The Most Expensive Keywords on Google: 11 Industries, July 2026

“Truck collision attorney” costs up to $732 for a single click at the top of Google’s results, and 60,500 people search it every month.

Nobody bidding on it is confused, and nobody is being ripped off. By the end of this page you’ll be able to run the arithmetic that makes a price like that rational.

The most expensive keywords on Google, at a glance

Remember: top-of-page bid is the auction’s asking range, not what a tuned account pays. A high CPC means advertisers are competing hard for a keyword because the customer behind it is worth a lot. It’s a signal of high customer value, not high difficulty.

For context, the average search CPC across all industries is $5.42, per WordStream by LocaliQ’s 2026 benchmarks, with an industry range of $1.63 to $9.87. Every keyword in that table tops out above the average, most of them by more than an order of magnitude.

Worth noticing what the re-pull humbled: “investment banking services”, which the finance list further down still carries at $258 a click from an earlier pull, now prices at $3.90 to $13.84 at the top of the page. Auctions move. Treat any CPC list, including the ones below, as a snapshot.

We’ve broken things down into keyword categories based on industry, so that you can get a clear picture of what expensive keywords advertisers are bidding high prices for in each niche, and how they fit into what to actually bid on .

Highest CPC Keywords By Industry

These lists are directional: the flagship for each industry is spot-checked in the table above, and the long tails below show the shape of each market.

1) Legal

The legal space is the clear ‘winner’ when it comes to the highest cost per click keywords. It includes the most expensive keyword we found throughout all of our research as well…

👉 Here are the highest cost per click keywords we found in the legal industry:

• Truck Collision Attorney: $1,003.68
• Construction Accident Lawyer Near Me: $531.63
• Accident Attorney Fresno CA: $519.46
• Pedestrian Accident Attorney Near Me: $501.53
• Truck Accident Attorney Near Me: $501.53
• Oil Rig Injury Lawyer: $747.84
• Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near Me: $352.61
• Offshore Accident Lawyer: $396.85
• El Paso Accident Lawyers: $359.89
• Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me: $291.32
• Car Accident Lawyer Near Me: $290.61
• Personal Injury Attorney Nearby: $249.89
• Mesothelioma Attorney Assistance: $232.66
• 18 Wheeler Accident Lawyer San Antonio: $225.60
• Mesothelioma Law Firm: $215.92
• Wrongful Death Attorney Near Me: $188.64
• Houston Trucking Accident Attorney: $160.49
• Truck Accident Attorney Dallas: $154.00
• Aviation Accident Lawyer: $150.48
• Car Accident Lawyer Jacksonville: $150.48
• DUI Defense Lawyer: $114.02
• Maritime Lawyer New Orleans: $120.42
• California Auto Accident Lawyer: $119.58
• Auto Accident Attorney California: $119.58

2) Education

The U.S. education market is estimated to be at $1.4 trillion in 2021 , and growing to $3.1 trillion by 2030.

It costs around $146,000 on average to send a child to college for 4 years.

So it’s no surprise that the education niche demands some of the highest cost per click keywords in the World.

Here’s a selection of the top keywords we discovered along with their CPC:

1. Online College Business Degree: $298.86
2. Online Masters Degree in Business Administration: $106.88
3. Online Degree Criminal Justice: $90.94
4. Fastest Criminal Justice Degree Online: $78.99
5. Online Business Degree Florida: $76.60
6. Online Masters Degree Programs in Healthcare Administration: $74.39
7. Online Psychology Bachelor’s Degree: $72.96
8. Online MBA Program: $63.38

3) Software

The software or SaaS industry has some astonishingly high CPC keywords.

That’s because advertisers can afford to spend a large amount to acquire customers - After all, many of them don’t have a huge number of other overheads or business expenses besides maintaining their software.

