Our newsletterVendor reportLocaliQ, 2026
Search ad clicks cost the most for Attorneys and Legal Services ($9.87) and the least for Arts and Entertainment ($1.63)
Channel validation
Average cost per click (CPC) in search advertising by industry
Average cost per click (CPC) in search advertising by industry| Industry | Average cost per click (USD) |
|---|---|
| Animals & Pets | $4.06 |
| Apparel/Fashion & Jewelry | $4.44 |
| Arts & Entertainment | $1.63 |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | $9.87 |
| Automotive (For Sale) | $2.27 |
| Automotive (Repair, Service & Parts) | $4.35 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | $4.62 |
| Business Services | $5.87 |
| Career & Employment | $5.81 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | $8 |
| Education & Instruction | $4.81 |
| Finance & Insurance | $3.39 |
| Furniture | $3.97 |
| Health & Fitness | $6.17 |
| Home & Home Improvement | $8.33 |
| Industrial & Commercial | $5.87 |
| Personal Services | $7.17 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | $4.76 |
| Real Estate | $3.22 |
| Restaurants & Food | $2.05 |
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | $4.14 |
| Sports & Recreation | $2.77 |
| Travel | $2.14 |
- Reader Note:
- These are average costs per click in 2026, against an overall average of $5.42. Home and Home Improvement ($8.33) and Dentists ($8.00) were next most expensive. Attorneys and Legal Services also had the highest cost per lead ($131.63), while Arts and Entertainment had the lowest ($26.84). The figures cover Google and Microsoft Ads together for LocaliQ client campaigns (April 2025 – March 2026), and the report does not say how many campaigns sit behind each industry.
- Evidence:
- Observed behaviour
- Vendor interest:
- Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- Sample:
- 13,474 LocaliQ customer search advertising campaigns running from April 2025 through March 2026; campaign data from accounts using LocaliQ's platform, with aggregate budget split roughly 80-85% Google and 15-20% Microsoft. US campaigns only, and each industry subcategory included at least 52 unique active campaigns. The published figures are medians rather than means, calculated that way to limit the effect of outliers, even though the report labels them averages throughout.
Reader Note:
Evidence:
Vendor interest:
Sample:Good for
Comparing yourself against a similar segment, and choosing what to test next.
Not for
- Saying that one thing caused another, or predicting what you would get.
- This was measured in one market. It may not hold where you are.
- This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
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