CTR Benchmarks by Industry & Channel
Average click-through rates by industry and marketing channel, pulled verbatim from public benchmark reports. CTR is meaningless without a channel — the same industry can run 6%+ on Search but under 1% on Facebook — so the data is split by channel below.
Reality check: No source publishes “1,000 industries with standard CTR.” This page shows only the industries each report actually publishes. Figures are medians/averages for reference, mostly US (paid ads) and global (email). Vietnam/SEA numbers may differ. CTR across channels is not directly comparable: Search and Facebook CTR are per impression; Email CTR (click rate) is per email sent.
Coverage at a glance: 4 channels · Search 23 industries · Facebook 21 industries · SEO 28 industries (organic) · Email 46 industries · 2025–2026 data.
1. Search Ads (Google + Microsoft)
All-industry averages: CTR 6.64% · CPC $5.42 · CPL $66.69 · CVR 8.18%
| Industry | CTR % | CPC $ | CPL $ | CVR % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts & Entertainment | 12.75 | 1.63 | 26.84 | 5.91 |
| Finance & Insurance | 9.83 | 3.39 | 74.44 | 2.64 |
| Travel | 9.32 | 2.14 | 44.70 | 5.83 |
| Sports & Recreation | 8.75 | 2.77 | 44.26 | 7.69 |
| Automotive — For Sale | 8.28 | 2.27 | 44.26 | 6.01 |
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | 8.28 | 4.14 | 49.40 | 4.01 |
| Real Estate | 7.61 | 3.22 | 102.51 | 3.70 |
| Education & Instruction | 7.56 | 4.81 | 77.48 | 13.14 |
| Animals & Pets | 7.49 | 4.06 | 31.50 | 16.22 |
| Personal Services | 7.16 | 7.17 | 54.60 | 12.34 |
| Restaurants & Food | 6.83 | 2.05 | 30.57 | 8.05 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 6.75 | 4.62 | 39.25 | 10.35 |
| Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry | 6.64 | 4.44 | 97.51 | 4.50 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | 6.61 | 4.76 | 40.04 | 12.43 |
| Furniture | 6.57 | 3.97 | 106.70 | 2.99 |
| Industrial & Commercial | 6.57 | 5.87 | 75.19 | 8.20 |
| Home & Home Improvement | 6.47 | 8.33 | 90.92 | 8.05 |
| Business Services | 6.10 | 5.87 | 93.69 | 4.85 |
| Career & Employment | 5.88 | 5.81 | 67.36 | 3.05 |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | 5.87 | 9.87 | 131.63 | 5.55 |
| Health & Fitness | 5.81 | 6.17 | 67.36 | 6.94 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | 5.66 | 8.00 | 72.97 | 10.67 |
| Automotive — Repair, Service & Parts | 5.56 | 4.35 | 29.96 | 15.51 |
Source: WordStream by LocaliQ — 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks (16,000+ campaigns, Apr 2024–Mar 2025). localiq.com
2. Facebook Ads (Traffic objective)
All-industry averages: CTR 1.71% · CPC $0.70
| Industry | CTR % | CPC $ |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | 4.13 | 0.34 |
| Travel | 2.76 | 0.51 |
| Sports & Recreation | 2.60 | 0.41 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2.10 | 0.49 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 1.81 | 0.74 |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | 1.76 | 0.86 |
| Personal Services | 1.70 | 1.00 |
| Real Estate | 1.68 | 0.91 |
| Restaurants & Food | 1.67 | 0.72 |
| Animals & Pets | 1.64 | 0.78 |
| Health & Fitness | 1.63 | 0.80 |
| Automotive — For Sale | 1.48 | 0.79 |
| Education & Instruction | 1.45 | 0.86 |
| Furniture | 1.39 | 0.85 |
| Business Services | 1.38 | 0.75 |
| Industrial & Commercial | 1.36 | 0.86 |
| Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry | 1.29 | 0.86 |
| Home & Home Improvement | 1.28 | 0.99 |
| Finance & Insurance | 0.98 | 1.22 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | 0.83 | 0.82 |
| Automotive — Repair, Service & Parts | 0.80 | 0.81 |
Source: WordStream by LocaliQ — 2026 Facebook Ads Benchmarks, traffic objective (20+ industries). localiq.com
3. SEO / Organic Search
Organic CTR is driven primarily by SERP position, not industry. The position curve is the canonical SEO benchmark:
| SERP element / position | CTR % |
|---|---|
| Featured snippet (position 0) | 42.9 |
| AI Overview (cited link, 1st) | 38.9 |
| Organic Position 1 | 39.8 |
| Organic Position 2 | 18.7 |
| Organic Position 3 | 10.2 |
| Organic Position 4 | 7.2 |
| Organic Position 5 | 5.1 |
| Organic Position 6 | 4.4 |
| Organic Position 7 | 3.0 |
| Organic Position 8 | 2.1 |
| Organic Position 9 | 1.9 |
| Organic Position 10 | 1.6 |
The top 3 organic results capture about 68.7% of all clicks; position 1 alone gets roughly 19× the top paid result.