👉 Here’s some of the highest CPC keywords we found in the software space:

1. Help Desk Software for Small Business: $207.78
2. Employee Management Software for Small Business: $179.31
3. Best HR Software for Small Business: $175.58
4. Virtual Data Rooms: $112.91
5. Marketing Automation Software for Small Business: $103.32
6. ERP Software: $84.30
7. Small Business Call Center Software: $83.71
8. Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions: $70.19
9. Alteryx Server Cost: $202.38
10. Manage SaaS Spend: $202.38
11. HR Performance Review Software: $106.03
12. LMS for Training Companies: $97.77
13. Cloud Based Call Centre Software: $96.56
14. Networking Monitoring Software: $65.17
15. Deal Management Software: $50.90
16. Data Room: $115.27
17. Enterprise VPN: $67.77
18. Corporate VPN: $54.57
19. Cloud AWS: $100.93
20. Payroll Software: $91.16
21. Email Marketing Solution: $50.49

4) B2B Services

B2B services are some of the most profitable industries in the World, and that’s why advertisers are happy to spend a huge amount on Google ads to acquire new customers.

Below are some of the highest cost per click keywords we found in the B2B services space - Everything from reception services to financial auditing.

1. Offshore Software Engineer: $253.22
2. Employer of Record Services: $184.30
3. Call Answering Services: $166.68
4. Corporate Business Travel Agency: $133.64
5. Best Legal Answering Service: $116.90
6. Virtual Reception Services: $109.24
7. SharePoint Intranet Consultants: $100.28
8. Business Internet San Francisco: $121.34
9. Google Ad Marketing Agency: $202.52
10. Payroll Service Providers for Small Business: $125.31
11. Amazon PPC Agency USA: $121.52
12. Outsource Website Development: $112.94
13. PPC Advertising Experts: $102.11
14. Law Firm SEO Company NYC: $90.37
15. Business Travel Services: $87.31
16. Business Insurance: $81.57
17. Corporate Travel Management: $79.91
18. Legal SEO Company: $78.98
19. AdWords PPC Management Services: $75.84
20. Google Ads Marketing Agency: $75.14
21. React Native Experts: $72.56
22. AI Driven Customer Service: $72.81
23. Sustainable Business Consulting: $69.63
24. Google Ads Agency: $65.96
25. PPC Agency Near Me: $65.38
26. Google Ads Consultant: $61.65
27. PPC Digital Marketing Agency: $61.42
28. PPC Agency San Francisco: $59.29
29. High Speed Business Internet: $56.20
30. Business Internet Package: $55.23
31. Email Marketing Solution: $50.49
32. Financial Auditing Firms: $41.76
33. CPA for Small Businesses: $38.57

5) Home Services

When it comes to home services, the highest CPC keywords by far belong to flood and water damage services - I suppose because they’re so specialized and expensive.

👉 Here are the highest CPCs we found in the home services space:

1. Water Damage Restoration Dallas: $250.79
2. Flood Restoration Chicago: $151.79
3. Repair flood damage: $132.56
4. Flood Restoration Services Near Me: $126.28
5. Water Damage Restoration San Antonio: $122.18
6. Water Damage Repair Houston: $114.43
7. Water Damage Repair Near Me: $102.45
8. Water Damage Repair: $96.54
9. Water Damage Restoration: $91.07
10. Emergency Plumbing Services: $82.82
11. Drain Cleaning Service: $73.87
12. Heating and Air: $72.19
13. HVAC Repair Services: $70.84
14. Emergency Flood Repair: $69.26
15. Plumbers: $65.54
16. Commercial HVAC Installation: $62.13
17. Garage Door Repair: $57.81
18. HVAC San Francisco: $47.00
19. Home Security System Installation: $45.54
20. Window Replacement Companies: $40.53
21. Duct Cleaning Services: $34.04

One of the reasons home services keywords cost so much is because they have some of the highest Google ads conversion rates - Meaning that once people click on the advert, they have a significant chance of turning into a paying customer.

