Recent pay-per-click (PPC) statistics 

Important Google PPC stats

Key mobile PPC and paid social numbers

Things to consider when planning your PPC strategy in 2021

Paid search (or PPC) is often the driving force behind a solid marketing campaign. While the way you approach PPC tactics depends on your company’s goals and budget, marketing pros know that implementing them is integral when it comes to boosting ROI.

But, just like any marketing technique, the paid search landscape is also changing regularly. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s wise for marketing teams to know the latest PPC data so they can adjust efforts accordingly. That’s why we compiled the below paid search statistics — to provide valuable insights into what this digital marketing type looks like today.

ppc management stats

The Google Display Network (GDN) serves display ads to more than 90% of people on the internet and works across 2 million websites. (Image via Unsplash)

General PPC stats

Keeping these stats in mind when designing your 2021 marketing strategy can help you stay competitive and at the top of your game.

By 2021, companies around the world are slated to spend 137 billion on paid search advertising.

45% of small businesses invest in PPC advertising.

Traffic that comes in through paid search advertising drives 50% more conversions than traffic from organic advertising.

Paid search advertising accounts for about 39% of advertising budgets.

60% of companies plan to spend more money on paid advertising on Amazon in the future. 

More than two-thirds of consumers are sure that they can recognize paid search ads.

People are more likely to click on text PPC ads than on shopping listing ads and video ads.

41% of clicks on Google searches go to the top three sponsored ads.

75% of people believe that paid search ads make it easier to find products they’re looking for when browsing websites or using various search engines. 

Valuable Google PPC stats

While paid search advertising is hardly limited to Google Ads, the search engine giant maintains the majority of the population’s attention — which doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.

The Google Display Network (GDN) serves display ads to more than 90% of people on the internet and works across 2 million websites.

Almost 4 times as many consumers are more inclined to click on a paid search ad on Google than on other search engines like Amazon, YouTube, or Bing. 

The lowest average cost per click (CPC) for GDN, $0.44, belongs to the “travel and hospitality” advertising categories, while the highest, $1.49, belongs to “dating and personal.”

98% of advertisers consider Google the most trustworthy digital ad channel.

In the United States, Google generates 62% of all core search queries. 

Google Ads and Facebook PPC ads are the key players in the digital advertising market, with 38.2% and 21.8% of the market share, respectively.

In a Marin Software survey, 84% of respondents who use paid search already use or plan to implement Google’s responsive search ads. 

In 2021, Google’s ad search revenue share in the U.S. is estimated to be 70% of total ad spending.

63% of people have clicked on a Google Ad at least once.

Google Ads can potentially deliver $8 for every $1 spent, generating an 800% ROI.

The average conversion rate for GDN ads is .46%.

49% of consumers say that they often turn to Google to find a new product.

PPC management data

27% of internet users say that they find new products and services through social media ads. (Image via Unsplash)

Predominant mobile PPC stats

Increasingly, internet users across the globe are turning to their mobile devices for everything from searching and scrolling to making purchases. With this in mind, adjusting your PPC strategy to meet their demands can help you reach a significant segment of your target audience.

52% of internet traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices.

68% of our m-commerce survey respondents have purchased something they discovered through a mobile ad on their smartphone.

53% of clicks on PPC ads are made from mobile devices.

Google attracts 96% of all mobile engine traffic in the U.S.

Prices for mobile search ads in 2019 were lower than they were for desktop ads.

More than 70% of search ad clicks and impressions occur on mobile devices.

60% of consumers click a mobile ad at least once a week. 

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, 45% of consumers say they shopped more via their mobile phones than in the past. 

In 2019, 94% of Facebook advertising revenue was generated by mobile users.

Want to learn more about PPC advertising in 2021 and beyond? We’re here to help.

Important social media PPC stats

From paid ads to brand awareness, the key social media platforms — think Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn — are often important pillars of your marketing strategy’s overall success. These stats can help you understand how to look at social media when crafting your plans for 2021.

32% of survey respondents say that video ads are a highly effective social ad format, followed by image ads (26%).

Many marketers allocate around 18% of their advertising budget on paid social.

27% of internet users say that they find new products and services through social media ads.

An average Facebook user clicks approximately 12 ads in 30 days.

By the end of 2020, ad spending on social media advertising is expected to reach nearly $99 million.

In 2021, annual Instagram ad revenue is expected to reach $18.16 billion.

The takeaway

While you shouldn’t hinge your entire marketing strategy on a handful of statistics, we can find plenty of helpful insights through analyzing the latest PPC management data. This info demonstrates the growing importance of paid ads across various channels. It also shows that more companies plan to increase their PPC budgets in 2021.

Amid the pandemic, more and more people are using their smartphones for searching and shopping. Because of this, mobile optimization remains another important part of effective paid search marketing campaigns. 

