Google search advertising spend in the U.S. rose by 17% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. Click growth continued to slow, hitting 4% YoY (compared to 8% in Q4 2023).
Cost-per-click continues to increase – up 13% YoY (compared to a 9% year-on-year increase in Q4 2023).
CPC increase. This was most affected overall by an increase in Shopping ads CPC (both standard and PMax).
Google Search. CPCs are up 40-50% for retailers in the past five years.
PMax. Performance Max campaigns improve from quarter to quarter.
PMax continues to play a prominent role in advertising on Google:
Why we care: CPCs are increasing while clicks are decreasing. This is bad news all around for advertisers. Especially since Google reportedly had been increasing ad prices to meet targets.
Report methodology. The Tinuiti Digital Ads Benchmark Report utilizes anonymized performance data from advertising programs managed by Tinuiti. The data is based on active programs with consistent strategies. All figures represent same-client growth and are not meant to officially reflect any specific advertising platform’s performance or the experiences of every advertiser.
The report. Q1 2024 Digital Ads Benchmark Report (registration required)
About Tinuiti. Tinuiti is a large independent performance marketing firm with over 1,000 employees that manages $4 billion in digital media.