While it's difficult to quantify the most expensive keywords on Google because of the sheer amount of data that changes daily, we've broken down the most expensive keywords for some of the most common industries:
Top CPC: $1090.00
Average CPC: $6.75
The legal industry has some of the highest CPCs in this article, primarily due to the high amount of competition they're up against and the higher ticket service cost. For this industry, we looked at keywords relating to "lawyer," "attorney," "legal services," and a few other related keywords. Here are the ones that topped the list:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| HOUSTON MARITIME ATTORNEY | $1,090.00 |
| offshore accident lawyer | $815.00 |
| best motorcycle accident lawyer | $770.00 |
| 18 wheeler accident lawyer san antonio | $670.00 |
| scranton personal injury lawyer | $560.00 |
| truck accident attorney dallas | $515.00 |
| houston trucking accident attorney | $500.00 |
| mesothelioma attorney assistance | $490.00 |
| new york construction accident lawyer | $485.00 |
| maritime lawyer new orleans | $485.00 |
| california auto accident laywer | $475.00 |
| auto accident attorney california | $465.00 |
| auto accident attorney colorado springs | $460.00 |
| car accident lawyer jacksonville | $430.00 |
| truck accident lawyer dallas | $425.00 |
Top CPC: $90.00
Average CPC: $2.62
What's curious about this is that we targeted keywords around the top most common types of doctors, yet it was still urgent care and detox programs that dominated the highest costs per click.
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| URGENT CARE EMR | $90.00 |
| hospital alcohol detox | $65.00 |
| dermatological problem | $65.00 |
| fort lauderdale hospital detox | $65.00 |
| transporter hospital | $60.00 |
| children's hospital emergency room near me | $60.00 |
| kensington hospital detox | $60.00 |
| urgent care jasper tx | $55.00 |
| childrens oakland hospital | $55.00 |
| weight loss surgery dallas tx | $55.00 |
| urgent care snider plaza | $50.00 |
| dallas bariatric | $45.00 |
| endocrine weight loss | $45.00 |
| urgent care 77041 | $45.00 |
| urgent care electronic medical records | $40.00 |
Top CPC: $165.00
Average CPC: $3.33
Marketing professionals in this space presumably know advertising tricks to help keep costs down, but this industry is also more likely to put value in Google Ads. That's why the average CPC is relatively reasonable compared to these top CPC keywords:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| WHAT IS MARKETING CHANNELS | $165.00 |
| call tracking marketing | $125.00 |
| marketing your law firm | $120.00 |
| seo and social media marketing services | $115.00 |
| affiliate marketing software free | $110.00 |
| law firm marketing los angeles | $100.00 |
| marketing automation for agencies | $100.00 |
| what does cpm stand for in advertising | $95.00 |
| 3 p of marketing | $95.00 |
| marketing cloud software | $90.00 |
| ppc advertising management | $80.00 |
| marketing integration | $80.00 |
| email marketing automation software | $80.00 |
| what does ppc stand for in marketing | $75.00 |
| best marketing quotes | $75.00 |
Top CPC: $95.00
Average CPC: $3.80
For this category, we didn't want to include "SAAS" since that would not be a keyword a consumer would use to find the software of their choice. Instead, we used aggregate keywords around "business software" to see what the most expensive CPCs would be:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| COMPLETE BUSINESS SOLUTION | $95.00 |
| top 10 help desk software | $95.00 |
| help desk software for small business | $90.00 |
| small business call center software | $85.00 |
| accounting online program | $70.00 |
| best online accounting program | $60.00 |
| business performance management software | $60.00 |
| employee management software for small business | $60.00 |
| email marketing software for small business | $55.00 |
| best medical billing software for home based business | $55.00 |
| marketing automation software for small business | $55.00 |
| best crm software for small business | $55.00 |
| crm software for small business | $55.00 |
| best hr software for small business | $50.00 |
| small business marketing software | $50.00 |
Top CPC: $95.00
Average CPC: $2.37
Curiously, despite pooling all keywords related to "real estate agent" and "REALTOR" along with the other service-based keywords, it was the descriptive keywords using "fast" or "with cash" that seemed to outpace all others when it came to cost per click.
