various reasons, including growing competition, broad keyword matches, and high inflation. Given that people have sought more activities outside the home during and after the pandemic, have started traveling more often, and continue to face many supply issues. Because those shortages affect furniture supply, it stands to reason that the above mentioned industries would be negatively affected.
Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates a drop in conversion rate as well. This is most likely due to broad match terms, and generating more general searches from the top of the funnel. Across 91% of industries, there was a 14% reduction. To put this in context, there was a 12% conversion rate drop in 2019.
The study also indicates that the cost per click has risen somewhat, affecting 57% of business industries. Overall, the cost per click declined -4% in 2020 and -1% in 2021.
5 Industries Who Saw The Lowest Cost Per Click
Automotive repair and service: $19;85
Physicians and surgeons: $22.74
Sports and Recreation: $23.57
Arts and Entertainment: $25.46
Animals and pets: $26.25
5 Industries Who Saw The Highest Cost Per Click
Attorneys and Legal Services: $8.46
Dentists and Dental Services: $6.69
Home and Home Improvement: $5.74
Business Services: $3.80
Industrial and Commercial: $3.50
Tips For Affected Businesses
The following best practices can help affected industries deal with this new trend that is having quite a negative impact on many of America’s businesses.
It’s essential to implement a full-funnel, multi-channel ad strategy to reach better, warmer leads. The use of negative keywords can help you avoid broad targeting and save you money. Because CTR has remained constant, we can speculate that individuals are still clicking on ads at the same rate as before. For various reasons, they are not following through, with no intent to do so.
Businesses should consider raising their paid search budget in the new year to stay up with the ever-growing competition. Regrettably, this may be necessary to see an improvement. If a budget increase is not an option, work on increasing your ad relevance and Quality Score.
Optimize your keywords, evaluate your competition to see what they are doing, and experiment with other techniques.
Call Us Today!
We know it is a good idea to compare your marketing costs to industry norms. If your brand or clients have been impacted, it’s most likely caused by high-rising inflation costs, lasting effects of the pandemic, or keyword and automation variables. Continue to use recommended practices and regular testing to keep your costs to a minimum. If you need help or have any trouble get in touch with us.
