Facebook Ad Benchmarks: Insightful Data for YOUR Industry
Facebook remains one of the booming ad networks in the world. The number of individuals using Facebook to advertise has increased significantly in the last one and a half years so ad benchmarks are ever more important.
If you belong to the group of two million advertisers who have been using Facebook to advertise their offers in the last two years, you will notice that the process could be complicated.
Facebook has several ad targeting options, and the performance is different for every advertiser. Similar to Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords, performance can be different across various industries on Facebook, but what numbers should you be looking to beat in your niche?
We examined our data to investigate. Take a look at the Facebook ad performance benchmarks our clients are seeing, and these include:
- Average CTR on Facebook by industry
- Average CPC on Facebook by industry
- Average CVR on Facebook by industry
- Average CPA on Facebook by industry
Averages across these Facebook metrics for eighteen industries are found, and these industries are Apparel, Auto, B2B, Beauty, Consumer Services, Education, Employment & Job Training, Finance & Insurance, Fitness, Healthcare, Home Improvement, Legal Niche, Industrial Services, Retail, Real Estate, Tech, Hospitality, and Travel. Let us discuss the details.
Average Click-Through Rate on Facebook
What can we classify as a good click-through rate on Facebook ads?
Advertisers from the legal niche may stumble upon low click-through rates on the SERPs, but they are fortunate to have the highest CTRs on Facebook which is 1.61%. Converting a user searching for a lawyer can be hard when your ad is listed among seven others in the SERPs. However, the chances increase exponentially on social media where the offer is listed alone.
Other advertisers with higher CTRs are in the retail industry with (1.59%), Apparel (1.24%), Beauty (1.16%), and fitness industry with (1.01%). Unsurprisingly, these industries are known to use premium images and beautiful models in their ads. These ads perform excellently on social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
You need to be knowledgeable to wade off potential job hunters from their social feeds. Thus, employment and job training services can have comparatively low CTRs on Facebook (0.47%). Advertisers looking for job opportunities should consider LinkedIn as that is the best platform for them. On the other hand, Instagram and Facebook deliver different results from LinkedIn.
The average CTR on Facebook is 0.90% for all industries.
Average CTR for Facebook Ads by Industry
Industry |
Average CTR |
| Apparel | 1.24% |
| Auto | 0.80% |
| B2B | 0.78% |
| Beauty | 1.16% |
| Consumer Services | 0.62% |
| Education | 0.73% |
| Employment & Job Training | 0.47% |
| Finance & Insurance | 0.56% |
| Fitness | 1.01% |
| Home Improvement | 0.70% |
| Healthcare | 0.83% |
| Industrial Services | 0.71% |
| Legal | 1.61% |
| Real Estate | 0.99% |
| Retail | 1.59% |
| Technology | 1.04% |
| Travel & Hospitality | 0.90% |
Average Cost Per Click (CPC) on Facebook
What is the definition of a good cost per click for Facebook ads?
Though financial advertisers on Facebook have the highest CPCs valued at $3.77 per click, these advertisers may be contented with such CPC on Facebook. Mortgage, Loans, and Insurance are the three most expensive keywords on Google as each of them cost $50 per click.
On the other hand, the cheapest clicks on Facebook can be found in the apparel industry with $0.45 per click. The travel and hospitality industries have 0.63% per click, and other retailers $0.70. It is a known fact that these industries possess the biggest audiences with lower CPCs.
It is crucial to have a thorough understanding of the benchmarks and how to manage your budgets so you can achieve excellent results with your Facebook ad campaigns.
The average cost per click (CPC) for Facebook ads across all industries is $1.72.
Average CPC for Facebook Ads by Industry
Industry |
Average CPC |
| Apparel | $0.45 |
| Auto | $2.24 |
| B2B | $2.52 |
| Beauty | $1.81 |
| Consumer Services | $3 .08 |
| Education | $1.06 |
| Employment & Job Training | $2.72 |
| Finance & Insurance | $3.77 |
| Fitness | $1.90 |
| Home Improvement | $2.93 |
| Healthcare | $1.32 |
| Industrial Services | $2.14 |
| Legal | $1.32 |
| Real Estate | $1.81 |
| Retail | $0.70 |
| Technology | $1.27 |
| Travel & Hospitality | $0.63 |
Average Conversion Rates on Facebook
What can we call a good conversion rate on Facebook ads?