Source: FirstPageSage — Google Click-Through Rates by Ranking Position 2026. firstpagesage.com
Organic CTR by industry (top-3 positions)
Overall average: Position 1 39.6% · Position 2 18.4% · Position 3 10.1%
| Industry | Pos 1 % | Pos 2 % | Pos 3 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCB Design & Manufacturing | 43.4 | 19.0 | 10.3 |
| Industrial IoT | 43.0 | 19.2 | 10.8 |
| Aerospace & Defense | 42.7 | 19.6 | 11.2 |
| Biotech | 42.2 | 18.0 | 11.7 |
| Engineering | 41.9 | 16.2 | 14.1 |
| Medical Device | 41.2 | 19.1 | 11.1 |
| IT & Managed Services | 41.1 | 20.2 | 10.6 |
| Commercial Insurance | 41.0 | 17.4 | 9.5 |
| Manufacturing | 40.4 | 18.4 | 9.2 |
| Automotive | 40.3 | 18.6 | 9.9 |
| Oil & Gas | 40.1 | 18.6 | 9.4 |
| Software Development | 39.9 | 18.9 | 10.0 |
| B2B SaaS | 39.8 | 19.0 | 11.3 |
| Transportation & Logistics | 39.8 | 18.0 | 10.7 |
| Aviation | 39.5 | 17.4 | 12.5 |
| Financial Services | 39.4 | 16.4 | 9.1 |
| Construction | 39.1 | 18.9 | 10.1 |
| Environmental Services | 38.9 | 17.5 | 9.2 |
| Cybersecurity | 38.7 | 16.9 | 9.9 |
| Real Estate | 38.3 | 18.5 | 9.7 |
| Pharmaceutical | 38.1 | 18.1 | 9.9 |
| Entertainment | 37.7 | 19.7 | 12.7 |
| Solar Energy | 37.6 | 16.9 | 9.0 |
| Higher Education & College | 37.5 | 18.8 | 10.0 |
| Legal Services | 36.8 | 19.3 | 10.4 |
| Addiction Treatment | 36.4 | 17.5 | 9.5 |
| HVAC Services | 36.2 | 19.2 | 9.6 |
| eCommerce | 35.4 | 15.2 | 8.8 |
Source: FirstPageSage — Clickthrough Rates by Industry 2025 (PPC & SEO client data 2019–2023, 73% B2B / 27% B2C). firstpagesage.com
4. Email Marketing
All-industry averages: CTR (click rate) 2.09% · Open rate 43.46% · CTOR 6.81% · Unsub 0.22%
| Industry | CTR % (click) | Open % | CTOR % | Unsub % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | 4.90 | 42.58 | 14.72 | 0.09 |
| Manufacturing | 4.22 | 37.36 | 14.82 | 0.30 |
| Media | 4.10 | 42.97 | 12.92 | 0.10 |
| Construction | 3.53 | 39.95 | 12.38 | 0.27 |
| Hobbies | 3.30 | 53.25 | 8.45 | 0.23 |
| Government | 3.05 | 48.52 | 8.44 | 0.22 |
| Blogger | 3.00 | 43.03 | 8.56 | 0.16 |
| Religion | 2.95 | 55.71 | 7.58 | 0.13 |
| Non-profit | 2.90 | 52.38 | 8.24 | 0.19 |
| Publishing company | 2.82 | 34.24 | 9.12 | 0.20 |
| Author | 2.75 | 43.14 | 7.81 | 0.31 |
| Art gallery and museum | 2.66 | 50.43 | 6.28 | 0.33 |
| Artist | 2.52 | 49.23 | 7.45 | 0.27 |
| Consulting | 2.41 | 45.96 | 7.67 | 0.23 |
| Business and finance | 2.37 | 43.34 | 7.96 | 0.16 |
| Medical, dental, and healthcare | 2.25 | 43.75 | 7.31 | 0.20 |
