Rising CPCs aren’t just the result of more competition inside search auctions. They’re increasingly the result of what happens before anyone places a bid. AI Overviews , shrinking organic click volume, and stronger brands competing for a smaller pool of commercial traffic have changed the economics of paid search. Improving bids and ad copy still matter, but the biggest opportunities now sit outside the auction itself. Why paid search keeps getting more expensive Paid search costs are climbing across almost every category. The cross-industry average CPC is $5.42 , per the latest WordStream benchmarks, more than double what it was a decade…
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