Although fitness studios have certain challenges, getting new leads on Facebook is not a part of them. Facebook can ensure the connection of driven prospects with fitness advertisers, and ensure they convert at higher rates, with an average of 14.29% conversion rates from Facebook ads.
Industries known for high CVRs are Education, (13.58%), Employment and Job Training (11.73%), HealthCare (11.00%), Real Estate (10.68%), and B2B (10.63%). Because of Facebook’s unique system, these industries perform better here than on other platforms.
On the other hand, industries such as Travel and Hospitality, Technology and Retail may not gain much from Facebook. They have lower conversion rates (3.26%, 2.82%, and 2.31%, respectively). Remarketing on Facebook is a crucial tool for these advertisers as it plays a significant role in improving conversion rates. Over time, exposure to remarketing ads can help to improve conversion rates.
The average conversion rate is 9.21% on Facebook for all industries. We can always help you increase your conversion rates with our Facebook gigs.
Average CVR for Facebook Ads by Industry
Industry |
Average CVR |
| Apparel | 4.11% |
| Auto | 5.11% |
| B2B | 10.63% |
| Beauty | 7.10% |
| Consumer Services | 9.96% |
| Education | 13.58% |
| Employment & Job Training | 11.73% |
| Finance & Insurance | 9.09% |
| Fitness | 14.29% |
| Home Improvement | 6.56% |
| Healthcare | 11.00% |
| Industrial Services | 0.71% |
| Legal | 5.60% |
| Real Estate | 10.68% |
| Retail | 3.26% |
| Technology | 2.31% |
| Travel & Hospitality | 2.82% |
Average Cost Per Action on Facebook
What can you consider as an excellent CPA on Facebook?
Most education advertisers figured out that it’s best to target younger audiences on Instagram and Facebook, its average CPA is valued at $7.85. Facebook is a nice place to find new students, but finding a new car, architects, and IT specialists can be more expensive.
The average Facebook CPAs for auto, home improvement, and technology services $43.84, $44.66, and $55.21, in that order. Although more expensive, the lifetime value of a new client in these aforementioned industries is known to be very high.
The average CPA is $18.68 on Facebook for all industries. Because the CPA is so high, you also need to focus on user loyalty and the lifetime value of your clients. You can check out our pricing strategies to make clients buy again.
Average CPA for Facebook Ads by Industry
Industry |
Average CPA |
| Apparel | $10.98 |
| Auto | $43.84 |
| B2B | $23.77 |
| Beauty | $25.49 |
| Consumer Services | $31.11 |
| Education | $7.85 |
| Employment & Job Training | $23.24 |
| Finance & Insurance | $41.43 |
| Fitness | $13.29 |
| Home Improvement | $44.66 |
| Healthcare | $12.31 |
| Industrial Services | $38.21 |
| Legal | $28.70 |
| Real Estate | $16.92 |
| Retail | $21.47 |
| Technology | $55.21 |
| Travel & Hospitality | $22.50 |
What does this mean?
Facebook advertising is an excellent alternative as it provides an array of amazing opportunities for advertisers in all industries. If your campaigns are not generating results similar to the Facebook ad benchmarks mentioned above don’t worry.
You can contact Swell Country if you want to learn how to improve your ads on Facebook. Give us a quick call to talk to a Facebook professional today.
Even if you are meeting these basic benchmarks, you can further improve and optimize to have more effective Facebook ad campaigns. Ensure you make efforts to include attention-grabbing copy, design and landing pages in your campaigns. You can check out our article with tips to learn more about that. This can always increase your conversion rates.
Data Sources:
Swell.Country would like to thank WordStream for providing invaluable data. If you’d like to take a look at the original article, please check it out here.
This comprehensive report is a representation of 256 United States-based WordStream client accounts in all verticals. The accounts had a total of $553,000 in aggregate Facebook spend between November 2016 and January 2017.Only campaigns with the aim of driving conversions were used to determine average CVR and CPA numbers. Average figures are median figures for outliers, and all currency values are posted in USD.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Do you have any data available for non-profits?
A: We could not find many non-profit advertisers on Facebook. However, Facebook does not provide the same free advertising grants for charities and non-profit organizations like Google. We noticed that there are more non-profits organizations on Google than Facebook.
