Paid Media

BENCHMARK
REPORT
Q2 2018

What’s a good conversion rate? How much should you pay for a click on a Facebook ad?

These questions are top-of-mind for performance marketers in any industry. At AdStage,
we believe data should be used to drive decisions that will grow your business. To help
you set the benchmarks for success, we’ve aggregated data from 8.5 billion impressions
and 93 million clicks powered by the AdStage platform.

We used this data to find network-specific benchmarks for paid search and paid social.
Our benchmark report includes AdStage data from the following networks:

Google Ads

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Twitter

Bing

We narrowed our focus to specific ad placement types, so you can see how Google
Display Ads, for example, compare to Google Search Ads. We also added major ad
product updates for each network, so you can see at a glance what’s new in performance
advertising in Q2 2018

For more information and the most recent trends and new in performance marketing,
follow us on Twitter @adstage and subscribe to our blog.
FACEBOOK 4

13

INSTAGRAM 17

LINKEDIN 22

TWITTER 27

GOOGLE ADS - DISPLAY

37
NETWORK

YOUTUBE 42

BING ADS 47

TRENDS 54

INSIGHTS 60

RESOURCES 69
04
FACEBOOK
Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 3 billion ad impressions and 66 million clicks in the News
Feed, on mobile and desktop.

The key metrics decreased across the board for the second quarter in a row.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Facebook ads decreased by 10.4% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Facebook ads decreased by 5% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Facebook ads decreased by 12.3% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

Q2 2018

Based on the AdStage data, 50% of advertisers had CPCs between $0.38 and $0.51, with
the median CPC at $0.43. CPCs have decreased by 23% over the past two quarters.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

CPMs for Facebook ads in the News Feed have decreased by almost 25% compared to
the end of last year (Q4 2017).

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

CTRs for Facebook ads in the News Feed have remained mostly flat over the past three
quarters. The Q2 2018 median CTR was 2.24% -- a 5% decrease from Q1 2018.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 261 million ad impressions and over 2 million clicks on the
Facebook Audience Network. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median
CPM was $4.13, CPC was $0.50, and CTR was 0.82%.

Year-over-year, CTRs decreased by 64%, CPCs increased by 194%, and CPMs increased
by 6% from Q2 2017.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Audience Network ads increased by 163% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Audience Network ads decreased by 38% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Audience Network ads increased by 72% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

Q2 2018

Among AdStage advertisers, CPCs on the Facebook Audience Network soared to a record
high in Q2 2018. Based on the median benchmarks, advertisers paid $0.50 per click -- a
163% increase from the Q1 2018 benchmark.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

CPMs on the Facebook Audience Network jumped 72% compared to Q1 2018. Based on
the median benchmarks, advertisers paid $4.13 per thousand impressions.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, CTRs on the Facebook Audience Network continued to decline. From 2017 to
2018, CTRs dropped by 64%.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed almost 70 million ad impressions and over 400 thousand clicks
on Facebook Messenger. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC
was $1.23, CPM was $7.34, and CTR was 0.60%.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Facebook Messenger ads increased by 13% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Facebook Messenger ads increased by 24% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Facebook Messenger ads increased by 11% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$1.23 $7.34 0.60%
2018 2018 2018
 Q2 2018

Facebook Messenger Q2 Benchmarks

Among AdStage advertisers, CPCs on Facebook Messenger ads increased by 13%
quarter-over-quarter. Based on the median benchmarks, advertisers paid $1.23 per click.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Facebook Messenger Q2 Benchmarks

CPMs on Facebook Messenger increased by 24% from Q1 2018. Based on the median
benchmarks, AdStage advertisers paid $7.34 per thousand impressions.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Facebook Messenger Q2 Benchmarks

Facebook Messenger CTRs are up 11%, with a median benchmark of 0.60% in Q2 2018.
This is still way below the median benchmark of 1.20% from last year.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

17 INSTAGRAM

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Instagram Q2 Benchmarks
In Q1 2018, we analyzed over 390 million ad impressions and 5 million Instagram clicks.
The median CPC was $1.37, CPM was $8.60, and CTR was 0.62%.

