Top 8 Advertising Benchmarks for B2B in 2025

When running paid ad campaigns for a scaling B2B company, understanding how your numbers stack up is critical. The challenge is that most “industry benchmarks” still blend B2C and B2B data, making it tough to know what good really looks like when your sales cycle spans months, not minutes.

This article cuts through that noise, outlining realistic benchmarks for search, social, and lead-to-sale performance, and more importantly, what they mean for your strategy.

When budgets continue to be tightened, tracking visibility is shrinking, and the buying journey is longer than ever. Treat these benchmarks as directional guideposts, not fixed targets. They’re here to help you sense-check performance, defend budgets, and make smarter decisions across your funnel, whether you’re optimising for leads, pipeline, or revenue.

How to read and use these benchmarks:

All benchmarks reference median values from reputable 2025 reports, rather than outlier figures or blended B2C data. So use them as context, not competition; use this as a navigator, not a target; and always compare against your own accepted leads → closed deals data.

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1) CPCs Are Climbing. Every Click Must Earn Its Keep

Average CPC (Cost-per-Click) is rising across search and social and you can’t afford to waste any.

Where CPCs are in 2025

In Google search ads and Microsoft search ads, across industries, average CPC has hit $5.26. Source Wordstream.
But in highly competitive B2B-adjacent verticals, you can expect to pay well above the average for competitive keywords.
On LinkedIn, median CPCs hover around $3.94 across industries. Source Agency Analytics.
Using more aggressive B2B targeting (senior roles, ABM lists) frequently pushes this LinkedIn CPC much higher, meaning $10+ is not uncommon. Source MarketingForIT.

Why CPC rising matters

Higher CPCs eat margin faster. What used to be benign click wastage can now kill ROI.
With privacy changes and limited view-through attribution, you need to target more tightly; a wasted click is harder to reconcile later.
CPC benchmarks help sanity-check whether your targeting, bidding, and creative are efficient or leaking.

How to make every CPC count

Use granular match types and negative keyword filtering to eliminate non-buyers (job seekers, students, etc.). But make sure there’s enough volume/room for learning and growt.
Try value-based or target ROAS bidding only when your revenue attribution is clean (i.e. your CRM tells you which campaigns close).
For social or LinkedIn, layer audience exclusions (e.g. current customers, irrelevant functions) to avoid overspending on low-intent profiles.
Continually test ad copy and assets to push more qualified clicks per dollar.

For more information on CPC read about Lever's PPC strategy services.

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2) CTR Is Your Market Resonance Signal, Not A Vanity Metric

If your ads don’t get clicked, you won’t get to test messaging or offers. CTR is the early warning light.

Benchmark CTRs in 2025

Across search, the average CTR is 6.66% (all industries). Source WordStream.
For B2B SaaS digital ads specifically, median CTRs around 4.04% are being reported (April 2025). Source Varos.
On LinkedIn, median CTR across industries is ~0.52% (0.5–0.6% is typical for sponsored content) in 2025. Source Agency Analytics.

What CTR really tells you

Low CTR often = misaligned targeting or creative. If you’re showing to too broad or weak audiences, clicks won’t come.
A high CTR on a weak offer is not automatically good either. The downstream CVR and lead quality must validate it.
CTR is part of the feedback loop: higher CTR can lower your cost per click (via better Quality Score or relevance) and feed better automation.

Tactics to lift CTR (without destroying quality)

Always mirror query/ad intent → headline → landing page.
Rotate ad assets frequently. ICPs fatigue. What worked this month may blunt next month.
Test richer formats like carousels, dynamic headlines, case studies in ads, creative variants.
Remove poor-performing segments. Prune audiences, job titles, or goes that drive low CTRs but low downstream value.

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3) CPLs Are Telling You Where the Pipeline Risk Lives

CPL may be your go-to metric, but only when paired with quality and pipeline metrics.

Benchmark CPL trends

The all-industry average CPL in Google/Microsoft search is $70.11 in 2025. Source WordStream.
In higher-intent B2B verticals (Business Services), the benchmark CPC leads to a CPL of ~$103.54. Source WordStream.
On LinkedIn, CPL ranges vary widely, some reports show $15 to $350 by industry and targeting. Source Powered by Search.
In the LinkedIn / B2B context, many benchmark sets estimate CPLs between $100–$200 (or equivalent in local currency), particularly for senior audience targeting. Source Nav43.

