Business Daily Media

New research reveals the most challenging products and services to sell in the Australian market

  • Written by Media Release


With more businesses placing greater emphasis on their websites for attracting and converting leads, the competition has never been fiercer in online marketing. Some businesses are more costly and challenging to market online than others – and a digital marketing agency has crunched the numbers to find out exactly who these are.

 

SEO Shark (seoshark.com.au) has researched and compiled the average cost of an ad to appear at the top of Google (called ‘top of page’ bids) for popular, relevant keyword searches across 21 business categories, from home loans and travel to medical centres and real estate agencies. SEO Shark compiled around 15 popular terms for each business category and then averaged the top-of-page bid across each group of terms. SEO Shark then ranked the 21 business categories – from the highest cost to lowest cost – according to their average top of page bid.

 

The findings reveal that IT services are the most costly business to market. While searches for IT services are relatively low – at 7,780 searches per month – the average cost of a top-of-page bid across its most popular keyword search terms – such as ‘IT support’, ‘IT consulting firms’ and ‘managed IT services’ – is $107.60.

 

Insurance products are the second most costly business category to market online – at $88.15 per top-of-page bid across this category’s most popular keyword search terms, such as ‘health insurance’, ‘compare car insurance’ and ‘home insurance quotes’. This category also attracts a high volume of daily searches, at an average of 389,920.

 

Legal services came in as the third most costly business category to market, with an average top-of-page bid cost of $84.90. This category attracts an average of 45,080 monthly searches from its most popular keyword search terms, which include ‘family law’, ‘Sydney criminal lawyer’ and ‘estate lawyers’.

 

On the other hand, retail is the cheapest business category to market – even though this category attracts a relatively modest online demand, at 54,180 searches per month. Retail averages $1.90 per top-of-page bid across its most popular keyword search terms, such as ‘online shopping’, ‘clothes online’ and ‘cheap online shopping’.

 

Fitness is the second cheapest business category to market online – at $7.45 per top-of-page bid across this category’s most popular keyword search terms, such as ‘gym’, ‘personal trainer’ and ‘cheap gyms near me’. This category also attracts a high volume of daily searches, at an average of 128,390.

 

Gifts and flowers came in at the third cheapest business category to market, with an average top-of-page bid cost of $8. This category attracts an average of 190,350 monthly searches from its most popular keyword search terms, such as ‘florist’, ‘flower delivery’ and ‘anniversary gifts’.

 

Lucas Bikowski, Managing Director and Senior SEO Strategist at SEO Shark says: “With more consumers relying on search engines to find what they need, the online landscape now makes up the majority of marketing and sales budgets for many businesses. The cost of an ad is an indicator of how challenging it will be to market that product or service. Many businesses are investing in creating a website that ticks all the SEO boxes, including keyword strategy to make sure their site appears at the top of a user’s search page.

 

“High search volumes don’t guarantee a lower top of page bid. At the end of the day, it's all to do with return on investment on any particular keyword. For example, an IT company that is bidding on the keyphrase ‘managed IT services’ knows that an IT service contract will last for about year or so. If you compare this to someone searching for ‘travel insurance’, which people often purchase at a one-off basis, you can begin to understand why there is a fluctuation in the numbers and why some industries are harder to market.”

 

Industries and its average top page of bid and monthly search volumes
*keywords available upon request

 

Industry

 

Average top of page bid

 

Average monthly search volumes

 

IT

 

107.60

 

7,780

 

Insurance

 

88.15

 

389,920

 

Legal

 

84.90

 

45,080

 

Marketing

 

66.90

 

20,070

 

Real Estate

 

63.80

 

26,140

 

Trades

 

50.90

 

68,290

 

Wellness & Allied Health

 

40.75

 

274,180

 

Home Loan

 

34.60

 

59,110

 

Telecommunications

 

29.15

 

120,610

 

Accounting & Advisory

 

27.70

 

36,520

 

Education

 

21.50

 

68,140

 

Fashion

 

17.90

 

382,270

 

Food & Dining

 

17.50

 

1,241,870

 

Beauty

 

16.50

 

307,710

 

Aged care

 

15.30

 

33,250

 

Recruitment

 

12.90

 

19,830

 

Travel

 

11.75

 

1,053,400

 

Medical centre

 

9.45

 

120,540

 

Gifts & Flowers

 

8.00

 

190,350

 

Fitness

 

7.45

 

128,390

 

Retail

 

1.90

 

54,180

 


About SEO Shark

Established in 2007, SEO Shark is a highly reputable digital marketing agency which has achieved SEO results across its portfolio of multinational clients, ASX-listed companies, and SMEs. It boasts a 4.9/5 Google rating, a 4.9/5 Facebook rating, and an 8.8/10 Trustpilot rating. For more information, visit www.seoshark.com.au.

 

Business Borrowing on the Rise – Why You Need to Prioritise Cash Flow Heading into 2025

With 2025 on our doorstep, it’s vital that business owners commit to better understanding their company cash flow in the New Year, amid an increas...

2025: E-Commerce's Reinvention Begins Now

This has been a year of disruption for the retail sector, but if 2024 was about survival, 2025 is about reinvention. With consumers evolving faster ...

4 Key Ways to Protect Your Small Business During Your 2025 Launch

With a focus on key protective measures, these tips equip you with the necessary insights to ensure a successful and secure start. Whether you're ...

Digital Matter Launches New Tracking Solution

New Remote Monitoring Solution:  Accuracy, Performance and Longevity   Digital Matter, a leader in low-power GPS and IoT hardware development, ha...

Unveiling Amazon Nova: The New Generation of Foundation Models

Amazon’s latest state-of-the-art foundation models offer intelligence and industry-leading price performance Amazon Nova models enhance the exten...

Belvedere continues Christmas tradition of donating toys to children in need

Christmas is a time for giving, and LewisLand Group is helping brighten the season for sick children through its donation of $10,000 worth of toys...

Sell by LayBy