As far as platforms, Google Ads and Facebook remain key players in the digital advertising market. Knowing the latest reports, trends, and numbers surrounding PPC can help you be better armed to optimize your program and gain a competitive edge.

The post Facts and figures to help you better understand the current PPC landscape appeared first on Precision Global Marketing.

How to determine the true value of your leads

The benefits of aligning sales and marketing strategies

The best results-driven reports to develop

Why a lead-scoring system is key

Put on your blue-light-blocking glasses, crack those knuckles, and fire up your calculator. It’s time to do some math.

Being able to calculate your pay-per-click strategy’s return on investment (or PPC ROI) is an important part of running any paid search marketing program. And knowing the true value of the leads you’re currently bringing in can help you make more informed strategy decisions. More than that, it can help you optimize your PPC efforts. As a result, you can generate more leads in the future — and who doesn’t want that? 

ppc lead value blog – hawksem

By connecting your marketing and sales strategies in a meaningful way, you can better leverage the power of the data you have. (Image via Unsplash)

Calculating revenue per lead, however, isn’t always as simple as dividing the cost per lead by the revenue earned per lead.

To find the true revenue per lead, you need to set up a system that connects high-quality leads to the dollar amount spent on each individual lead. Luckily, you don’t have to rely only on intuition and estimations. 

By connecting your marketing and sales strategies in a meaningful way, you can better leverage the power of the data you have.

Where to begin

At face value, the formula for calculating revenue per lead is fairly simple:

Total revenue generated ÷ Total number of leads = Average revenue per lead

However, finding the average returns isn’t necessarily a long-term recipe for success. You need to be able to factor in PPC site traffic and customer relationship management (CRM) data as well. This will allow you to see which leads in the CRM are high-valued opportunities or closed sales.

You also want to decide how to measure quality leads. Ideally, you want to attract those who move through the funnel quickly and/or convert for the highest customer lifetime value (LTV).

Alternatively, some experts recommend this formula for calculating return on ad spend (ROAS):

Total revenue generated by ads ÷ cost of ad spend = ROAS

It’s worth noting that calculating PPC ROI in this way isn’t a one-size-fits-all method. For example, if you sell high-end software or services, your sales cycle may be anywhere from six months to two years. This means that just getting a handful of sign-ups or registrations per month can be sufficient. The potential revenue from those leads would cover the entire SEM program cost.

But you don’t want to necessarily go all-in on whatever strategy brought those leads in just yet. That’s because the data set is too small to be able to measure confidently.

Get all of your variables in place

For a more accurate look at lead value, it’s a good idea to develop a lead scoring system with robust CRM and keyword tracking technology. You can do this either in-house or with a PPC agency. This way, it’ll be easier to connect specific paid search site visitors with sales and lead value.

You can track “big data” as well as input subjective data about personal experiences with the lead for added context. By tracking which customers stood out as exceptionally good leads throughout the sales cycle, you can connect each with corresponding PPC site traffic data and see what patterns emerge.

If a specific keyword or ad group drove the highest value sales, it might be worth allocating more of your budget there. Alternatively, if your highest LTV is coming from desktop PPC leads, shift more budget to desktop over mobile campaigns.

Build your reports

The next step is to develop PPC ROI reports that focus on what you care about: real results. If you don’t already, it’s a good idea to start tracking data year-over-year as well as monthly. Instead of only relying on statistics or intuition, this lets you combine the science and the art of effective digital marketing to drive more ROI.

Oftentimes, marketers don’t properly connect revenue earned to cost per lead. Looking at the average ROI for any given PPC campaign is not the best way to derive meaningful insights.

For PPC ROI, seasoned experts know it’s best to use a results-driven approach and work backward instead of using a “guess-and-check” approach.

ppc lead value blog – hawksem

Putting a system in place that allows you to connect leads and actual sales values with your PPC strategy helps you properly calculate the cost per lead. (Image via Unsplash)

Get solutions to common PPC problems with Our Ultimate Guide to Problem-Solving for Your PPC Program and Getting the ROI You Deserve.

Calculate anticipated ROI before anticipated site traffic

Judging your generic site traffic from PPC campaigns can have some pitfalls. To improve your bidding strategy, you want to work backward here as well by scoring leads and using “money keywords” for results-oriented PPC campaigns.

When you take measures to get highly qualified leads from the first click, you connect marketing strategy with sales strategy in a way that is more cohesive and aligned.

Get the final results and know your cost per lead

Putting a system in place that allows you to connect leads and actual sales values with your PPC strategy helps you properly calculate the cost per lead. Return to the simple equation of:

Total revenue generated ÷ Total number of leads = Average revenue per lead

The post Calculating a more accurate look at the revenue per lead for your search engine marketing (SEM) programs appeared first on Precision Global Marketing.