Why CPL alone is misleading

A lower CPL that floods Sales with junk leads is worse than a higher CPL that converts to revenue. If your CPL is $500 but you close 1 in 4 leads, each with an average revenue of $20k, then that makes good profitable sense.
Poor alignment between marketing and sales on what qualifies will distort your CPL benchmark’s usefulness so make sure you get that right from the start.
If your acceptance or SQL rate from leads is weak, your true cost per opportunity is much higher than CPL.

How to refine CPL for impact

Break out CPL by audience (senior vs junior), offer type (webinar, demo, content), and channel.
Use CRM data to compute “accepted CPL” and “cost per opportunity (CPO)”.
Assign higher ppc budget to lower-volume channels with better CPO, even if their raw CPL is higher.
Run holdout tests on different offer types (e.g. content magnet vs demo ask) within the same audience to compare CPL vs quality trade-offs.

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4) Search Conversion Rates Still Hold Authority, But Variation Is Huge

CVR is where promise meets friction. It shows whether your funnel is converting intent into leads.

Benchmark CVRs to expect

7.52% average conversion rate (all industries). Source WordStream.
Note: In “Business Services,” this conversion rate is lower and many of the top-performing service or product verticals exceed 10% in their best ad funnels (depending on niche).

Why CVR is more important now

As CPCs and CPLs go up, inefficiency in CVR gets amplified.
CVR is the first real arbiter: high CTR + cost gives you clicks, but CVR converts those clicks (or exposes waste).
CVR is sensitive to every component: creative, relevance, landing page, traffic quality, load speed, form friction.

How to lift CVR without lowering intent

Use progressive forms or multi-step forms to reduce friction without fully compromising qualification.
Reinforce message match (ad headline, offer, LP copy) misalignment kills CVR.
Prioritise fast-loading, mobile-optimised LPs, especially in B2B where decision-makers may check on smaller screens.
Leverage social proof and proof points (case studies, logos, metrics) prominently.
Always run A/B tests of form layouts, CTA copy, hero vs mid-page CTAs, and observe trade-offs in quality vs quantity.

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5) LinkedIn Is Still A Great Direct-To-ICP B2B Channel, But Cost Pressure And Noise Is Intensifying

LinkedIn’s reach into decision-maker audiences makes it crucial, yet more expensive than ever. Pair this with the amount of white AI noise, and this channel is only as good as your creative, messaging, and targeting.

Benchmarks at a glance

CTR for sponsored content: 0.44% – 0.65% globally. Source Tamarind’s B2B House.
Median LinkedIn CPC: ~$3.94 (across industries). Source Agency Analytics.
In B2B LinkedIn campaigns, CPLs can range widely (often $100–200+ or more) depending on seniority, format, and industry. Source NAV 43.
Formats matter: single-image ads and message ads sometimes outperform others in specific contexts (e.g. message ads CTR can reach ~3% in select cases). Source Autelo.

Why LinkedIn costs are rising

B2B advertisers already dominate LinkedIn ad spend (85% of spend on LinkedIn is B2B). Source SQ Magazine.
More competition, more ABM/intent layering, and more retargeting all push up CPMs and CPCs. Source Radiate B2B.
LinkedIn’s native algorithm increasingly rewards engagement-rich creative, including Thought Leader, carousel, and video formats, driving up investment in creative. Source The Linked Blog.

How to get more from LinkedIn

Start with lower-funnel creative (case study, ROI, metric-based) to weed out low-intent users early.
Use ABM lists + custom targeting + exclusions aggressively. You want 80–90% reach. Source LinkedIn.
Test Message Ads, Thought Leader formats, and content-first creative to break monotony. Thought Leader ads can lift CTR by up to 2.3× vs standard single-image. Source The Linked Blog.
Cross-check native lead gen forms vs landing pages with leads in your CRM pipeline to see which actually scale.