| Higher education | 2.15 | 43.98 | 9.15 | 0.10 |
| Other | 2.15 | 44.90 | 6.86 | 0.22 |
| Games | 2.11 | 41.35 | 9.71 | 0.25 |
| Public relations | 2.02 | 47.18 | 6.18 | 0.14 |
| Educational institution | 1.93 | — | 7.03 | 0.17 |
| Creative services/agency | 1.87 | 47.69 | 5.53 | 0.29 |
| Agency | 1.85 | 40.52 | 6.74 | 0.21 |
| Agriculture and food services | 1.83 | 45.51 | 6.21 | 0.23 |
| Home and garden | 1.75 | 39.18 | 7.05 | 0.23 |
| Real estate | 1.72 | 40.37 | 6.72 | 0.16 |
| Music and musicians | 1.70 | 45.93 | 5.42 | 0.23 |
| Architecture and construction | 1.68 | 40.55 | 6.10 | 0.23 |
| Recruitment and staffing | 1.68 | 45.26 | 5.29 | 0.24 |
| Travel and transportation | 1.68 | 30.10 | 6.34 | 0.13 |
| Photo and video | 1.59 | 49.98 | 4.84 | 0.40 |
| Telecommunications | 1.49 | 37.21 | 4.54 | 0.34 |
| Health and fitness | 1.45 | 47.81 | 4.45 | 0.30 |
| Coaching | 1.42 | 48.07 | 4.90 | 0.30 |
| Online courses | 1.39 | 43.10 | 5.23 | 0.23 |
| Computers and electronics | 1.37 | 35.29 | 4.83 | 0.17 |
| Insurance | 1.36 | 44.40 | 3.19 | 0.27 |
| Marketing and advertising | 1.30 | 37.23 | 6.09 | 0.15 |
| Entertainment and events | 1.28 | 46.00 | 3.70 | 0.24 |
| Retail | 1.27 | 37.47 | 4.51 | 0.22 |
| Sports | 1.27 | 47.69 | 3.35 | 0.16 |
| Software and web app | 1.15 | 39.31 | 5.40 | 0.20 |
| e-commerce | 1.07 | 32.67 | 4.01 | 0.18 |
| Restaurants and cafes | 1.06 | 44.32 | 3.28 | 0.39 |
| Beauty and personal care | 0.95 | 38.40 | 3.91 | 0.23 |
| Politics | 0.83 | 47.19 | 2.96 | 0.14 |
Source: MailerLite — Email Marketing Benchmarks 2026 (3.6M campaigns, Dec 2024–Nov 2025). mailerlite.com
Notes & sources
- Metric definitions — CTR: clicks per impression (Search/Facebook) or per email sent (Email). CPC: cost per click. CPL: cost per lead. CVR: conversion rate. Open rate, CTOR (click-to-open), Unsub: email only.
- Coverage — 4 channels: Search 23 industries · Facebook 21 · SEO 28 (organic, by industry) · Email 46.
- AI Overviews caveat — AI Overviews appear on ~31% of result pages and reduce organic clicks for sites not cited in them; cited brands see higher CTR. Treat SEO figures as a clean-SERP baseline.
- Not included — Display / Google Display Network ads (typical CTR ~0.5%) and LinkedIn lack a reliable, current per-industry breakdown, so they are left out rather than guessed.
- Email open-rate caveat — Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates recorded opens; click rate is the more reliable email engagement signal.
Primary sources