The Most Expensive PPC Keywords in Paid Advertising in 2023
As an SEO practitioner with two decades of experience, I am biased when I have to talk about paid advertising vs SEO, though there are times and cases when I also recommend PPC strategies.
To wrap this from the beginning – Pay-Per-Click is idea for start-ups that would like to start brand building immediately, before the SEO-strategy is in place and start getting organic traffic.
When it comes to paid advertising, the cost of a keyword can vary greatly. Some keywords are very expensive, while others are much more affordable. The cost of a keyword is determined by a number of factors, including the competition for the keyword, the search volume, and the average CPC.
In 2023, the most expensive keywords are likely to be those related to high-intent activities, such as:
- Legal services: Personal injury lawyer, car accident lawyer, divorce lawyer
- Financial services: Mortgage, loans, insurance
- Medical services: Cancer treatment, heart attack, stroke
- Travel: Vacation rentals, airfare, cruise ships
- Home improvement: Remodeling, roofing, plumbing
Legal Services Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| Personal injury lawyer | $670.44 |
| Car accident lawyer | $583.23 |
| Slip and fall lawyer | $525.92 |
| Medical malpractice lawyer | $498.61 |
| Criminal defense lawyer | $470.29 |
| Immigration lawyer | $451.97 |
| Bankruptcy lawyer | $433.65 |
| Divorce lawyer | $415.33 |
| Real estate lawyer | $397.01 |
| Estate planning lawyer | $378.69 |
Financial Services Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| Mortgage | $47.12 |
| Loans | $44.28 |
| Insurance | $54.91 |
| Credit | $36.06 |
| Investing | $35.29 |
| Trading | $33.19 |
| Retirement | $32.13 |
| Taxes | $31.07 |
| Financial advisor | $30.01 |
| Debt consolidation | $29.95 |
Medical Services Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| Cancer treatment | $54.62 |
| Heart attack | $47.86 |
| Stroke | $46.85 |
| Diabetes | $45.84 |
| Orthopedic surgery | $44.83 |
| Mental health | $43.82 |
| Allergies | $42.81 |
| Pain management | $41.80 |
| Asthma | $40.79 |
| Prescription drugs | $39.78 |
Internet Marketing Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| SEO | $60.23 |
| PPC | $58.12 |
| SMM | $56.01 |
| Content marketing | $53.89 |
| Email marketing | $51.78 |
| Brand awareness | $49.67 |
| Lead generation | $47.56 |
| Conversion rate optimization | $45.45 |
| Social media marketing | $43.34 |
| Pay-per-click advertising | $41.23 |
Travel/Hospitality Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| Hotel deals | $45.92 |
| Vacation rentals | $43.81 |
| Airfare | $41.70 |
| Car rentals | $39.59 |
| Cruise ships | $37.48 |
| Last minute travel | $35.37 |
| All-inclusive resorts | $33.26 |
| Family vacations | $31.15 |
| Romantic getaways | $29.04 |
| Weekend trips | $26.93 |
Home Improvement Keywords
| Keyword | CPC |
|---|---|
| Roofing | $52.12 |
| Remodeling | $49.01 |
| Painting | $45.90 |
| Plumbing | $42.79 |
| Electrical work | $39.68 |
| HVAC | $36.57 |
| Windows | $33.46 |
| Doors | $30.35 |
| Siding | $27.24 |
| Foundation repair | $24.13 |
*Cost-Per-Click highly depends on Geo-location as well as competition bidding on the same keywords.
These keywords are expensive because there is a lot of competition for them. On the contrary, majority of those can be considered as “informational keywords” and also can be classified as “generic” or “broad keywords“, keywords of this kind rarely turns visitors into leads, however due to number of high traffic, in theory conversion will be high. On the other hand, lower traffic, long-tail keywords would produce better ration between cost to lead/sale.
How to Reduce the Cost of PPC Advertising
There are a few things you can do to reduce the cost of PPC advertising:
- Use long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are more specific than short tail keywords, and they tend to be less competitive. For example, instead of bidding on the keyword “lawyer,” you could bid on the keyword “personal injury lawyer.”
- Target your ads carefully. When you create your ad campaigns, be sure to target your ads to the right audience. This will help you avoid wasting money on clicks from people who are not interested in what you have to offer.
- Use negative keywords. Negative keywords are words or phrases that you don’t want your ads to show up for. For example, if you’re a lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, you might want to add the negative keyword “divorce” to your campaign. This will prevent your ads from showing up when someone searches for “divorce lawyer.”
- Use ad extensions. Ad extensions are additional pieces of information that you can add to your ads. They can help you make your ads more visible and informative, which can lead to lower CPCs.
When to Use PPC and When to Use SEO
PPC vs SEO, this is not the case of this article, it is more like, how one can support the other. To produce more online sales, doesn’t boil down to one strategy and to the most expensive and highest traffic keywords. There are factors that need to be considered before this – website optimization, speed optimization, landing page optimization, contact form optimization and check out process. This all falls into the realm of web development as well as conversion rate optimization. The below text is ideal case scenario, when everything mentioned in the previous sentence is done.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is suitable for situations where you want immediate traffic and conversions. It allows you to show your ads on search engines like Google or social media platforms like Facebook, and only pay when someone clicks on them. This means that you can see results quickly and easily track your ROI.
On the other hand, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a long-term strategy that focuses on optimizing your website content and structure to rank higher in organic search engine results pages. This approach is best suited for businesses with a strong brand identity and high-quality content that they want to promote over time.
In summary, PPC is great for short-term traffic and conversions while SEO is better for building long-term brand awareness and generating organic traffic.
The best way to decide which strategy is right for you is to consider your budget and your goals. If you need to get results quickly and you’re willing to pay for them, then PPC is a good choice. If you’re looking for a long-term solution and you’re willing to put in the time, then SEO is a good choice.
Ideal scenario is to use both, start with low budget PPC campaign, but in the meantime set short term SEO goals together with long-term SEO strategy.
I hope this article was informative and entertaining. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.