Compared to last year, Instagram CPCs decreased by almost 70%, CPMs were down 26%,
and CTRs increased by a whopping 121%.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Instagram ads decreased by 3% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Instagram ads increased by 9% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Instagram ads increased by 19% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$1.37 $8.60 0.62%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Instagram Q2 Benchmarks
In 2018, Instagram CPCs dropped by almost 70%, and have remained mostly flat over the
past two quarters. Based on the median benchmarks, AdStage advertisers paid $1.37 per
click.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Instagram Q2 Benchmarks
In Q2 2018, Instagram CPMs were up 9% -- almost 70 cents above the Q1 benchmarks, but
still much cheaper than last year.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Instagram Q2 Benchmarks
CTRs on Instagram are on the rise -- up almost 19% from Q1 2018, and a whopping 121%
above last year’s median benchmark, from 0.23% in Q2 2017 to 0.62% in Q2 2018.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

22 LINKEDIN

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

LinkedIn Q2 2018
In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 2.3 billion ad impressions and over 3.6 million clicks on
LinkedIn. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC was $4.83, CPM
was $7.13, and CTR was 0.15%.

CTR Y/Y increased 50%, continuing the trend we observed in 2017. While CPC decreased
22% Y/Y. Q2 CPM increased 20% Y/Y.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on LinkedIn ads decreased by 8% since Q1 2018
● CPM on LinkedIn ads increased by 5% since Q1 2018
● CTR on LinkedIn ads increased by 15% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$4.83 $7.13 0.15%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

LinkedIn Q2 Benchmarks
Among AdStage advertisers, CPCs on LinkedIn ads were down 8% compared to Q1 2018.
Based on the median benchmarks, advertisers paid $4.83 per click on the platform.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

LinkedIn Q2 Benchmarks
The median CPM benchmark in Q2 2018 was $7.13, a 5% increase from Q1. Compared to
last year, advertisers paid a dollar more per thousand impressions ($7.13 vs $5.17).

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

LinkedIn Q2 Benchmarks
CTRs on LinkedIn rose to 0.15%, growing 15% in a quarter. Compared to last year, Q2
median CTRs were up 50% (0.15% vs. 0.09%).

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

27 TWITTER

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Twitter Q2 2018
In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 318 million ad impressions and over 3 million clicks on
Twitter. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC was $0.78, CPM
was $7.09, and CTR was 0.90%.

Year-over-year, Q2 CPC increased 66%, CPM is up 49%, and CTR decreased 10%.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Twitter ads increased by 3.6% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Twitter ads decreased by 17.6% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Twitter ads decreased by 26% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 Median Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$0.78 $7.09 0.90%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Twitter Q2 Benchmarks
Among AdStage advertisers, CPCs on Twitter jumped to a record high of $0.78. This is
more than a 100% quarter-over-quarter increase.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Twitter Q2 Benchmarks
Twitter CPMs increased almost 10% in Q2 2018, averaging at $7.08. Compared to last year,
advertisers paid 2 dollars more per thousand impressions ($7.09 vs. $4.76)..

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Twitter Q2 Benchmarks
AdStage data reveals a steep decline in Twitter CTRs over the last two quarters. CTRs
dropped by 40%. The median Q2 2018 CTR benchmark was 0.86%.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

32 GOOGLE ADS

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google Search Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed 175 million ad impressions and over 7 million clicks on Google
Search. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC was $2.84, CPM was
$114, and CTR was 4.08%.

CTR Y/Y decreased 30%, while CPC increased 34% Y/Y. Q2 CPM ended 7% lower Y/Y
from Q2 2017.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Google Search ads increased by 3% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Google Search ads decreased by 2.4% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Google Search ads decreased by 3.7% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$2.84 $114 4.08%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google Ads - Search Q2 Benchmarks

Among AdStage advertisers, median CPC for Google Ads remained mostly flat -- just a 3%
increase from Q1 benchmark. Compared to last year, however, CPCs on Search Ads
increased by almost 35%.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google Ads - Search Q2 Benchmarks

CPMs for Google Ads in search dropped by 2.4% from Q1. The median benchmark was
$114 per thousand impressions. This is 7% lower than Q2 2017 benchmark.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google Ads - Search Q2 Benchmarks

CTRs for Google Ads in search are down by 3.7%, a 30% decline from last year’s
benchmark.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

37 GOOGLE
DISPLAY
NETWORK

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Google Display Network Q2
Benchmarks
In Q2 2018, we analyzed almost 1.3 billion ad impressions and over 4.5 million clicks on
Google Display Network. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC
was $0.64, CPM was $2.25, and CTR was 0.35%.

