---
title: Google Search benchmarks | RGM®
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/tools/benchmarks/platforms/google-search/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/tools/benchmarks/platforms/google-search/
---

[Home](/) · [Tools](/tools/) · [Benchmarks](/tools/benchmarks/) · Google Search

### TL;DR

Highest-intent demand-capture channel. CPCs are increasingly volatile post-AI-Overview rollout. Performance Max is now Google's default; manual campaigns are residual.

## Current benchmarks · 2026

Foundational watching

**Hal Varian, Google's Chief Economist, explains the AdWords auction (2010).** The mechanics he describes — Generalized Second-Price auction, Quality Score components, Ad Rank — still underpin every paid search and paid social platform in 2026. 14 minutes. Required viewing for anyone bidding on any auction-based ad platform.

[Read our deep dive on the video and its lessons →](/learn/essential-watching/hal-varian-google-ads-auction/)

CPM, CTR, CVR, ROAS, and adjacent platform-specific metrics. All ranges blend platform-published data, third-party agency reports, and RGM operator-side aggregation. Use as sanity-check, not absolutes.

Brand CPC

$0.40–2.20

Non-brand CPC (DTC)

$1.80–6.40

Non-brand CPC (B2B)

$8–45

High-intent CPC (legal/fin)

$25–180

Avg CTR (brand)

8–22%

Avg CTR (non-brand)

3.5–7%

Avg CVR (search BoF)

5–12%

Avg CPA (DTC blended)

$45–125

Avg CPA (B2B MQL)

$120–650

Brand search share-of-clicks

~62% (post-AIO)

AI Overview SERP coverage

~31% (US, 2026)

Click-loss to AI Overview

~18–28%

## Historical trend · 2020–2026

How Google Search has evolved year-by-year. Includes platform-level changes, attribution events, creative innovations, and macroeconomic context.

2020

Smart Bidding strategies (tCPA, tROAS) become dominant. Avg CPC up 7% YoY despite COVID.

2021

Responsive Search Ads (RSA) becomes default. ETAs deprecated. Avg non-brand CPC rises 12%.

2022

Performance Max GA launch. RSA fully replaces ETA. SMB brand-bidding wars intensify.

2023

AI Overviews (then 'SGE') begin rolling out. Top-of-page CTR drops 7–14% in tested verticals.

2024

PMax adoption hits 65%+ of Google ad accounts. Brand-only PMax becomes a measurement workaround.

2025

AI Overview at 25% of SERPs. Long-tail informational queries lose 30–50% of clicks. Bottom-of-funnel queries largely intact.

2026

AI Overview at 31%+. Click-volume down ~22% on informational, ~5% on transactional. CPCs rise 18% as fewer-but-higher-intent clicks compete.

## How to operate on Google Search

### Operator playbook

1. Separate brand and non-brand into different campaigns; never let PMax cannibalize brand.
2. Use PMax for shopping/Discovery, manual Search for high-intent commercial queries.
3. Bid on AI Overview-adjacent queries with structured snippets and explicit answers.
4. Audit search-term reports weekly; PMax masks query-level data — request Insights tab exports.
5. For DTC, run tCPA at portfolio level (not per campaign) — algorithm needs volume.
6. Brand-bidding from competitors? Trademark exclusion via support ticket — Google enforces.
7. Use offline conversion imports (OCI) for any sales-cycle longer than 24 hours.
8. AIO-resistant queries: comparison ('X vs Y'), long-tail commercial, location-based, branded.

## Related platforms

[**Meta (Facebook & Instagram)**~22% of US digital ad spend (2026)](/tools/benchmarks/platforms/meta/)[**TikTok**~7% of US digital ad spend (2026)](/tools/benchmarks/platforms/tiktok/)[**LinkedIn Ads**~3% of US digital ad spend (2026)](/tools/benchmarks/platforms/linkedin/)[**YouTube**~9% of US digital ad spend (2026)](/tools/benchmarks/platforms/youtube/)[**Amazon Sponsored Ads**~13% of US digital ad spend (2026)](/tools/benchmarks/platforms/amazon-ads/)

**Want to compare platforms side-by-side?** The [2026 Benchmarks Report](/tools/benchmarks/report-2026/) shows every platform on one table with the same metric definitions.