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Advertisers Pay More For Google Traffic
The Channable data reported by Ecommerce News Europe analysed €1.38 billion in verified advertising spend from more than 10,000 advertisers across European e-commerce.
Between June 2025 and June 2026, the average cost-per-click (CPC) across Google Shopping and Performance Max campaigns increased by 15%. Across all campaign types, this represented an average increase of €0.06 per click.
For retailers that depend on paid search as part of their customer acquisition strategy, the figures show that maintaining visibility on Google has become more expensive compared with last year.
Return On Ad Spend Declines Across Campaigns
While click prices increased, the benchmark also showed a decline in return on ad spend (ROAS).
Standard Shopping campaigns recorded a 43% drop in average ROAS during the analysed period. Performance Max campaigns saw a similar trend, with average ROAS decreasing by 46%.
According to the report, the lower returns were linked to higher click costs as well as weaker conversion performance. Performance Max campaigns recorded a 0.11 percentage point decrease in conversion rates.
The figures show that brands are paying more while receiving lower returns from these campaigns.
Product Data Becomes A Bigger Factor
Stefan Hospes, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Channable, said companies need to look beyond campaign budgets when responding to higher advertising costs.
“The brands feeling this most acutely treated Google Ads as a budget line when they should have approached it as key data infrastructure,” Hospes said.
Q4 Competition Pushes Advertising Budgets Higher
The benchmark also highlighted seasonal pressure on advertising budgets.
Across combined Google Ads channels, CPC was 9.1% higher in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the first quarter. Total advertising spend increased by 47.9% over the same comparison period.
The rise reflects stronger competition during major online shopping periods, including Cyber Week, Black Friday and the holiday season.
For retailers, the findings put more focus on campaign structure, feed optimisation and product data as advertising costs increase.
