Pay-per click advertising is one of the most cost-effective forms of digital marketing. It has been used to generate targeted traffic and increase sales for decades since the launch of Google Adwords in 2000. However, pay-per click advertisers need to know a lot about their industry in order to be successful. The following blog post covers 23+ PPC statistics you must know before launching your next campaign!
PPC Statistics
These are general PPC stats that will help you understand the current state of pay-per click advertising.
83.3% of Google’s revenue comes from Google Ads (Source)
Have you ever considered how Google makes its money? In 2019, Google generated $171 billion in revenue, 83.3% of which came from advertising services. This figure includes ad sales on YouTube and other Google-owned platforms as well as the AdWords platform that advertisers use to purchase ads. This goes to show how popular advertising is with Google Ads specifically.
96% of marketers spend money on search ads (Source)
In 2017, 96% of marketers used some form of search engine marketing. This was a rise from 88% in 2016 and 86% in 2015. It shows that pay-per click advertising continues to be one of the most popular digital marketing strategies for businesses around the world.
These numbers also demonstrate how important it is for advertisers to use Google PPC ads as part of their online marketing strategy. Some brands may also want to consider investing in ads on search engines Bing or Yahoo.
62% of marketers increased their PPC budgets last year (Source)
PPC is so effective that the majority of marketers are increasing their budgets. People who are looking to increase sales or traffic on their website should consider investing more of their budget into PPC ads.
Even though search engine marketing is a popular strategy, it’s still possible for new businesses to gain an edge over the competition by advertising with PPC.
Find winning combinations of creatives, keywords, sales copy, landing pages, and pour more money into these campaigns to drive massive results!
Ads can boost brand awareness by 80% (Source)
Paid ads don’t have to be solely for generating leads or revenue. They are also effective for increasing brand awareness so more prospects understand your business exists. In fact, online ads help increase awareness by up to 80%.
This is a very important statistic for advertisers to remember. Even if you have a very limited budget, it’s possible to generate leads with your PPC campaigns by providing ads that are intriguing and relevant enough so people want more information about what you’re offering. It doesn’t matter how much money competitors are spending on advertising—you can still outsmart them with better copywriting and offers.
If an advertiser runs into any roadblocks when setting up a Google Ads campaign, they should contact our experts at Profitable Ads. Our team of specialists have years of experience running pay-per click advertisements successfully across all major platforms. We know exactly what needs to be done in order create quality digital campaigns, so feel free to apply to become one of our clients.
65% of consumers click on PPC ads (Source)
Advertisers can use this statistic to their advantage by increasing relevancy in order to improve user experience and increase conversions for organic traffic as well. Not only that, but advertisers should also create PPC advertisements that stand out from the competition with clear call-to-action buttons or special discounts if applicable.
Creating quality ad content is key because it will lead users down a more natural path towards making a purchase—saving them time along the way since consumers don’t like wasting time searching through irrelevant information when looking at digital advertisements online.
93% of Americans Use The Internet to find local businesses (Source)
If you’re a local brand, you’re in luck! PPC ads are one of the best ways to reach your customers. Local audience and keywords (depending on the ad platform) are usually cheaper than targeting national ones. And, 93% of Americans use the internet to find local businesses! We recommend trying Facebook Ads and targeting your local areas to get customers. Similarly, you can target city keywords in Google Ads campaigns to achieve the same results through search engines.
Google controls more than 92% of the global search engine market (Source)
Sure, you can advertise on search engines like Bing but Google controls a whopping 92% of the world’s search engine market. Naturally, it’s an incredible effective advertising channel. You can reach up to 90% of internet users across mobile, desktop, apps, and other networks.
52% of online shoppers call advertisers (Source)
Some customers like to call brands to inquire about products or ask questions. That’s why, firstly, it’s ideal that you have a phone number available on your website or advertisement. For example, when people see your Google Ad, it can have a phone number extension. Seeing as 52% of online shoppers call advertisers, it’s essential to have this available.
84% of brands are pleased with the PPC market (Source)
Can you get a great return on ad spend and drive growth with PPC ads? Absolutely! That’s why 84% of brands are pleased with the current state of the pay-per click market. There are many different platforms to use and if you master copywriting, targeting, creatives, and other elements, they can generate an incredible return.
Facebook Ads statistics
Next, let’s discuss statistics about Facebook Ads.
Facebook reached 2.8 billion monthly active users in 2021 (Source)
For example, at the end of 2020 Facebook reached a staggering number of monthly active users:
- Over 210 million in Africa.
- Over 1.3 billion in Asia.
- Around 423 million in Europe.
Finally, around 104 million people use Facebook from Latin America and 261 million in North America! That is incredible reach for advertisers with budgets to spend on ads.
