PPC Statistics 2026: Results From 800+ Agency Case Studies

Most PPC statistics pages quote platform averages: the typical click-through rate on Google Ads, the average cost per click by industry. Those tell you what an account looks like. They don't tell you what changes when an agency takes it over.

This page does. Every number below is counted from 818 PPC case studies published by 48 marketing agencies, all indexed in OpenServed's directory. Each case study names a client and states the results the agency reported: cost per acquisition, conversions, revenue, ROAS and more.

Data as of October 2026. These are results agencies chose to publish, so they show what a successful PPC campaign looks like, not what an average one does. The directory keeps growing, so if you cite a number, please cite the date.

PPC statistics at a glance

• 818 PPC case studies from 48 agencies, covering 123 industries and clients in 28 countries and territories.
• 39% is the median reported cut in cost per acquisition or lead. Half of the 197 case studies that state one fall between 24% and 59%.
• 89% is the median reported increase in conversions or leads, across 306 case studies. 47% of them report at least a doubling.
• 105% is the median reported increase in revenue, across 203 case studies.
• 63% is the median reported increase in conversion rate (157 case studies) and 88% in click-through rate (68 case studies).
• 82% is the median reported increase in ROAS, across 61 case studies. Where agencies state the ROAS itself, the median is 7.6x.
• Industrial and manufacturing clients report the highest median gain in conversions or leads, at 143%. Software and technology clients report the lowest, at 75%.
• Small businesses report a median gain in conversions or leads of 103%. Enterprises report 65%.
• Only 25% of PPC case studies are about PPC alone. The rest bundle it with SEO, social media ads or web design.
• Only 3.3% are Client-verified, and fewer than 2% say how long the work took.

What PPC case studies report

Conversions and acquisition cost are the results agencies report most. 46% of PPC case studies include a conversion or lead stat, 31% a cost per acquisition or cost per lead stat, and 30% a revenue or sales stat. Conversion rate appears in 23%, website traffic in 20%, ROAS in 11%, click-through rate in 10% and cost per click in 7%.

45% of PPC case studies report an efficiency metric. That means cost per acquisition, cost per lead, cost per click, ROAS or ROI. The other 55% report only volume, such as more conversions or more revenue, without saying what it cost.

81% of result stats are percentages. The 818 case studies carry 2,616 result stats, an average of 3.2 each. The medians below use only stats that state a percentage change.

Cost per acquisition statistics

The median PPC case study reports a 39% cut in cost per acquisition or lead. 197 case studies state a percentage reduction. A quarter report 24% or less, and a quarter report 59% or more.

Six in ten report a cut between 20% and 59%. The full spread:

• Under 20%: 17% of case studies
• 20% to 39%: 34%
• 40% to 59%: 27%
• 60% to 79%: 16%
• 80% or more: 7%

Cost per acquisition falls slightly more than cost per lead. The median cut is 40% for cost per acquisition (164 case studies, middle half 24% to 59%) and 34% for cost per lead (37 case studies, middle half 26% to 57%).

The median reported cut in cost per click is 36%. 45 case studies state one, with the middle half between 16% and 48%.

PPC conversion and lead statistics

The median reported increase in conversions or leads is 89%. 306 case studies state a percentage gain, with the middle half between 44% and 233%. Taken separately, the median is 88% for conversions (184 case studies) and 90% for leads (131 case studies).

47% report that conversions or leads at least doubled. The full spread:

• Under 25%: 11% of case studies
• 25% to 49%: 17%
• 50% to 99%: 25%
• 100% to 199%: 18%
• 200% to 499%: 19%
• 500% or more: 11%

The median reported increase in conversion rate is 63%. 157 case studies state one, with the middle half between 30% and 165%.

The median reported increase in click-through rate is 88%. 68 case studies state one, with the middle half between 37% and 158%.

