Why Your Agency Needs To Be Monitoring PPC Benchmarks?

PPC results don’t exist in a vacuum. What looks like strong performance in one industry might be underwhelming in another. That’s why marketing agencies need a clear way to compare their clients’ data against industry norms.

Without context, even high-performing metrics are misleading. Running a successful PPC campaign is all about knowing how those clicks measure up. 

Are your clients’ conversion rates truly competitive, or are they lagging behind industry standards? 

Imagine running PPC campaigns for a dental client who’s getting a steady stream of clicks, but conversions are lower than expected. 

Your client asks, “Is this normal for our industry?” 

If you don’t have a reliable point of comparison, it’s hard to say. 

This is where PPC benchmarks come into play. Comparing your client’s performance against others in their industry helps marketing agencies confidently answer questions like this and adjust client strategies accordingly. 

If your agency isn’t monitoring PPC benchmarks, you’re missing out on valuable context that can make or break your client’s campaigns.

In this article:

What Are PPC Benchmarks? 

PPC benchmarks are industry standards that help agencies measure the performance of their pay-per-click campaigns. They provide a reference point for metrics like click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Comparing your client’s campaigns to these benchmarks helps PPC specialists know if an ad is hitting the mark or if adjustments are needed.

However, to truly understand a client’s PPC benchmarks in a particular industry, marketers need to dig deep to understand what’s possible. When you know the average performance metrics in an industry, you’ll set more realistic goals and make data-driven decisions that will maximize a client’s ad budget in the long run.

Why PPC Benchmarks Are Valuable for Agencies? 

PPC benchmarks give agencies a clear way to compare their campaign performance against industry norms.

They provide valuable insights for setting client expectations. When you know the industry averages, marketers can justify their strategy and budget recommendations with data-backed reasoning. This builds trust and credibility, helping clients feel confident in the decided approach.

Let’s say you’re running Facebook ads for a law firm specializing in personal injury cases. 

Their click-through rate (CTR) is 0.8%, and they’re concerned that their ads aren’t getting enough engagement. 

Without industry benchmarks, it’s hard to tell if this is a real issue or just standard performance for legal services. After checking PPC benchmarks, you will find that the average Facebook CTR for law firms is 1.28%. 

Now, you know your client’s ads are underperforming compared to competitors. With this insight, you can refine their ad copy, test new creatives, and adjust audience targeting to improve engagement and bring their CTR closer to the industry standard.

How do you find the precise benchmarks you’re looking to compare? Enter AgencyAnalytics. Users gain access to industry benchmarks based on data from more than 160,000 marketing agency campaigns. The Insights feature allows you to drill down into 12+ industries, from veterinarians to legal to fashion to dental offices and more. 

Leverage precise PPC benchmarks from multiple PPC platforms all in one place. Instead of spending time hunting down industry averages, see how your campaigns stack up right where you manage and report on them.

Find out how your client’s marketing strategy stacks up against their competitors with AgencyAnalytics. Get started with your free 14-day trial today! 

Key PPC Benchmarks to Monitor

So what exactly are the right PPC benchmarks to track? This list of PPC metrics gives marketers a clear picture of how a client’s ads are performing and where improvements can be made. 

Here are the key PPC benchmarks every agency should monitor whether a client is advertising with social media ads or Amazon and Spotify ads: 

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures the percentage of people who click on the ad after seeing it. A strong CTR indicates that the ad copy and targeting are engaging the right audience.

2. Cost Per Click (CPC) is the average amount paid for each click. Monitoring CPC helps agencies manage the budget and assess whether clients are getting good value for their ad spend.

3. Conversion Rate shows the percentage of clicks that lead to a desired action, such as a purchase or a sign-up. A high conversion rate suggests that the landing page and offer resonate with the audience.

4. Cost Per Conversion shows how much the client is spending to acquire a customer or lead. Monitoring this helps marketers understand a campaign’s cost-effectiveness.

5. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on the ads. It’s necessary for evaluating the profitability of a campaign.

6. Impression Share indicates how often the ads are shown compared to the total number of opportunities. A low impression share could mean the budget or bids are too low.

7. Quality Score is Google’s rating of the relevance and quality of the keywords, ads, and landing pages. A high Quality Score can lower CPC and improve ad positioning.

8. Bounce Rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave the landing page without taking any action. A high bounce rate could signal a disconnect between an ad and the landing page experience.

Comparing these metrics against industry competitors helps you understand where your clients stand in the market–while adjusting strategies and staying competitive all at the same time. Perhaps you need to switch platforms. Or maybe it’s as simple as adjusting the target audience. 

This level of insight is highly important for delivering measurable results and proving your agency’s value to clients.

Agency Tip: When the metrics exceed benchmarks, highlight these wins in client reports to demonstrate your agency’s impact.

3 Tips for Tracking PPC Benchmarks

1. Use Reliable Data Sources: Accurate benchmarking starts with trustworthy data. Use industry-standard tools like AgencyAnalytics to gather reliable metrics. This ensures you’re comparing your client campaigns against accurate industry averages.

2. Segment by Industry and Platform: PPC performance varies across industries and ad platforms. Segment your benchmarks accordingly to get a clearer picture of how your client’s campaigns stack up. For example, CTRs and CPCs in the ecommerce industry are different from those in B2B services.

3. Track Trends Over Time: Benchmarks are not static. Regularly tracking trends helps marketers spot seasonal patterns, market shifts, or changes in consumer behavior. By comparing a client’s ad performance over time, you can make strategic adjustments to maintain a competitive edge.

Highlight how your agency is achieving a client’s advertising goals in an easy-to-create report template. Try AgencyAnalytics’ customizable PPC report templates free for 14 days. 

Key Takeaways & Summary

Monitoring PPC benchmarks is no longer a “nice to have.” It separates agencies that make data-driven decisions from those that rely on guesswork and follow the crowd.

Without industry comparisons, it’s impossible to know whether your clients’ campaigns are truly competitive or need improvement. Leveraging benchmark data sets realistic expectations, fine-tunes strategies, and provides clients with clear, data-driven insights. 

AgencyAnalytics pulls real performance data from thousands of other marketing agencies running ads in the same niche as your client, giving you accurate, industry-specific benchmarks to measure success and refine your strategy.

Ultimately, benchmarking PPC performance can be the difference between a client who trusts your expertise and one who questions their results. 

Start using AgencyAnalytics to benchmark your clients’ performance, outperform the competition, and optimize campaigns with confidence.