Statistics show that it is possible to get an excellent return on ad spend by running highly targeted campaigns across different platforms or even just focusing your efforts on one platform like Facebook Ads if you have enough budget and want fast results. The important thing here is not how many followers you can buy but rather choosing where they reside and then finding out what types of ads work best there based on data about each audience.
88% of users access Facebook on a mobile device (Source)
Most people are browsing the internet, social media, and shopping from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. That means your Facebook Ads must be optimized for these devices to drive the most conversions and offer the best user experience.
93% of social media marketers use paid Facebook ads (Source)
Are Facebook Ads effective? Yes! 93% of social media marketers use Facebook Ads and the various campaign options to achieve different goals like:
- Driving traffic to key web pages and increasing awareness.
- Generating sales and revenue.
- Collecting prospect’s information to follow up with them later.
- Retargeting users who visited a webpage but left without taking action.
- Etc.
Instagram Ads statistics
These are statistics on Instagram Ads and their effectiveness as an advertising channel.
928.5 million people are reached by Instagram ads (Source)
Here’s a crazy Instagram statistic for you: almost 1 billion people are reached through Instagram ads. They are especially powerful for e-commerce brands that are selling products related to health, fashion, and beauty as these niches explode on Instagram. However, almost any product or service can be successful with Instagram ads.
92% of Instagram users followed a brand, clicked on their website, or made a purchase on the platform (Source)
On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter combined users report following an average of 34 brands. On any given week nearly 40% of all U.S. adults engage with a brand on social media in some way or another whether it be through following them, clicking their links, liking their page, etc.
The statistics show that advertisers can embrace the use of social media platforms as a promotional tool by understanding how much consumers actually interact with ads placed here rather than just taking into account impressions and likes alone which is what they have been doing up until now when aiming for success online.
4 million brands use Instagram Stories ads every month (Source)
Instagram Stories are a great channel to engage users and get them to take action. That’s why over 4 million businesses invest their budget into ads that appear on Instagram Stories. It’s an effective way to capture someone’s attention as they’re scrolling through the app. Consider running these if you haven’t tested them already.
Google Ads statistics
These are statistics on Google Ads usage and trends.
In 2021, there are 6.9 billion searches a day on Google (Source)
In 2021, there are an average of 6.9 billion searches per day on Google. No matter what product you sell or audience you target, you can find your niche within this massive audience.
90% of internet users see Google display ads (Source)
Google’s large partner of display networks allows them to display a company’s advertisement all over the internet. This is one of the first statistics that people look at when deciding whether or not to advertise with Google. Even with ad blockers becoming popular, nearly everyone is still being exposed to online ads.
People who click ads are 50% more likely to buy a product (Source)
If someone clicks your ad, odds are they are your ideal audience and interested in what you’re selling. That’s why a whopping 50% of people who click on a Google ad make a purchase. To maximize conversions, ensure that you optimize the sales copy, landing page, and keyword you’re targeting.
YouTube ads statistics
Have you considered using YouTube to reach more customers? Make sure to read these YouTube statistics first.
YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users (Source)
With billions of active users every month, YouTube is a mandatory channel for brands to test for running online ads. You can try different ad formats like skippable ads, non-skippable ads, bumper ads, and more.
Over 90% of people surveyed around the world say they discover new brands or products on YouTube (Source)
YouTube isn’t only a good channel for brands to conduct content marketing by posting helpful videos. It’s also incredible for promoting products and services. That’s why nearly all consumers discover new brands and products through YouTube.
Not only can you run ads to increase awareness, but you can create and post videos that offer value to your audience. Answer frequently asked questions, create tutorials, do product reviews, etc.
YouTube ads have an average CPC of $2.96 a CPM of $9.61 and CTR of 0.31% (Source)
YouTube ads have an average CPC of $0.24 a CPM of around $11 and CTR of 0.31%. This is a very reasonable cost per click meaning that you will get a good bang for your buck with ad spend. That’s not considering if you refine targeting, creatives, and sales copy that these numbers can vastly improve.
60% of teens who get news from YouTube say they are more likely to get it from influencers (Source)
Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies for e-commerce brands. Mix that with YouTube, and you have a customer acquisition channel on steroids. In fact, 60% of teenagers are more likely to get news from influencers and celebrities on YouTube. Leverage influencers in your ads and video content to maximize engagement and conversion rates.
More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices (Source)
As we touched on before, mobile responsiveness is essential for digital marketing and advertising. Most people are kicking back and browsing the internet from their smartphones or tablet. If your creatives, landing pages, and other assets aren’t optimized for these devices, it’ll create a poor user experience and tank your performance.
Final thoughts on these PPC statistics
Pay-per click strategies and trends are constantly changing. If you aren’t ahead of the game, you won’t generate the most return on ad spend with your campaigns. Review these PPC stats on a regular basis (and share them with your team) to ensure that you stay on top of what works.
You can also apply to become a Profitable Ads client if you need world-class media buyers to manage your PPC campaigns.