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6) Native Lead Gen Forms Give Volume, But Intent Must Be Proven

Lead Gen Forms (LGFs) on LinkedIn are efficient in delivery, but often weaker in intent. Completion rate is just the start.

Benchmarks & ranges

Form completion rates typically run 6–10% in B2B campaigns. Source Tamarind’s B2B House.
Performance depends heavily on the number of fields, audience familiarity, and promise clarity.
Some data suggests lead quality (accepted leads) drops ~20–40% vs LP leads in many instances, proving you must test for your vertical.

Why LGFs are a double-edged sword

Pros: frictionless, mobile-native, integrated “instant” conversion.
Cons: less control over UX, harder to deeply qualify, often more “spray” in nature.
Many marketers see higher volume but weaker quality, so CPL alone is deceptive.

How to make LGFs perform

Keep fields to a minimum, especially for TOFU offers.
Use disqualifying questions (yes/no) to weed out low-fit audiences.
Compare conversion velocity and SQL rates of LGF vs LP leads and ignore friction costs if LGF drains more sales time.
Route strong leads fast. If your SDRs don’t call back within hours, the freshness advantage is lost.

Read more about Lever's lead generation services for B2B companies.

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7) Your Landing Page Conversion Rate Must Outperform Site Averages

Your paid landing pages must beat the baseline. They should be your best pages, not average pages.

Benchmark baseline

Cross-industry site-wide average visitor → lead conversion is ~2.9% per Ruler Analytics. Source Huble.
B2B service / product sites typically fall below this, but paid landing pages aiming for TOFU/MOFU should exceed it (3–5%+ on micro-conversions).

Why paid LPs must outperform averages

If your paid LPs sit near site average, it's a signal of a weak offer, poor message, or UX leakage.
Paid LPs often “operate in a vacuum” with no header nav, and minimal distraction, so their conversion should dominate your “best pages” stack.
Underperformance at LPs is the choke point of scaling ad spend, if traffic rises and LPs don’t, overall lead growth stalls.

How to lift LP performance

Use audience segmentation to adapt hero messaging (industry, role, pain).
Remove distractions (nav, links) for paid LPs (isolate the path).
Include social proof, metrics, and objection handling above the fold.
Use progressive disclosure (expanders, tabs) to keep the page clean but allow detail.
Continually A/B test: hero copy, offers (e.g. “Talk to Sales” vs “See Demo”), layout, form length.

For more information on creating effective landing pages, read Your Guide To Creating HighConverting Landing Pages.

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8) Don’t Ignore The Down-Funnel, Win Rate & Cycle Reveal True ROI

Even the best ad numbers don’t matter unless some deals close, and unless you understand time lags.

Benchmark pipeline stats

Average close (win) rates in B2B sales typically range 20–30% depending on segment / deal size.
HubSpot’s aggregated data points toward ~29% win rate as a broad benchmark. Source LinkedIn.
In deep B2B / enterprise settings, the total buyer journey (touch → close) can stretch to ~379 days. Source LinkedIn.

Why down-funnel metrics are your ground truth

If you drive leads but few close, you’re optimising noise, not growth.
Long sales cycles mean payback may lag. Seasonality, funnel time, and sales cycles all shape how “fast” your ad spend pays off.
Different deal sizes or motions will have wildly different win/cycle benchmarks, and your internal numbers are your best guide.

What to report & optimise externally

Track conversion cohorts: which ad cohorts → opportunities → closed deals, and when.
Segment win rate by channel, audience, offer type to reveal pockets worth scaling.
Report payback timeline (CAC payback) and use long-term forecast models for board conversations.
Use a weighted pipeline / expected value to give an intermediate signal before deals close.

Read more about Lever's conversion rate optimisation services.

Benchmarks are useful, but they only tell part of the story. The real advantage comes from understanding what’s behind the numbers and turning that insight into a smarter, more profitable ad strategy.

At Lever, we work with B2B marketing teams to uncover where their ad spend is really paying off, and where it’s silently leaking. From Google and Microsoft Search Ads to LinkedIn and beyond, our campaigns are built to generate measurable pipeline not just clicks.

👉 Want to see how your results compare? Get your free performance review and find out where your paid media can work harder.

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