PPC revenue and ROAS statistics

The median reported increase in revenue is 105%. 203 case studies state a percentage gain in revenue, sales, transactions or orders. The middle half runs from 46% to 250%.

The median reported increase in ROAS is 82%. 61 case studies state a percentage gain in return on ad spend, with the middle half between 30% and 165%.

Where agencies state the ROAS itself, the median is 7.6x. 32 case studies give a ROAS figure instead of a change. The middle half runs from 4.4x to 12.3x, and 78% are 4x or higher. Agencies quote a ROAS figure when it looks good, so treat 7.6x as a published best case, not a typical account.

ROAS appears in only 11% of PPC case studies. Cost per acquisition or lead appears nearly three times as often, in 31%.

PPC statistics by industry

To get enough data points per industry, we rolled 123 industry labels into 13 groups (see methodology). The figures below cover the seven groups with at least 20 case studies that state a gain in conversions or leads.

Industrial and manufacturing clients report the highest median gain in conversions or leads, at 143%. Software and technology clients report the lowest, at 75%. Median gain by industry group, with the middle half in brackets:

• Industrial & Manufacturing: 143% (71% to 278%), 26 case studies
• Home, Property & Local Services: 100% (43% to 292%), 30 case studies
• Healthcare & Wellness: 93% (40% to 259%), 69 case studies
• Education & Nonprofit: 87% (47% to 193%), 20 case studies
• Financial Services: 84% (44% to 300%), 21 case studies
• Retail & Ecommerce: 78% (52% to 197%), 26 case studies
• Software & Technology: 75% (40% to 227%), 59 case studies

The other six groups each have fewer than 20 data points, so we left them out.

Software and technology clients report the biggest cut in acquisition cost. The median cut in cost per acquisition or lead is 48% for Software & Technology (47 case studies, middle half 30% to 66%) and 41% for Healthcare & Wellness (43 case studies, middle half 26% to 58%). No other group has 20 data points.

SaaS PPC case studies report a 41% cut in acquisition cost and a 75% gain in conversions or leads. SaaS is the most common single industry in the dataset, with 75 PPC case studies. 36 state a cost cut (middle half 25% to 60%) and 41 state a conversion or lead gain (middle half 39% to 224%).

Ecommerce PPC revenue gains have medians of 89% to 106%. The median reported increase in revenue is 89% for Retail & Ecommerce (70 case studies, middle half 44% to 243%) and 106% for Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry (51 case studies, middle half 49% to 211%). Fashion on its own has a median of 113% across 24 case studies.

Conversion rate gains are close in the two groups with enough data. The median is 70% for Healthcare & Wellness (39 case studies) and 58% for Software & Technology (32 case studies).

Ecommerce reports revenue; lead generation reports cost. A revenue stat appears in 59% of Retail & Ecommerce case studies and 56% of Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry ones. A cost per acquisition or lead stat appears in 50% of Software & Technology and Financial Services case studies and 47% of Healthcare & Wellness ones, but only 8% of Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry ones.

ROAS is an ecommerce metric. A ROAS stat appears in 23% of Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry case studies and 19% of Retail & Ecommerce ones, against 4% of Software & Technology ones. No single industry has enough ROAS data points for its own benchmark.

PPC statistics by client size

Client size is the client's employee count. It is recorded for 659 of the 818 PPC case studies (81%).

46% of PPC case studies are for small businesses. Of the 659 with a known size, 303 involve small businesses (1 to 50 employees), 136 medium businesses (51 to 200), 122 large businesses (201 to 1,000) and 98 enterprises (more than 1,000).

Reported gains in conversions and leads shrink as clients get bigger. Median gain by client size, with the middle half in brackets:

• Small (1 to 50 employees): 103% (54% to 274%), 91 case studies
• Medium (51 to 200): 108% (41% to 238%), 60 case studies
• Large (201 to 1,000): 80% (41% to 159%), 52 case studies
• Enterprise (1,000+): 65% (39% to 204%), 47 case studies

The cut in acquisition cost is about the same at every size. The median reported cut in cost per acquisition or lead is 40% for small businesses (56 case studies), 37% for medium (37), 34% for large (39) and 38% for enterprise (29). Smaller accounts grow volume faster, but agencies report similar efficiency gains whatever the size.