6) Real Estate

Most people probably won’t be surprised to find real estate on this list (because homes are expensive after all) but you may be surprised at the types of keywords with the highest costs per click in real estate.

Lots of people active in private Slack communities for PPC are in the real estate niche.

Interestingly, it isn’t keywords like “luxury real estate” that command high CPCs. In fact that particular keyword only commands a CPC of around $4 in the USA.

Instead, It’s keywords around selling your house that command the most expensive price tags.

This makes sense for two reasons:

1. This allows realtors to target people looking to sell, where ultimately they earn their commission.
2. It also targets a unique opportunity where cash buyers and investors will often buy houses for cheap as an investment with an all-cash offer.

👉 Let’s take a look at the highest CPC keywords in real estate:

1. Get Offer on House: $189.78
2. Buy My Home for Cash: $135.73
3. Quickly Sell House: $131.42
4. Sell House Fast for Cash: $130.74
5. Cash Buyer for My House: $113.64
6. Sell My House Fast San Diego: $100.13
7. We Buy Houses Fast for Cash: $100.13
8. Sell Property Fast: $96.24
9. Cash for Homes California: $90.91
10. Sell Home to Investors: $88.62
11. Sell My House Fast Orlando: $85.32
12. Sell My House Fast Phoenix: $80.27
13. Sell Fire Damaged Home: $62.08

7) Finance

Of course, finance is also going to be an incredibly lucrative space. From investment banking to invoice factoring & business loans - There are a ton of expensive keywords within Google ads that advertisers are bidding on.

Here are the most expensive keywords we found in the finance space, straight from Google ads:

1. Investment Banking Services: $258.04
2. Fast Invoice Factoring: $199.41
3. Credit Line for Businesses: $142.30
4. Company Credit Line: $130.80
5. Invoice Factoring California: $119.22
6. Structured Settlement Loan: $105.20
7. Structured Settlement Buyer: $94.69
8. Factoring Company: $86.91
9. Asset Planning: $85.82
10. Business Loan: $71.34
11. Invoice Factoring Company Near Me: $70.27
12. Wealth Management Services: $64.38
13. Invoice Factoring for Staffing Companies: $56.00
14. Business Loan Florida: $54.23

8) Insurance

Insurance in some form is as old as historical society , having been used by Babylon merchants over 6,000 years ago!

Today, the industry in the US alone is worth over $2 trillion per year.

Competition is fierce and profitability for insurance companies is gigantic.

It’s no wonder then that this industry makes our top list, featuring some incredibly high-cost keywords. Car insurance commands the highest premium for advertisers, whilst surprisingly some other insurance niches like health & life insurance aren’t nearly as high.

👉 Here’s the top list of high CPC keywords

1. Texas Auto Insurance Quotes Online: $98.42
2. Auto Insurance Quotes Denver Colorado: $94.59
3. Oklahoma Auto Insurance Quotes: $89.49
4. Auto Insurance Quotes: $83.16
5. Business Insurance: $81.87
6. Car Insurance Quotes: $75.21
7. Dallas TX Car Insurance: $61.23
8. Business Insurance Providers: $61.13
9. Car Insurance Companies Toledo Ohio: $50.90
10. Insurance Company Tennessee: $39.22
11. Life Insurance: $32.37 (this was the highest CPC keyword we could find in the life insurance niche)

9) Marketing & Advertising

Marketing budgets as a percentage of revenue has been sitting at around 10% on average for the past 10 years.

That’s a huge slice of the pie spent on marketing & ads.

Additionally, competition is fierce between PPC advertising platforms like Facebook, Google & TikTok to attract a bigger chunk of advertising budgets from companies.

This all creates an incredibly competitive bidding environment within Google ads, which makes the cost per click incredibly expensive for these advertising-related keywords.

