# Google Ads Benchmarks by Industry (2026)

Cited CPL, CPA, CPC and ROAS benchmarks for Google Ads across 9 verticals. Every figure links to its primary source. These are directional ranges, not guarantees; your numbers depend on market, offer, geography and competition.

Canonical: https://myleadsfactory.com/benchmarks
Published by MyLeadsFactory (https://myleadsfactory.com), a performance-marketing agency run by senior strategists.

## SaaS & B2B

- **Average CPL (demo request): $150 - $400.** Mid-market SaaS with ACV $10K-$50K. CPL on demo-attended events (offline conversion import) typically 2-3x higher than form-fill CPL. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average CPC (competitive SaaS terms): $8 - $35.** Broad SaaS keywords. Branded and long-tail terms can run $3-$8. Enterprise/security SaaS can exceed $60. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average conversion rate (form-fill): 2.9%.** Across B2B SaaS Google Ads accounts. Accounts using offline conversion optimization (SQL/Closed-Won) typically see 4-6% on the correct conversion event. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Smart Bidding minimum conversions for Target CPA: 30+ / campaign / month.** Google's stated threshold before Smart Bidding can reliably optimize. Below this threshold, manual CPC often outperforms. Source: [Google Ads Help: About Smart Bidding](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7065882)

## Healthcare

- **CPL: primary care / family medicine: $40 - $120.** Geo-targeted 10-15 mile radius. CPL on appointment-attended events typically 2-3x higher than form-fill CPL. Source: [Google Ads Help: Healthcare advertising policies](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/176031)
- **CPL: dental / orthodontic: $60 - $180.** Procedure-name keywords (Invisalign, dental implants) outperform specialty-name by 3-5x in CPL on most accounts. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **CPL: cardiology / specialty physician: $150 - $400.** Tighter geo-targeting based on insurance network. 20-35% no-show rate should be factored into appointment-attended conversion goals. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **CPL: plastic surgery / cosmetic: $200 - $600.** Track through to procedure-booked, not consultation-booked. Conversion gap between consultation and procedure is large in this vertical. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **LegitScript certification cost (required for addiction treatment ads): ~$1,995/year.** Required for addiction-treatment advertising on Google. Separate certification from Healthcare Merchant certification. Source: [LegitScript: Addiction Treatment Certification](https://www.legitscript.com/certification/addiction-treatment-certification/)

## Real Estate

- **CPL: seller / vendor lead (US): $40 - $120.** Geo-targeted to primary trading area. Seller leads are worth 5-10x buyer leads because the lifetime relationship includes commissions, lettings and referrals. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **CPL: buyer lead (US): $30 - $80.** Lower CPL reflects lower per-lead value. Buyer journey is 60-180 days; campaigns optimizing on form-fill miss most of the sales cycle. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **CPL: vendor lead (UK prime London): £120 - £250.** Prime central London and Edinburgh New Town. Implied cost-per-instruction-won is typically 3-6x the raw CPL. Source: [HM Land Registry Price Paid Data](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/price-paid-data-downloads)
- **Average CPC (real estate terms, US major metros): $8 - $25.** Head terms ('homes for sale [city]') at the expensive end. Neighborhood-specific and seller-intent terms run $4-$10. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)

## Legal

- **Average CPC: personal injury (US): $50 - $150.** Most expensive vertical in Google Ads. Mass-tort and major-city terms can exceed $300 CPC. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average CPL: personal injury: $200 - $600.** CPL on signed case is typically 5-10x form-fill CPL due to qualification drop-off and no-show rates. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average conversion rate: legal: 4.1%.** Across legal Google Ads accounts (WordStream). Personal injury accounts with offline conversion imports typically run 6-10% on signed-case events. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)

## Financial Services

- **Average CPC: financial services (US): $18 - $65.** Insurance and mortgage terms are the most competitive in the vertical. Credit and lending terms run $10-$30. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average conversion rate: financial services: 5.1%.** Accounts using consent-mode-compliant server-side tracking and offline conversion imports typically run 7-10% on qualified lead events. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Negative-keyword build (day-one recommendation): 400 - 600 terms.** Financial services requires the heaviest negative-keyword investment of any vertical due to breadth of consumer vs. professional search intent overlap. Source: [Google Ads Help: About negative keywords](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972)

## E-commerce

- **Average ROAS: e-commerce Google Ads: 200% - 500%.** Healthy range for established DTC brands. New accounts in the learning phase often see 100-150% before Smart Bidding stabilises. Source: [Google Ads Help: About target ROAS bidding](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6268637)
- **Average conversion rate: e-commerce: 3.8%.** Across e-commerce Google Ads accounts. Accounts with product-feed quality scores above 90% and Performance Max brand exclusions typically run 5-8%. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Smart Shopping sunset date: Late 2022.** Google sunset Smart Shopping campaigns in late 2022, migrating accounts to Performance Max. Accounts that haven't manually rebuilt PMax are running Smart Shopping settings on the new campaign type. Source: [Google: Upgrade Smart Shopping to Performance Max](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/upgrade-your-smart-shopping-and-local-campaigns-to-performance-max/)

## Home Services

- **CPL: Local Service Ads (Google Guaranteed): $25 - $100.** LSA CPL is typically 40-70% lower than equivalent Search ad CPL because LSA is pay-per-lead rather than pay-per-click. HVAC, plumbing, roofing are covered in most US metros. Source: [Google: About Local Services Ads](https://ads.google.com/local-services-ads/)
- **CPL: Search ads (home services): $80 - $300.** Emergency-intent keywords (same-day HVAC, emergency plumber) run the highest CPLs but also the highest close rates. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average CPC: home services (US): $12 - $35.** Seasonal variation is significant, HVAC CPCs spike 40-60% in summer/winter. Locksmith and water-damage terms run $25-$50. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)

## Education

- **CPL: higher education inquiry: $40 - $200.** Accounts optimising on enrolled-paid-student events (not inquiry) typically see CPL on that event run $300-$1,200, but cost-per-enrolled drops 30-40% vs. inquiry-optimised accounts. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average conversion rate: education: 3.4%.** Inquiry-to-application conversion in Google Ads. Accounts with offline conversion imports (application-started, enrolled) run 5-8% on the correct downstream event. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)

## Travel & Hospitality

- **Average CPC: travel (US): $1.50 - $6.** Lower CPCs than most verticals but high click volumes and long booking windows. ROAS optimisation requires at least 90-day attribution windows. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)
- **Average conversion rate: travel: 3.9%.** Across travel and hospitality Google Ads accounts. Luxury / high-ticket travel runs 1-2%; budget travel can run 6-8%. Source: [WordStream Google Ads Industry Benchmarks](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks)

## Frequently asked questions

### Where do these benchmarks come from?

Every figure on this page cites a primary source: Google Ads Help documentation, WordStream industry benchmark studies, HM Land Registry price paid data, and LegitScript certification pricing. They are directional ranges, not guarantees; your numbers depend on market, offer, geography and competition.

### Why are the ranges so wide?

Because averages lie. A legal account targeting "personal injury lawyer" in Los Angeles and one targeting "estate planning" in a small metro live in completely different auctions. The range is the honest answer; the audit gives you the specific one.

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