Q2 CPM ended 25% higher Y/Y from Q2 2017. CTR Y/Y also increased 25%, while CPC
remained flat Y/Y.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Google Display Network ads decreased by 16% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Google Display Network ads decreased by 20% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Google Display Network ads remained flat since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$0.64 $2.25 0.35%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Google Display Network Q2
Benchmarks
Among AdStage advertisers, median CPMs on the Google Display Network dropped by
16%. The median CPC benchmark was $0.64 per click. This is exactly the same figure we
saw on the AdStage platform in Q2 2017.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Google Display Network Q2
Benchmarks
CPMs on the Google Display Network dropped 20%. Based on our median benchmarks,
advertisers paid $2.24 per thousand impressions for ads running on the Google Display
Network partner websites and apps.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Google Display Network Q2
Benchmarks
CTRs on the Google Display Network remained flat quarter-over-quarter at 0.35%. On the
AdStage platform, we’ve seen a 25% increase for median CTRs year-over-year.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

42 YOUTUBE

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google YouTube Q2 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 450 million ad impressions and over 1.3 million clicks on
YouTube. Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, the median CPC was $3.58, CPM
was $11.43, and CTR was 0.34%.

YouTube CPC Y/Y increased 11.5%, CPM increased 18% Y/Y. And Q2 YouTube CTRs
ended 3% up Y/Y from Q2 2017.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on YouTube ads increased by 11.5% since Q1 2018
● CPM on YouTube ads increased by 18% since Q1 2018
● CTR on YouTube ads increased by 3% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$3.58 $11.43 0.34%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google YouTube Q2 Benchmarks

Among AdStage advertisers, CPCs for YouTube Ads jumped 11.5%. The median CPC
benchmark was $3.58 per click.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google YouTube Q2 Benchmarks

YouTube CPMs were up 18% in Q2 2018 compared to Q1 benchmark. Based on the median
benchmarks, advertisers paid $11.43 per thousand impressions.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google YouTube Q2 Benchmarks

CTRs on YouTube ads remained flat quarter-over-quarter. The median CTR benchmark
was 0.34%. This quarter’s benchmark is almost 26% higher than at the same time last year.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

47 BING ADS

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Bing Ads Q1 2018

In Q2 2018, we analyzed over 23 million ad impressions and over 665 thousand clicks on
Bing.

Bing ads CTR Y/Y increased 10%, while CPC decreased 17% Y/Y. Q2 Bing ads CPM ended
2.6% higher Y/Y from Q2 2017.

Key Takeaways
● CPC on Bing ads decreased by 12.4% since Q1 2018
● CPM on Bing ads decreased by 4.7% since Q1 2018
● CTR on Bing ads increased by 11.4% since Q1 2018

Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN Q2 MEDIAN

CPC CPM CTR

$3.09 $89.94 2.94%
2018 2018 2018

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Bing Ads Q2 Benchmarks

Among AdStage advertisers, we’ve seen a 12.4% drop in median CPCs for Bing Ads
quarter-over quarter. Based on the median benchmarks, advertisers paid $3.09 per click.

Max & Min CPC 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Bing Ads Q2 Benchmarks

CPMs for Bing Ads dropped from $94.35 in Q1 2018 to $89.94 in Q2 2018. Year-over-year,
CPMs have remained mostly flat.

Max & Min CPM 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Bing Ads Q2 Benchmarks

Q/Q CTR rates for Bing Ads have improved, increasing 11.4% in Q2. The rise in CTRs
continues the trend starting in Q4 2017.

