South African marketing professionals now have access to locally-relevant benchmarks showing exactly what successful Google Ads performance looks like in their specific industry. Many of these benchmarks are from Wordstream or BaseCloud and only gives you benchmarks from the US market. This market is very competitive and costs per click is usually much higher.
This first comprehensive South African industry benchmark study, analysing over 30,000 daily performance records from 1,203 active local businesses, provides marketing teams with the insights needed to set realistic targets and optimise campaigns based on what's actually working in the South African market.
Michelle Geere, CEO at Adbot
"Until now, South African businesses were flying blind, comparing their performance against international benchmarks that don't reflect our market dynamics, consumer behaviour, or competitive landscape," explains Michelle Geere, CEO of Adbot. "This research finally gives marketers the local context they need to make informed decisions."
Understanding what success looks like in your industry
The research reveals distinct performance patterns across 12 sectors.
Financial and Insurance Services demonstrate the highest engagement rates, with average click-through rates of 11.3% – meaning successful campaigns in this sector typically convert more than one in ten impressions into clicks. Health and Social Work follows closely at 10.4%, while Other Services achieves 9.9%.
For Manufacturing businesses, a 9.7% CTR represents strong performance, while Professional Services companies can benchmark against a 9.3% on average. Education sector typically achieves 8.9% engagement rates.
"These aren't aspirational figures – they're what real South African businesses in your industry are actually achieving," notes Geere.
Finding your industry's efficiency sweet spot
The data also reveals where South African businesses are achieving the most efficient audience acquisition in their sectors.
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing businesses demonstrate exceptional efficiency, with an average cost of just R0.90 per click while maintaining a 3.3% engagement rate – ideal for businesses in this sector managing budget-conscious campaigns.
Arts and Entertainment achieves similar efficiency at R0.50 per click with a 7.1% CTR, indicating strong audience interest relative to investment. Information and Communication sector businesses typically invest R5.80 per click while achieving 7.6% engagement.
Professional Services demonstrates balanced performance with R6.30 CPC and 9.3% CTR, while Wholesale and Retail Trade shows strong efficiency at R3.30 per click.
Understanding these sector-specific patterns helps businesses evaluate whether their current performance aligns with industry norms or signals opportunities for optimisation.
Built for South African market realities
The research methodology was specifically designed to reflect South African business conditions. Using Statistics South Africa's Standard Industrial Classification codes, the data team reviewed each business to ensure accurate categorization – crucial in a diverse economy where keywords and business models may differ significantly from international norms.
The analysis deliberately uses median values rather than means, providing more realistic benchmarks by filtering out exceptional outliers that don't represent typical performance.
"We wanted to show what the middle-performing business in each sector achieves – not what the top 5% accomplish or what drag the bottom performers down," explains Geere. "That gives marketing teams realistic targets they can actually work toward."
Practical applications for your campaigns
Marketing professionals are already using the benchmark data to drive strategic decisions:
- Setting evidence-based CTR and CPC targets during campaign planning
- Identifying performance gaps that signal optimisation opportunities
- Building more accurate budget forecasts using industry-specific cost data
- Demonstrating to executives whether current performance is competitive within the sector
- Focusing optimisation efforts on metrics where the biggest gaps exist.
Geere notes growing demand for South African-specific intelligence: "International benchmarks consistently misled our clients because what works in London or New York doesn't translate directly to Johannesburg or Cape Town. Having local data aligns the expectation and spending to what is achievable in Country."
The complete methodology and detailed industry breakdowns are available on request from az.oc.tobda@olleh.