👉 Here’s some of the highest CPC keywords in marketing:

1. LinkedIn Advertising: $652.25
2. TikTok Advertising: $306.10
3. Google Advertising: $228.73
4. Bing Advertising: $200.47
5. Twitter Advertising: $95.68
6. Cross Channel Marketing Platforms: $56.83
7. Criteo Alternatives: $54.92
8. Facebook Ads Alternative: $52.01
9. Google Ads Alternative: $45.15
10. Programmatic Advertising Solution: $38.82
11. Best Ad Exchange: $33.28
12. Best Ad Platform for Ecommerce: $30.68

10) Cyber Security

Next up is cyber security, which is one of the fastest-growing industries in the World for obvious reasons - Hackers are getting more advanced, and almost everything we do is now online.

Large corporations are absolutely petrified about having to announce that their system has been hacked - It can have devastating consequences for businesses .

It’s no wonder then that businesses are happy to pay a premium for cyber security and also to make sure they remain compliant with rules and best practices.

👉 Here are some of the highest cost per click keywords in cyber security:

1. SOC 2 Compliance Companies: $217.51
2. Get SOC 2 Certification: $177.62
3. SOC 2 for Startups: $175.35
4. Cybersecurity Solutions for Small Business: $168.37
5. Cloud Security Solutions: $162.11
6. Cloud Security Company: $152.04
7. Cloud Security Services: $138.57
8. Cloud Security: $126.71
9. Penetration Testing Service Provider: $114.35
10. Vanta Competitors: $111.42
11. Endpoint Security Companies: $76.02
12. SOC 2 Type 2 Certification Cost: $65.02
13. Enterprise Cybersecurity Solutions: $56.16
14. Cybersecurity Consolidation: $50.68
15. Network Security Company List: $42.95
16. Corporate Cyber Security: $41.02
17. Network Security Services: $33.15
18. Network Security Company: $29.33
19. Cybersecurity Solutions: $27.96

11) Rehab

To our surprise the rehab industry in the US commands a significantly higher CPC premium for Google ads than the medical industry or cosmetic surgery industries - As we researched all of these in detail as well.

The average cost of drug rehab is around $18,000 - So rehab centers are willing to spend a premium in order to acquire new customers with Google ads.

👉 Here’s the highest CPC keywords we found in the rehab niche:

1. Drug rehab that accepts Cigna: $141.81
2. Inpatient rehab Houston: $102.89
3. Inpatient rehab Las Vegas: $81.03
4. Luxury Rehab California: $68.28
5. Rehab Center California: $66.62
6. Alcohol Rehab LA: $66.62
7. Alcohol detox center: $64.06
8. Luxury Detox California: $59.07
9. Private Rehab: $49.20

Why a $732 click can be rational (and when it’s a trap)

Every “most expensive keywords” article stops at the list. The list is the boring part. The useful question is why anyone pays these prices, because the answer tells you whether you should.

It comes down to one number: what a customer is worth to you. Not competition, not “fierce bidding”. Value.

Run the numbers on a hypothetical personal-injury firm (the client is made up; the arithmetic is not). One signed case is worth $30,000 in fees. One in twenty qualified leads signs. That makes a qualified lead worth $1,500. If it takes roughly three clicks to produce one lead worth chasing, the firm can pay about $500 a click and still come out ahead. Against that math, “truck collision attorney” at the low end of its $54-$732 range isn’t expensive. It’s cheap.

That’s the whole mechanism. High CPC is a symptom of high customer value, working backwards through close rates and lead quality. The math in one line:

Customer value → allowable cost per lead → allowable cost per click. Read it right to left and any scary CPC becomes a spreadsheet question, not a mystery.

Now run the same arithmetic the other way, on a hypothetical plumber. A job nets $200. One in ten quote requests closes, so a quote request is worth $20. Even if every single click produced a quote, a $40 bid loses money, and at a realistic handful of clicks per quote the allowable click cost lands closer to $4. A plumber copying legal-industry bids isn’t buying premium traffic. They’re setting money on fire and calling it competitive.