Max & Min CTR 1st & 3rd Quartile Median

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

54 TRENDS

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Facebook’s growth is slowing as it grapples

with the data scandal aftermath

From GDPR updates to grueling congressional hearings, it’s been a busy

second quarter for Facebook. After the historic stock plunge and reports
of stagnant growth, marketers are wondering how the company will
acquire new users. User saturation and ad saturation are two big
challenges for Facebook, which means the company will need to figure
out how to innovate the product and grow their ad inventory.

But these setbacks didn’t cause Facebook’s ad business to falter as the

company continued to launch new features for advertisers.

Facebook launched closed beta for AR ads, added lead-gen features to

ads for automotive, introduced autoplay video ads in Messenger, and
rolled out Watch, the site’s video hub. Watch offers creators more
monetization options on the platform, such as collaboration on branded
content, and in-stream ads within Live Video.

Also in Q2 2018, Facebook Audience Network opened inventory to in-app

header bidding for publishers who manage their app monetization
through in-house or through MoPub, Fyber, and MAX.

At the same time, Facebook made it easier for advertisers to analyze,

report, and improve their campaign performance. They launched the first
Facebook Analytics mobile app, introduced new A/B testing features
within the Quick Creation workflow, and added “Creative Reporting” to
showcase the best-performing ad creatives.

Looking into Q3, we expect marketers to diversify their ad spend as they

explore the most cost-effective ways to acquire and engage users outside
of just the News Feed.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Google AdWords rebrands as

Google Ads

Google didn’t seem to take a huge hit from GDPR or the huge antitrust fine
that it paid to the European Union. Alphabet, Google’s parent company,
grew its revenue by 26% from last year, driven by the company’s core
advertising business.

At the end of Q2, Google went through a major rebrand of its core ad
product. Google AdWords is now Google Ads, and DoubleClick and
Google Analytics 360 are rolled up under the new Google Marketing
Platform.

The trend towards simplifying its marketing solutions is seen in Google’s

latest updates for search ads -- the new responsive ad type which allows
marketers to set up one ad with multiple headlines and descriptions, and
have Google test combinations dynamically. Google is also making it
easier for retail marketers to bid smarter using comparative pricing data --
now available for Google Shopping campaigns. For local marketing,
Google launched affiliate location extensions in Search & Display
campaigns to help brands show users nearby retail chains.

Looking into Q3, we expect marketers to continue to invest more in local

search advertising -- especially on mobile -- to capture consumer intent
on and off the search results page, such is in Maps and on the partner
network.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Instagram makes more moves to chip

away at TV ad budgets

Instagram has proven to be great platform to build brand presence for companies targeting
younger, affluent audiences. But outside of just brand awareness, e-commerce marketers
are using the platform to drive sales and increase profits.

In Q2 2018, Instagram doubled down on its ad product development for direct response
advertisers. In June, the company launched a closed beta to allow select advertisers to add
a shopping bag icon to Instagram Stories that will display more details about the featured
product. This will allow marketers to capitalize on the growing popularity of the new
Snapchat-like content type. Earlier in May, Instagram also gave more third-party apps access
to “action buttons” that let users make reservations, purchase tickets, or book a restaurant in
Instagram. Moving into Q3, we expect marketers to continue to generate more online sales
through shoppable posts on the platform.

At the same time, Instagram plans to capture more media dollars as it adds new ad
placement options for brands with its long-form video app IGTV. If Facebook and Instagram
manage to persuade top influencers to exclusively provide content for the platforms, the
platform will compete directly with YouTube for video ad budgets.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

LinkedIn is laser-focused on ABM marketers

LinkedIn’s strong positioning as the go-to network for

professionals makes it an indispensable source of leads for
B2B marketers. In Q2 2018, the platform continued to improve
its ad offerings for lead generation marketers.

With the new Sponsored Content carousel ads, marketers can

showcase their content on up to 10 customized, swipeable
cards. Starting April 2018, advertisers now also have the
option to customize their conversion attribution windows. This
feature allows advertisers to decide how long after the last ad
click or impression their campaign is eligible to record a
conversion.