Enterprise clients report the largest conversion rate gains. The median is 55% for small businesses (43 case studies), 48% for medium (32), 70% for large (26) and 97% for enterprise (28).

Revenue gains sit near 100% up to 1,000 employees. The median reported increase in revenue is 95% for small businesses (86 case studies), 102% for medium (27) and 103% for large (24). Enterprise has too few data points to report.

Larger clients' case studies talk about cost; smaller ones talk about revenue. A cost per acquisition or lead stat appears in 22% of small-business case studies and about 40% at every larger size. A revenue stat appears in 35% of small-business case studies, 27% of medium, 23% of large and 17% of enterprise ones.

Larger clients are more likely to buy PPC on its own. PPC is the only service in 22% of small-business case studies and 24% of medium ones, against 33% for large and 30% for enterprise.

PPC statistics by country

Country is the client's location, not the agency's. It is recorded for 751 of the 818 PPC case studies (92%).

91% of PPC case studies are for US clients. 682 of the 751 located case studies are in the United States. The other 69 are spread across 27 countries and territories, led by Canada (17), the United Kingdom (11) and Australia (7).

US clients report larger gains in conversions and leads than international ones. The median is 92% for US clients (258 case studies, middle half 45% to 229%) and 63% for all international clients combined (28 case studies, middle half 37% to 104%). The international group is small, so treat the gap as a first reading.

US clients report a median 38% cut in acquisition cost. 166 US case studies state one, with the middle half between 24% and 59%. Only 19 international case studies do, which is too few to report.

No single country outside the US has enough data for its own benchmark. Canada has 8 case studies that state a conversion or lead gain, the United Kingdom 3 and Australia 3. We'll add country figures once each passes 20 data points.

Within the US, reported gains vary by state. The median gain in conversions or leads is 156% for Texas (29 case studies, middle half 62% to 452%), 103% for California (56 case studies, middle half 52% to 274%) and 67% for New York (21 case studies, middle half 46% to 155%).

California accounts for 24% of US PPC case studies. 167 of the 682 US case studies are for California clients, followed by Texas (59), Florida (52) and New York (48).

How long PPC takes: what the data can't tell you

Fewer than 2% of PPC case studies say how long the work took. Only 14 of the 818 state an engagement length. That is too few to say how fast PPC results arrive, so we don't try.

Only 17% mention any time period at all. 143 case studies include a time reference somewhere in their result stats, such as "year over year" or "in 90 days". The other 83% give a percentage with no window.

If you're comparing agencies, ask for the timeframe behind every number. A 40% cut in cost per acquisition in one quarter is a different result from the same cut over three years.

How PPC is sold: bundles and agencies

75% of PPC case studies bundle PPC with another service. Only 206 of the 818 list PPC alone. The average PPC case study lists 2.3 services.

SEO is the most common partner. SEO appears alongside PPC in 41% of PPC case studies, Social Media Ads in 25%, Web Design in 14% and CRO in 9%.

PPC-only case studies report smaller volume gains and the same cost cuts. Where PPC is the only service, the median gain in conversions or leads is 74% (106 case studies), against 101% where it is bundled (200 case studies). The median cut in acquisition cost is 37% for PPC alone and 40% for bundles.

Three agencies publish 44% of the PPC case studies. Coalition Technologies has 171, KlientBoost 139 and Cardinal Digital Marketing 49. The typical agency has 7, and 20 of the 48 have five or fewer.

The headline numbers hold without the largest publishers. KlientBoost supplies 94 of the 197 cost data points; without it, the median cut in acquisition cost is 40%, against 39% with it. Coalition Technologies supplies 60 of the 203 revenue data points; without it, the median revenue gain is 90%, against 105% with it.

