Pay-per-click (PPC) is an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. To be more precise, it is a way of purchasing visits to your site, rather than creating these organically.
Pay-per-click is a keyword based model and it works when users try to search for keywords or related terms. The advertisers have to lock their target market and bid for keywords relevant to their targets.
These ads then appear in the search engine results when users search for these keywords. There is a small fee involved that the advertiser pays the search engine each click on their ad.
Popular PPC Platforms: PPC is primarily used on social media and search engines, platforms like Google ads, facebook ads and X (previously twitter)ads are the most famous among these. These platforms allow businesses to specifically target audiences based on user interest, demographics and user search history.
General PPC Statistics
These are some of the general PPC stats that may help you understand the impact of PPC advertising.
- PPC has an average Return On Investment (ROI) of 200%.
- 90% of internet users will have seen a google advertisement.
- Facebook ads and Google ads have the highest ROI among paid advertising channels. To an extent that many major political campaigns have also used these platforms.
- The conversion rates of PPC traffic outweigh organic traffic by 50%.
- When compared to SEO statistics, PPC generates almost double the number of visitors.
- Average click-through-rate for search ads across all industries is 3.52%.
- Average estimated cost per click for Google ads statistics shows $2.69.
- There is a visible boost of 80% to the brand awareness due to PPC ads.
- 65% of small to mid-sized businesses have a PPC campaign
- Small businesses and midsize companies have been known to spend anywhere between $100 to $10,000 per month on PPC campaigns.
- 74% of brands agree that PPC is a major driver for their business.
- Mobile device PPC clicks stand at 52%.
- An estimated 64% brands plan to increase their PPC budget by next year.
- $190 billion is the projected spend for PPC advertising in 2024.
- 75% of users have mentioned that paid ads make it easier to find what they need.
PPC Performance Metrics
Conversion Rate (CVR): CVR measures the percentage of users that lead to sales after clicking on an ad. The 2023 benchmark for CVR was 7.04%.
Cost per Acquisition (CPA): The cost to acquire a customer through PPC adverts.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The return on investment (revenue generated) for every dollar spent on advertising.
Cost per Click (CPC): The average cost paid for each click on a google ad in 2023 was $4.22.
Click-through Rate (CTR): The percentage of ad impressions that result in clicks. Average google ad click through rate for 2023 was 6.11%.
Impression Share: The percentage of total impressions your ad receives compared to the total available. This is important for engagement. An impression is the number of times an ad is displayed.
Quality Score: Google’s rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.
Clicks: The total number of times users click on your ads.
Average Position: The average position of your ad on search engine results pages.
Mobile PPC Statistics
- Out of the total number of paid search ad clicks on mobile devices, 95% are driven by Google.
- In the US, 70% of search ad impressions are on mobile devices.
- 70% of smartphone owners use their devices for shopping.
- An estimated 60% of mobile users click on a PPC ad at least once per week.
- Mobile devices amount to 52% of PPC clicks.
- 70% of total digital ad spending by 2028 is expected to be Mobile ad spending
- With the huge smartphone market, it is expected that advertisers customise their products for mobile devices.
- Video content and personalization are key trends in mobile advertising.
- $146 billion was the mobile advertising spend in 2023.
Social Media PPC Statistics
- Among the Social media advertising channels. Facebook ads and Google Ads have the highest ROI among paid advertising channels.
- LinkedIn ads have proved effective for lead generation as per 62% B2B marketers.
- According to 75% of people, paid ads make it easier to find what they need.
- Instagram’s ad revenue is expected to reach $59.6 billion by the end of 2024, with Instagram stories accounting for 26.7% of the platform’s total ad revenue.
- Social media video ads are highly effective, with 96% of users watching educational videos to learn about products or services.
- According to stats, 79% of all B2B SaaS companies use PPC campaigns to generate leads through campaigns.
- 50% of users claim that they can’t tell the difference between paid and organic results.
- 77% of users are positive that they can recognize paid search ads.
Google Ads Statistics
- The global search engine market is dominated by Google Ads which holds 90% of the global search engine market.
- Globally, 63% of people online have clicked on google ads.
- 85.3% is the number of clicks Google Shopping Ads generate and also account for 76.4% of retail search ad spend.