In June, LinkedIn also rolled out its Matched Audience

integration with Salesforce Advertising Studio. This is an
important update for marketers focused on the ABM
(account-based marketing) approach, as they can now upload
their CRM data from Salesforce and market to prospects and
known contacts.

Moving into Q3, we expect B2B marketers to experiment with

the new features and formats, including carousel and video
ads, and continue to invest in InMail and lead-gen ads for
Sponsored Content.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Twitter is betting on video

Twitter is going big on video advertising. According to the company’s Q1 2018 earnings
report, video ads accounted for more than half its advertising revenue. In June, the
micro-blogging platform opened up in-stream video ads to all advertisers in 12 global
markets. According to Nielsen, this ad type is very successful at increasing brand recall,
awareness, and even purchase intent.

Twitter is also building out its ad offerings through programmatic. In May, it piloted its
Timeline Ad program and started recruiting publishers who’ll place ads in Twitter Timelines
embedded in publishers’ sites.

At the end of Q2, social media managers may have seen a drop in Twitter page followers.
This is because Twitter removed 214% more accounts for violating its spam policies,
compared to last year. Twitter is also making progress towards increasing ad transparency
with its new Ad Transparency Center -- a helpful tool for advertisers to view the creatives
for all ad campaigns run by their competitors.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

YouTube improves forecasting for

media planners

Earlier in 2018, YouTube made it easier for advertisers to target users on YouTube based
on their search history. In Q2, the company added a new option to reach these audiences
with a new skippable option for short-form branding ads called TrueView for Reach.
Advertisers can now pay for ads after viewers watch 30 seconds, the video ends, or
viewers interact with the ads.

At the same time, YouTube is working to help marketers better plan and measure
campaigns. The new Reach Planner for YouTube and video ad forecasting in AdWords are
designed to help media planners forecast the impact of video campaigns on YouTube and
the Google Display Network. At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, YouTube also announced
its new creative suite with Video Experiments, Creative Analytics, YouTube Director Mix,
and Video Ad Sequencing. Moving into Q3, we expect marketers to take advantage of the
new tools, raising the bar on video campaign reporting and using more data to inform
brand strategy.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Bing advertisers can finally tap into

LinkedIn data

The eyes and ears of the PPC community may be on the

Google-Facebook duopoly, but behind the scenes, Microsoft
has quietly turned into a billion-dollar advertising giant. The
company has shipped tons of updates this year including
Audience Segmentation and Price Extensions. But after the
LinkedIn acquisition, Bing Advertisers kept wondering: When
is Bing going to integrate LinkedIn data for campaign
targeting?

Finally, in Q2, Microsoft made this data available to all Bing

advertisers. Microsoft announced its new Microsoft Audience
Network (MSAN) at the Bing Partner Summit in Seattle. MSAN
taps all Microsoft data sources (including LinkedIn data!) and
leverages machine learning to target ads by consumer intent
signals, such as search history, browsing history, page
content, in addition to demographic data. Based on the
feedback we got from the industry experts, advertisers are
excited to use the new feature and combine social targeting
with keyword intent at scale.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

60 INSIGHTS
FROM THE EXPERTS

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which paid media tactics worked
best in Q2 2018?

Nash Haywood
Senior Paid Media Manager, Genesys

Paid social, particularly LinkedIn, has become a very effective channel due to its
flexibility across the multiple areas of the marketing funnel and providing brand
awareness during the sales process as part of an account nurture strategy. The ability
to target at scale with precision is one of the biggest reasons I believe LinkedIn is
seeing the platform growth. They continue to build a robust platform with some very
interesting features of their roadmap.

Joe Martinez
Director of Paid Media & Community,
Granular Marketing

Nothing too new for me, but focusing more on Display and YouTube has helped grow
brand affinity and performance across several campaigns. When we spend time on
audience segmentation in YouTube, we've been able to capture direct conversions and
revenue from first user interaction (especially with TrueView for Shopping campaigns). But
the true value has been seeing how users interact with our top-of-funnel campaigns and
later come back and search for our brand names. The time, effort, and ad spend focused
on awareness has helped drive an increase in users searching for our branded terms
which consistently convert at a higher rate.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which paid media tactics worked
best in Q2 2018?