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| SELL HOUSE FAST AUSTIN | $95.00 |
| sell my house fast phoenix | $70.00 |
| sell my house fast austin | $65.00 |
| sell my house fast san diego | $65.00 |
| selling a house as is by owner | $60.00 |
| teacher home buying programs texas | $60.00 |
| sell my house fast orlando | $60.00 |
| quickly sell house | $55.00 |
| we buy houses fast for cash | $55.00 |
| will my house sell | $55.00 |
| sell house cash | $55.00 |
| buy house cash or mortgage | $50.00 |
| sell house fast for cash | $50.00 |
| buy my home for cash | $50.00 |
| worst month to sell a house | $60.00 |
Top CPC: $320.00
Average CPC: $6.40
The home improvement industry is a large one, but we focused primarily on services such as HVAC, plumbing, and restoration and renovation. It seemed as though air conditioning and water damage seemed to be the ones with the dominant CPC in this group:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| AC REPAIR CORAL SPRINGS FL | $320.00 |
| emergency flood repair | $265.00 |
| flood restoration san diego | $210.00 |
| air conditioning repair weatherford tx | $210.00 |
| best ac repair phoenix | $185.00 |
| air conditioning repair boca raton | $150.00 |
| water damage restoration portland oregon | $145.00 |
| water damage restoration los angeles | $145.00 |
| air conditioning repair phoenix | $140.00 |
| air conditioning repair mesa az | $135.00 |
| air conditioning repair simi valley | $125.00 |
| air conditioning repair plano tx | $120.00 |
| water damage restoration mesa az | $120.00 |
| water damage restoration dallas | $120.00 |
| water damage restoration vancouver wa | $115.00 |
Top CPC: $50.00
Average CPC: $2.46
For this industry, we decided to pull keywords relating to "auto repair," "auto body," and "dent removal," taking care to remove any insurance or car accident litigation keywords. You'll notice that lower ticket items such as oil changes and tire services are not present on this list. We can reasonably assume that advertisers in this category want to put their advertising dollars toward higher ticket items:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| AUTO REPAIR SHOP MODESTO CA | $50.00 |
| paintless dent repair denver colorado | $45.00 |
| abs unlimited auto repair | $45.00 |
| paintless dent repair mn | $40.00 |
| denver auto hail repair | $35.00 |
| change oil light | $35.00 |
| automotive repair lubbock tx | $30.00 |
| auto repair shops stockton ca | $30.00 |
| paintless dent repair colorado springs | $25.00 |
| auto ac repair las vegas | $25.00 |
| auto repair shops omaha ne | $25.00 |
| auto repair shop mesa az | $25.00 |
| aftermarket automotive warranty | $25.00 |
| dent repair colorado springs | $25.00 |
| paintless dent repair denver | $25.00 |
Top CPC: $280.00
Average CPC: $3.44
Car insurance completely dominated the insurance industry:
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| COMPARE VEHICLE INSURANCE | $280.00 |
| oklahoma auto insurance quotes | $210.00 |
| insurance companies okc | $185.00 |
| cheapest auto insurance reddit | $170.00 |
| insurance strategy | $160.00 |
| texas auto insurance quotes online | $155.00 |
| preferred auto insurance companies | $150.00 |
| what is insurance deductible | $140.00 |
| what is premiums in insurance | $135.00 |
| fort myers auto insurance | $130.00 |
| auto insurance connecticut | $125.00 |
| definition collision insurance | $125.00 |
| hail damage car insurance claim | $120.00 |
| car accident other driver has no insurance | $120.00 |
| define insurance brokers | $120.00 |
Top CPC: $320.00
Average CPC: $3.44
In the finance space, we compiled keywords relating to banking, credit, debt, loans, mortgages, and more. The common theme among the high-CPC keywords was debt relief or loan acquisition (VA loans being especially popular):
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| IRS TAX DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM | $320.00 |
| va loan multi family | $190.00 |
| tax credit for college students | $135.00 |
| va loan after chapter 7 | $130.00 |
| how to get preapproved for a va home loan | $125.00 |
| structured settlement loan | $105.00 |
| national guard va home loan | $95.00 |
| cost to refinance home loan | $95.00 |
| how long does a credit card balance transfer take | $90.00 |
| va home loan specialist | $85.00 |
| will refinancing hurt my credit | $85.00 |
| maximum fha loan amount | $85.00 |
| does opening a checking account affect credit | $80.00 |
| fha loan foreclosure waiting period | $80.00 |
| tax debt relief program | $75.00 |
Top CPC: $140.00
Average CPC: $2.40
It's clear that online learning overtook the list of high-CPC keywords. This is likely due to smaller ticket educational items such as certifications, courses, and training not providing high enough ROI to justify such high costs per click.
| KEYWORD | CPC |
|---|---|
| ONLINE BUSINESS DEGREE PROGRAMS ACCREDITED | $140.00 |
| online accredited psychology degree | $135.00 |
| online degree in educational psychology | $135.00 |
| online business degree florida | $135.00 |
| online university college | $125.00 |
| online psychology bachelor's degree | $125.00 |
| online college business degree | $125.00 |
| fastest criminal justice degree online | $125.00 |
| online masters degree in business administration | $125.00 |
| parapsychology degree online | $125.00 |
| online degree criminal justice | $120.00 |
| online school for business degree | $120.00 |
| online masters degree programs in healthcare administration | $120.00 |
| masters degree in human resources online | $120.00 |
| public administration masters degree online | $115.00 |
The list of highest CPC keywords was determined from approximately 10,000 related keywords per industry. This information was accessed from Ahrefs and compiled on April 3, 2020 and should be used only for editorial purposes as there are many more keywords out there, CPC is subject to change with current industry and economic conditions, and keyword tools will provide differing data. Be sure to perform your own keyword research before making advertising decisions.
