Ad Benchmarks by Industry
"Good CPA" and "good ROAS" don't mean the same thing in every industry. Pick your vertical and see what typical performance actually looks like — before you decide whether your numbers are a problem.
Choose your vertical
Ecommerce
Primary metric: ROAS · Model: direct purchase
Illustrative benchmarks synthesized from industry benchmark reports (WordStream, Databox, HawkSEM, Google/Meta platform disclosures) and Zeller Media account experience. Ranges are directional, not guarantees — your numbers depend heavily on targeting, creative, and offer.
CPA and ROAS benchmarks are only useful in context — a $150 CPA is a disaster for a low-ticket ecommerce brand and a bargain for a B2B SaaS company selling five-figure contracts. These ranges are synthesized from published industry benchmark reports and Zeller Media account experience, grouped by vertical so you're comparing your numbers against something that actually applies to your business.
Sales cycle length, average deal size, and how many touches it takes to convert are completely different across verticals. A kids-activities lead might close in a week for $40; a legal client might take months and be worth thousands — that difference alone explains most of the CPA spread.
Not necessarily. These are directional ranges, not hard ceilings. Local competition, seasonality, and offer strength all move CPA outside the typical band without anything being broken. Use it as a flag to investigate, not a verdict.
They're built from published industry reports plus real account data, and confidence varies by vertical — some categories have thin public data and are labeled accordingly. Treat every range here as a starting point for a conversation, not gospel.
Targeting precision, creative quality, and — for local or appointment-based businesses — proximity and timing. Two businesses in the same vertical can see a 2-3× CPA difference purely from how tightly they've dialed in targeting and offer.
Zeller Media
Benchmarks tell you the range. A real audit tells you exactly where you land in it — and why.
See ecommerce consulting → Paid Search & Paid Social Consulting · zellermedia.com