In the competitive landscape of paid search, every edge counts. Understanding the funnel conversion rates for your specific industry and benchmarking against competitors is an overlooked, yet critical edge.
Why Benchmarking Matters
Benchmarking your clickthrough rates and conversion rates against industry standards can unveil your campaign’s strengths and weaknesses. These metrics will shine a light on where you can improve if you’re falling behind, or signal that your strategies are working and you can scale.
Benchmarking to Outperform Competitors
Find your industry benchmark data for different channels. For this example, we’ll focus on Paid Search using Google Ads. You can find industry benchmark data in Google Ads or by using reports from WordStream or SEMrush. However, for the most accurate data, I strongly suggest reaching out to a Google rep, who will give you the most accurate Click Through Rates (CTR) & Conversion Rates (CVR) for your specific industry & niche.
When conducting an audit for a client, I typically get asked as to how much potential revenue are they may be leaving on the table when benchmarking against the industry average for their industry.
Here is an example from a Software company that was below industry average for both CTR and CVR, and using data from the last 90 days we can estimate the potential lift per quarter:
| Last 90 Days | Current CTR | Average Industry CTR | Lift in Clicks | Current CVR | Average Industry CVR | Potential Lift in Units | Lift in Revenue ($40 ASP) |
| 4.50% | 6% | 90,000 | 6.50% | 7.90% | 7110 | $284,400 |
- If CTR is below average, improve Ad Copy with better messaging and a more compelling call to action.
- If CVR is below average, improve the Landing Page experience and experiment with the offer and pricing to improve conversion rates.
Stay Agile, Stay Ahead
While your campaigns may be profitable and driving acceptable performance, without fully understanding the funnel conversion rates for your industry at each level, by channel, you may be leaving a lot of revenue on the table. Paid search is costly; therefore, maximizing your ROI is crucial. I suggest reviewing industry average clickthrough and conversion rates on a quarterly basis and benchmarking your campaigns to ensure your performance is not just on par, but ahead of the competition.