How much of this data is verified?

Only 3.3% of PPC case studies are Client-verified. 27 of the 818 carry OpenServed's Client-verified badge, meaning the named client confirmed the results. The other 96.7% are agency-reported.

There isn't enough verified data yet to compare the two. Only 6 verified case studies state a gain in conversions or leads, and only 3 state a cut in acquisition cost. We'll report the comparison once the verified group is large enough.

Keep this in mind with every number on this page. A published case study is an agency's best work, described in the agency's words. Without a client confirming it, it's a claim, not a benchmark.

What this means if you're hiring a PPC agency

• Treat a 40% cut in cost per acquisition as the typical published win, not a promise. The median case study reports 39%, and case studies are the campaigns that went well.
• Ask for an efficiency number, not only volume. Only 45% of PPC case studies report cost per acquisition, cost per lead, cost per click, ROAS or ROI. More conversions means little if you don't know what they cost.
• Ask what the starting point was. A 60% cut is easier on a neglected account than on one that was already well run.
• Ask which channel the result belongs to. 75% of PPC case studies bundle other services, and most conversion and revenue stats don't say which channel produced them.
• Ask how ROAS was counted. Only 11% of case studies report it, and the figures quoted are high. Ask whether branded search is included and which attribution window was used.
• Ask for the timeframe. Fewer than 2% of case studies state one.
• Ask whether the client confirmed it. Only 3.3% of PPC case studies are Client-verified.

You can browse every case study behind these numbers in OpenServed's PPC agency directory, and filter by industry, client size and location.

Methodology

• Source: all 818 case studies in OpenServed's directory that list PPC as a service, as of October 4, 2026, from 48 agencies. Each links to the agency's own published case study. Case studies that list only Social Media Ads, Programmatic Advertising or Amazon Marketing are not included.
• Result stats: each case study carries the result stats the agency published, as free text. We assigned each stat to a metric by keyword matching: cost per acquisition, cost per lead, cost per click, ROAS, conversion rate, click-through rate, revenue, leads and conversions.
• Percentages only: medians use stats that state a percentage change. Plain counts, dollar figures and before-and-after pairs are left out. The one exception is the ROAS figure, read from stats such as "6x ROAS" or "ROAS 450%".
• Direction: cost metrics count reductions; every other metric counts increases. Five claimed cost reductions above 100% were excluded as impossible. Comparisons with a goal, target or industry average are left out.
• Other channels excluded: stats that name another channel, such as organic search, SEO, email, Amazon or a social platform, are not counted as PPC results. That removes 17.5% of all stats.
• Conversions or leads: for the industry, size and country figures we combine the two, using whichever a case study lists first.
• One data point per case study: if a case study has several stats for the same metric, we use the first one listed.
• Median and middle half: we report the median, not the average, because a handful of gains above 1,000% would distort an average. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
• Minimum sample: we report a segment only when it has at least 20 data points for that metric.
• Bundled services: 75% of these case studies list other services alongside PPC. Cost per acquisition, cost per click, click-through rate and ROAS are specific to paid media. Conversion, lead and revenue stats may reflect other channels; only 32 of the 306 conversion and lead stats name paid search.
• Industry groups: we merged 123 industry labels into 13 groups for the roll-up figures. Client size uses employee count: small is 1 to 50, medium 51 to 200, large 201 to 1,000 and enterprise more than 1,000.
• Selection bias: agencies publish their wins, and the directory is not a random sample of the industry. Two agencies, Coalition Technologies and KlientBoost, account for 38% of the PPC case studies.
• Agency-reported: except for the 27 Client-verified case studies, results are as published by each agency and haven't been independently confirmed.

Cite this data: OpenServed, "PPC Statistics 2026: Results From 800+ Agency Case Studies", October 2026, https://openserved.com/blog/ppc-statistics