Luke Alley
VP of Digital Marketing, Avalaunch Media

We've seen some great wins this year combining highly visual content with paid social
amplification. You get the reach of a big PR push, the focused targeting of paid ads to
reach the right audience, and the link equity of a SEO campaign.

AJ Wilcox
LinkedIn Ads Evangelist and Founder, B2Linked

Account-based Marketing, or specifically targeting by company name has become a

mainstay of targeting for us, and it's worked very well during Q2. Although we got video
ads, their high cost caused us to turn our attention back to static sponsored content. We
have also been recommending Lead Gen Forms for both Sponsored Content and
Sponsored InMail more and more for the better conversion rates, despite their janky
backend.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which paid media tactics worked
best in Q2 2018?

Akvile DeFazio
President, Akvertise

With the impending changes of Facebook removing certain targeting demographics in

Q3, we have a number of higher-end home product clients that have heavily relied on
home owner and income-based targeting for success within their campaigns. In light
of these upcoming changes, we have been adding audience specific UTM parameters
to ads that target these dissipating demographics and then creating custom audiences
based on them for future use. We have already begun testing the new custom
audiences to see if they are working, and it appears that they are given the
performance being in line with preexisting targeting options ad sets.

Paul Wicker
VP of Product, AdStage

Last quarter, we finally dipped our toes into video. We used Google’s Director Onsite
product to get our video created. The video production is free as long as you spend at
least $350 on YouTube ads promoting it. We ended up reusing the video in multiple
channels so it was well worth the $350. I’d tell you how it performed in AdWords...ahem I
mean Google Ads... but I can never find anything in the new AdWords Interface!?! Actually
we’re seeing low-cost video views (sub $0.05) but we need more time to see the impact
on SQLs due to our longer sales cycle.

We also kicked off our first InMail campaign on LinkedIn. We saw open rates north of 70%,
and it kicked off a number of productive sales conversations. We’re using our own product
to measure the impact of LinkedIn Ads on SQLs, and InMail is generating solid leads for us.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which paid media tactics worked
best in Q2 2018?

Eric Ramos
Director of Analytics, Business Online

Synergies from ad tech and martech solutions such as the “Google Ads Conversions
Import for Salesforce” and tag management platforms to pass cookie information to
CRM systems are allowing marketers to track digital marketing spend through to key
milestones captured such as MQLs , Opportunities, and Closed-Won business. Given
that, we have seen more digital marketing investments in paid social platforms such as
LinkedIn and Facebook where you have opportunity to target and engage with quality
audience in a professional context though products such as LinkedIn "Sponsored
Content" and Facebook "News Feed" experiences.

Given that, we have seen more digital marketing investments in paid social platforms
such as LinkedIn and Facebook where you have opportunity to target and engage with
quality audience in a professional context though products such as LinkedIn
"Sponsored Content" & Facebook "News Feed" experiences.

Gil Alouche
CEO, Metadata

We practice what we preach and have seen tremendous success with account-based
marketing, specifically with dedicated joint marketing+sales outreach campaign using
outbound, "air-cover" (advertising outreached accounts), and direct mail vis-a-vis. We’re
making sure our target 'buying committees' within our list of target accounts see our
messages everywhere they are, hence earning their attention. For sales acceleration, we
have seen webinars (both joint with customers and partners or solo) as great drivers for
sales, as most questions and concerns can be addressed, and blockers are removed,
preparing the account for closure.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which new ad products and
features are you excited about?

Akvile DeFazio
President, Akvertise

With our client roster containing several travel and tourism-based accounts,
Facebook's new ad set feature that allows prioritization of ad delivery to people who
plan to travel was a pleasant addition to our efforts. This new feature is helping us
better reach their target demographics for traveler-based services.