So the rule this whole page ladders up to:

A high CPC is a signal of high customer value, not a badge of difficulty. Copying another industry’s CPCs without their customer value is how advertisers go broke.

If your true cost per click is climbing past what a converted customer is actually worth, the answer is never “bid harder”. It’s the three moves below.

What to actually do about it

Three moves. In order of how much money they save.

1. Kill the bleed with negatives before you touch bids. A $300 click on the right legal keyword is fine. A $300 click on “free legal advice” or “lawyer salary” that broad match dragged in is not. On expensive terms, one week of wasted broad-match spend costs more than a month of cheap-keyword waste. Tight match types plus an aggressive negative list is the single highest-return thing you can do on a high-CPC account. Start from these negative keyword examples and add ruthlessly. Where it breaks down: over-tight matching on low-volume terms can starve the campaign of data. On genuinely high-volume terms, be surgical, not scorched-earth.

2. Bid to a target CPA, not a max CPC. Staring at the click price is the wrong altitude. You don’t care what a click costs, you care what a customer costs. Set the target off the customer-value math above and let Smart Bidding do the per-click work - it will happily pay a lot for the click that converts and skip the one that won’t. Where it breaks down: target CPA needs conversion volume to learn. On a thin trickle of conversions it guesses, and on a $400-click term you can’t afford many guesses. Seed it with more data first.

3. Bid the cheap variant of the expensive head term. “Truck collision attorney” asks up to $732 at the top of the page. Question-style searches around the same problem, like “18 wheeler accident settlement how long”, typically price far below the head term, and the person asking is deep in the exact problem you solve. The long-tail dodge trades volume for margin, and on brutal head terms that trade is almost always worth it. Where it breaks down: long-tail volume is thin, so this supplements the head terms, it doesn’t replace them. And you still need the negatives from move 1 or the long tail bleeds too.

The Cost of Keywords

Some of the numbers on this page are pretty startling, and in some of these niches you certainly wouldn’t want to be a victim of Google click fraud (where you end up paying for fake clicks).

Additionally, I cannot stress enough the importance of diligently adding negative keywords, especially in hyper competitive industries where you can burn through cash on irrelevant keywords fast. If you manage this across multiple campaigns, our free negative keyword gap finder surfaces the negatives you’ve applied in one campaign but missed in another.

I should also mention that the costs will vary depending on the specific location you are targeting. So for example if you decide to geo-target to a high cost city such as Los Angeles for a local service , then you may be expected to pay slightly higher on keywords vs. a low cost city in the US.

If you would like to verify any of these findings yourself or just have some fun figuring out the costs of similar keywords yourself, then check out the Google keyword planner tool .

FAQ

What does a high CPC indicate?

A high CPC indicates heavy advertiser competition driven by high customer value, not high difficulty. When one converted customer is worth thousands, advertisers can profitably bid hundreds per click, and the auction price rises to meet that willingness to pay. It's a demand signal, not a warning label.

Why is my average CPC so high?

Usually it isn't your industry. It's broad match dragging in irrelevant searches, a weak Quality Score inflating what you pay per click, and a thin or missing negative keyword list. Google's Quality Score maths reward relevance: a better ad and landing page literally lower your CPC for the same position. Fix those three before you blame the auction.

Are high CPC keywords the same as high value keywords?

No, and confusing the two is expensive. A high-CPC keyword is one lots of advertisers pay a lot for. A high-value keyword is one that makes you money. A $5 keyword that converts at 8% beats a $400 keyword that converts at 0.2% every day of the week. Chase value, not price.

Where does this CPC data come from?

The Google Keyword Planner API: top-of-page bid ranges, US targeting, pulled in July 2026 for the flagship keywords in the summary table. Top-of-page bid is the auction's asking range for a top-of-page slot, not what a tuned account typically pays, so treat the high end as a ceiling. The longer per-industry lists are directional.