Top Industries Using Adwords

It probably won’t surprise you to know that the industry that uses Google Adwords and PPC campaigns the most is the FMCG industry (fast moving consumer goods) – in other words, shopping. At the start of 2011, retail accounted for 54% of all Adwords advertising. That works out as more than 891,000 individual ads placed by companies relating to retail.

Following behind them were search engines on 14% and the travel and accommodation sector, also on 14%. A few conclusions can be drawn from this. The data suggests that the industries most likely to use Adwords are those that get most of their business through the web and, in particular, search engines. They are more likely to be industries that will benefit from this sort of promotion, particularly in the retail industry where there is such a high turnover of products and, if they don’t sell, the industry doesn’t make any money.

By contrast, ‘information resources’ accounted for only 2% of Adwords use, which suggests that firms in that industry are more likely to benefit from other forms of SEO, perhaps because their services are constant and not as fast-moving as other sectors. All of this goes to show that while online advertising is massively beneficial for companies, it also pays to know your sector so that you target the right kind of online advertising – this will ensure a good return on your money and target your campaigns to the right audience. After all, targeting the right audience is much more beneficial than targeting a large but generic one, so a little research into your most likely routes for advertising success are sure to pay off in the long run.