Most Expensive Keywords in Google AdWords

Keyword Cost per Click (CPC)
Insurance $54.91
Loans $44.28
Mortgage $47.12
Attorney $47.07
Credit $36.06
Lawyer $42.51
Donate $42.02
Degree $40.61
Hosting $31.91
Claim $45.51
Conference Call $42.05
Trading $33.19
Software $35.29
Recovery $42.03
Transfer $29.86
Gas/Electicity $54.62
Classes $35.04
Rehab $33.59
Treatment $37.18
Cord Blood $27.80

The Most Expensive PPC Keywords

How does Google make money? Surprisingly, 97% comes from online pay-per-click advertising. At WordStream we can’t get enough PPC; that’s why we decided to conduct some research and find out what the most expensive keywords are in Google. Some of our results about the most popular and most expensive PPC keywords were to be expected, while some (like cord blood and mesothelioma treatment) surprised us and our readers.

Want to learn more about how Google advertising works? Check out our infographic: What is Google AdWords?

Top 10 Most Expensive Google Keywords

The Top 10 Most Expensive Keywords are:

1. Insurance
2. Loans
3. Mortgage
4. Attorney
5. Credit
6. Lawyer
7. Donate
8. Degree
9. Hosting
10. Claim

You’ll notice that these top ten most expensive AdWords keywords deal primarily with financing and industries that manage vast sums of money. The fact that the educational keyword “degree” is one of the top ten most expensive Google keywords, right up with lawyers and credit, reminds us of the growing cost of education.

The next ten most expensive keywords complete our total list, resulting the top 20 most expensive AdWords keywords:

1. Conference Call
2. Trading
3. Software
4. Recovery
5. Transfer
6. Gas/Electricity
7. Classes
8. Rehab
9. Treatment
10. Cord Blood

There you have it – the highest cost keywords. If you are considering entering into one of these industries, be ready to pay high cost per clickrates for the top keywords. While some may start treatment facilities for the greater good, be aware that you’ll wind up in one of the most expensive niche groups, and your paid search marketing wallet will suffer from those high CPCs.

The most expensive SEM keywords may be frustrating for those in the industries, but they are the best keywords for Google, who makes 97% of revenue from advertising on Google sites (AdWords, AdSense). In the last four quarters, the biggest player of search engine history brought in $32.2 billion in total advertising revenue.