- An average of $2 in revenue is generated for every $1 spent by businesses on Google Ads.
- 65% of midsize and small businesses have been known to run their own PPC campaigns.
- The ad revenue for Google ads was $237.86 billion in 2023 and is projected to continue growing.
- The average CPC for Google Ads ranges from $0.11 to $2.69.
- 84% of advertisers are piqued by Google’s new responsive ads.
- It has been seen that Google Ads boost brand awareness by a whopping 80%.
- 46% of all clicks made on Google are on the top 3 paid ads.
- As per Google ads statistics, adverts placed on the Google Display Network reach up to 90% of internet users.
Amazon Ad Statistics
- Impressions: Number of times an ad is displayed on Amazon’s search results or product detail pages averages at 83 million per day.
- Click Through Rate (CTR): The average click through rate for amazon ads in 2024 is 0.35%. Average daily clicks on amazon is 267.
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Current Average amount paid each time a user clicks on an amazon ad is $0.95.
- Conversion Rate (CVR): The percentage of clicks that result in a purchase for Amazon PPC ads is 9.44%.
- Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS): Ratio of ad spend to sales revenue for Amazon PPC ads in 2024 is 30.45%.
- Average revenue per user: Average revenue generated per user per day through ppc ads on amazon sums up to $927.12
- Amazon’s advertising revenue is projected to grow by 11.7% in 2024.
- The key ad types on Amazon are Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns
Industry-Specific PPC Insights
Industry specific data reveals the following insights
- Most PPC advertising spendings come from Retail, travel, publishing, and education industries.
- Text ads, remarketing, and mobile are among the most effective PPC channels
- Local PPC is increasingly important, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Highest average cost per action at $73.70 and highest average CPC on Google ads at $9.21 belongs to the legal industry.
- Lowest average CPC at $1.55 goes to the real estate and entertainment industry.
- Strategies that target specific industries and keyword research are critical for optimising PPC campaigns.
- 79% of marketers say PPC has been immensely beneficial for their business.
- 62% of marketers are sure that they will increase their PPC budgets for the following year.
Paid Search Statistics
Paid search statistics of recent years have given us some of the stats shown below:
- Global search advertising is set to grow further as projected stats indicate that advertisers will spend close to $306.7 billion on search advertising in 2024.
- Globally, 96% of advertisers invest in search ads.
- A total of 52% of PPC clicks came from mobile devices in 2023.
- Search ads have increased brand awareness significantly (80%).
- 50% of users cannot separate the paid results from organic results.
- 65% of high-intent searches result in an ad click.
- PPC ads contribute to 45% of page clicks in search results.
- The conversion rate for PPC is 50% better than organic traffic.
- Advertisers allocate 39% of their budgets to paid search.
- The average click-through rate for an ad on search across all industries is 3.52%.
PPC Trends for 2024
First-Party Data Tracking: Due to the changing privacy regulations, deprecation of third-party cookies and user awareness, this is becoming Increasingly important. This was introduced to provide users with a customised and enhanced experience.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: AI has enhanced ad targeting, optimization, and overall PPC campaign performance for advertisers. Ai has resulted in providing advanced analytics and insights into user behaviours. It has also helped in getting a more accurate predictive analysis along with enhancing user experience.
Voice and Video Optimization: There has been a tremendous growth of voice search and video based ads, especially on social media platforms. Voice based searches fall into the long form keyword category and they differ a lot with short form text based searches.
Local PPC: More businesses have started using local PPC to connect with local customers to provide a more localised experience. With the rise of Geo-targeting technology, it has become easier to find and target local customers(potential) with higher accuracy.
Visual and AR-Driven Ads: There has been a steady rise in Augmented reality driven ads and it seems like the future of advertising online. Estimated to generate revenue of $5.2 billion in 2024 with a growth rate of 9.73% which will raise it to an estimated $7.53 billion in market share by 2028.
Integration with Other Digital Strategies: The combination of PPC with other digital marketing efforts is bound to reveal newer strategies of advertising. The harmony between PPC and SEO can really amp up your visibility on the search results. Integration allows to collect data from various sources for a more in-depth analysis which will help in amplifying our content.