AJ Wilcox
LinkedIn Ads Evangelist and Founder, B2Linked

I absolutely love the concept around the Microsoft Audience Network. Microsoft's
purchase of LinkedIn was exciting, because there is no network out there which combines
social targeting with keyword intent at scale, and by combining the Bing Ads and LinkedIn
Ads datasets, we now have this. Plus, I've got massive respect for the Bing Ads team for
building their platform so quickly, and I think LinkedIn may be able to profit from Bing's
learnings on that side, since LinkedIn Ads platform is behind other industry players in so
many areas.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which new ad products and
features are you excited about?

Joe Martinez
Director of Paid Media & Community, Granular Marketing

I've been really happy with in-market audiences in search for both Google Ads and
Bing Ads. We started out first with observing audiences that made sense, but it has
been really interesting to see how certain audiences outside of our normal
assumptions perform. Sometimes we see an unexpected in-market audience perform
really well in search. It gives us some confidence to test some display campaigns with
those audiences to see if our target audience is part of both.

Gil Alouche
CEO, Metadata

I'm excited about Liveramp IdentityLink. The ability to correlate advertising engagement
not only on a company level, but rather on a seniority, function level (without jeopardizing
customer privacy) is a game changer for B2B advertisers, especially when leveraging it
with AI, as it helps with more granular experimentation.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018
Which new ad products and
features are you excited about?

Nash Haywood
Senior Paid Media Manager, Genesys

Gartner's Digital Markets platform continues to provide value for B2B software
marketers. By aggregating features, reviews and product pricing, they have created a
great resource for software buyers, and the quality of traffic from their portfolio of sites
continues to be among the best.

I'm also impressed by what ABM providers Terminus and RollWorks have been able to
do in the last 6 to 9 months. Both vendors have solid products that give marketers the
ability to execute campaigns across all stages of the sales pipeline in real-time using
CRM integration. Orchestrating multiple types of buyer's journeys and aligning
messaging has been effective in allowing us to move prospects through the funnel
programmatically -- essentially showing the "right ad, right time" at scale across many
different audiences.

Luke Alley
VP of Digital Marketing, Avalaunch Media

We've really enjoyed being forced into the new Google Ads interface... syke! Has anyone
liked that?? One feature we are actually finding useful is AdWords Notes. As a
cross-functional team, it's useful to be able to understand context of changes without
having to Slack each other for the answer. It's a simple change but one that's been handy.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Look beyond the surface data

We hope our data on the median CPC, CPM, and CTR across advertising networks will be
useful to benchmark your own campaigns in 2018. It’s important to note that our
benchmarks represent aggregated data from the accounts linked to our reporting
platform, so the numbers don’t necessarily illustrate the larger trends.

CPC, CPM, and CTR metrics also only show the tip of the iceberg of data that marketers
need to improve new customer acquisition. AdStage customers -- top lead generation
marketers across different industries -- use our closed-loop reporting and automation
platform to connect campaign data with conversion data, see real customers and revenue
behind the clicks, and take action on those insights to improve marketing ROI.

Learn more about AdStage or start a free 14-day trial to see how you can use our
closed-loop solution to drive business growth.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report

 Q2 2018

Resources
1. "Facebook Q2 2018 Earnings." Facebook - Corporate Governance - Audit Committee Charter.
Accessed August 06, 2018.
https://investor.fb.com/investor-events/event-details/2018/Facebook-Q2-2018-Earnings/default.
aspx.
2. "Alphabet Investor Relations." Alphabet. Accessed August 06, 2018. https://abc.xyz/investor/.
3. "Twitter Q2 2018 Earnings." Facebook Investor Relations. Accessed August 06, 2018.
https://investor.twitterinc.com/results.cfm.
4. "Microsoft Q2 2018 Earnings." Microsoft Investor Relations. Accessed August 06, 2018.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor.
Amy Gesenhues, Debra Mastaler, Ryan Phelan, Greg Sterling, Sam Welch, Ginny
5. “This Week in Ad Tech” Top News in Ad Tech Newsletter (April 01, 2018 - June 30, 2018).
Email.
6. The AdStage Blog. Accessed August 06, 2018. https://blog.adstage.io/.

Q2 2018 Paid Search and Paid Social Benchmark Report