Q: Do you have any standards for Facebook Lead Gen ads?
A: The benchmarks also entail Lead Gen ads.
Q: I do not understand your conversion rate percentage. It looks exceptionally high. What counts as a conversion?
A: Conversions are calculated based on the advertisers’ goals, and for some individuals, it could be a sale, offering your contact information, form submission, or making a cold call.
Q: When you discussed clicks, are you referring to link clicks or all clicks on the ad? I think it’s essential to distinguish between CTR (All) and CTR (Link Click-Through Rate).
A: We are utilizing the Clicks (All) metric for ease, and this entails link clicks, other media engagements, lead fill, app downloads, etc.
Q: I am confused about your definition for “Actions”. Is it the entire number of actions taken by people regarding your ads? This metric entails any action recorded and attributed to the ads which is the total sum of engagements actions like video views or post reactions, conversions (website adds to cart or offline purchases), and link clicks.
A: Over here, we are making use of the action metric as defined within Facebook, conversions, but it also entails similar engagements like app downloads and lead submissions.
Q: Which countries/regions are listed in this report?
A: The data analyses US-based advertisers only.
Q: How do you define a conversion and an action in this regard?
A: Conversions are measured based on the advertisers’ goals. For some advertisers, it could be a sale, offer contact information, submission of a form, or making a call.
Q: I will like to know if this data comprises retargeting ads and prospecting? We noticed that retargeting performs incredibly well. So, these numbers would increase if you had integrated two types of campaign.
A: The report here entails the use of all ad targeting types. We noticed significant success rates from remarketing ads on Facebook, and most of our customers use the method rather than other forms of targeting. The data includes everything.
Q: I want to know which Facebook definition you use for CPC. Do you mean CPC (All) or CPC (Cost per Link Click)?
A: In this aspect, we are working with CPC (All).
Q: Do you have any data concerning the average cost per impression or CPC for this year?
A: We do not have at the moment.
Q: Do you have an idea of the average product price per industry for those rates? It would be nice to have an understanding of how to use the data. For example, if a tech product was based on the average price of a laptop valued at $1,500 and the CPA was $55.21 in comparison to Phone charger sold at $25 with a CA of $55.21.
A: We do not have. That data does not pass through the API, and it would be hard to get.
Q: I can’t find anywhere which setting for attribution is used? 1-day view and 28-day click?
A: Yes, we used the standard Facebook attribution window.
Q: Can you offer explanation on how you are defining the industries or do you have a link to show how these industries are defined?
A: It was done manually as we sampled a few hundred clients.
Q: I would love to know the criteria used to determine the numbers in your charts so I can apply similar formulas for calculation when I compute data.
A: Click through rate= Clicks / Impressions
Cost per click = Cost / Clicks
Conversion rate = Conversions/ Clicks
Cost per Acquisition = Cost/ Conversions
Q: You are paying $200 to get a click to a site (1% average CTR and $2 average per Click) on Facebook. This seems high.
A: No – a $2 cost per click means that you would pay $2 to send a visitor to your website.
Q: Why should the conversion rate be higher than CTR? These factors contributed by lead ads? 10% is the average… I do not understand the logic.
A: Facebook ads can be highly targeted so you can reach demographics and audiences that you are assured that they will convert on your website. Although CVR and CTR are usually connected, it is great to have an ad with a higher CVR than CTR.
Q: Could you offer an insight into which companies you have investigated to achieve the industry metrics? Are they renowned brands, startups, or large/mid-sized?
A: Companies used in this sample were of various sizes but most of them are small/midsize and not big brands.
Q: Is your definition of an Action for the Facebook ad Benchmarks study same as your definition for the Google Benchmark study? If Yes, should we conclude that the ROI on Facebook is higher than Google for most sectors when measured by CPA? Thank you.
A: Most of our customers achieve success on both networks.
Q: Have you carried out any comparisons with Google Ads?
A: Yes. We have.
Q: Does this data replicate ads that were only placed on Facebook (desktop, instant articles, sidebar, and newsfeed) or does it entails ads placed through Facebook on Instagram and the Audience Network?
A: The data used here is of those on Facebook and the Facebook app. It does not involve the Audience Network and Instagram.
