Marketing Benchmarking Statistics for 2026: Budget Allocation, Channel Performance, Conversion Rates, and ROI

In 2026, the gap between high-performing marketing programs and average ones is not primarily a creativity gap, it is a measurement gap. Marketers who benchmark their performance against verified industry data consistently allocate budgets more precisely, identify underperforming channels earlier, and communicate value to leadership with greater confidence.

Yet the data reveals a persistent problem: budgets have stalled, measurement maturity remains low across most organizations, and a large share of CMOs report insufficient funds to execute their stated strategies. At the same time, specific channels and tactics are showing measurably superior returns. Email marketing delivers ROI ratios that dwarf most digital alternatives. Nano-influencers outperform mega-influencers on engagement by a factor of nearly three. The first organic Google result captures more than a quarter of all clicks. Short-form video generates the highest ROI of any content format by a wide margin in recently published data.

Benchmarks make these realities actionable. Without them, organizations cannot determine whether a 6.42% Google Ads click-through rate is strong or weak, whether a 43% email open rate is above or below industry norms, or whether allocating 7.7% of revenue to marketing puts them at parity or below the competitive threshold for their sector.

This article compiles more than 60 marketing benchmarking statistics drawn from primary research, first-party platform data, institutional studies, and published reports within the last two years. Data spans marketing budget benchmarks by industry, email marketing performance, paid search and display advertising, social media engagement, SEO and organic search, content marketing, and influencer marketing each section built from distinct primary sources.

Scope and Methodology

Includes only publicly available marketing benchmarking statistics relevant for 2026.
Based on the latest figures published within the last two years.
Sources include primary research, first-party platform data, institutional studies, and industry reports.
Each statistic is listed separately with its original source and study context.
No estimates, forecasts, interpretations, or recommendations are included.

Key Marketing Benchmarking Statistics for 2026

Average marketing budgets held flat at 7.7% of overall company revenue in both 2024 and 2025, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey of 402 CMOs and marketing leaders across North America, the UK, and Europe, published by Gartner.
59% of CMOs reported having insufficient budget to execute their strategy in 2025, down five percentage points from 2024, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey published by Gartner.
The average email open rate across all industries in 2025 was 43.46%, based on analysis of over 3.6 million campaigns from 181,000+ accounts conducted by MailerLite.
The average Google Ads click-through rate across all industries in 2024 was 6.42%, based on analysis of over 17,000 U.S.-based campaigns running from April 2023 through March 2024, reported by WordStream.
The average Google Ads conversion rate across all industries in 2024 was 6.96%, based on analysis of over 17,000 U.S.-based campaigns, reported by WordStream.
Brands published an average of 9.5 social media posts per day across networks in 2024, based on analysis of more than 3 billion messages from over 1 million public social profiles between February 2024 and January 2025, reported in the 2025 Content Benchmarks Report by Sprout Social.
Brands saw a 20% jump in average inbound engagements on social media in 2024, climbing from 70% in 2023 to 83%, based on analysis of more than 3 billion messages reported in the 2025 Content Benchmarks Report by Sprout Social.
Organic search produced 33% of overall website traffic on average across seven key industries in 2024, based on analysis of over 800 domains reported by Conductor.
The global influencer marketing industry reached an estimated market size of USD 24 billion in 2024, based on the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
Paid media accounted for 30.6% of total marketing spend in 2025, the largest single budget category and the only segment to grow in share over the prior five years, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Campaign US.
Short-form video was cited as the highest-ROI content format by marketers, and 104% more marketers named it their most valuable channel in 2025 compared to 2024, based on HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report cited in a 2025 benchmarks roundup by KLIQ Interactive.
The average cost per lead across Google Ads increased from USD 66.69 in 2024 to USD 70.11 in 2025, a 5.13% year-over-year increase, based on analysis of 16,446 U.S.-based campaigns running from April 2024 through March 2025, reported by WordStream.

Marketing Budget Benchmarking Statistics

Average marketing budgets dropped to 7.7% of overall company revenue in 2024, down from 9.1% in 2023, based on the 2024 Gartner CMO Spend Survey of 395 CMOs and marketing leaders published by Gartner.
In the four years preceding the pandemic, average marketing budgets were 11% of overall company revenue; in the four years since, they have averaged 8.2%, based on the 2024 Gartner CMO Spend Survey published by Gartner.
Half of the 402 CMOs surveyed in 2025 are working with budgets of 6% or less of company revenue, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Campaign US.
Digital channels accounted for 57.1% of paid media budgets in 2024, up from 54.9% in 2023, with top digital channels including search (13.6%), social advertising (12.2%), and digital display (10.7%), based on the 2024 Gartner CMO Spend Survey published by Gartner.
CMOs in 2025 allocate nearly two-thirds of their channel budget to digital channels, with 69% of all digital spend directed to paid placements, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Campaign US.
Among offline channels in 2024, event marketing (17.1%), sponsorship (16.4%), and TV (16%) were the top three destinations for budget, based on the 2024 Gartner CMO Spend Survey published by Gartner.
39% of CMOs planned to reduce their agency budgets and 39% planned labor reductions in 2025 as strategies to operate within flat overall marketing budgets, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Chief Marketer.
IT and business services providers saw the most dramatic marketing budget decline, with budgets falling from 9% of company revenue in 2024 to 5.8% in 2025, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Chief Marketer.
Consumer products marketing budgets rose 45% to 9.7% of company revenue in 2025, and manufacturing budgets rebounded to 9.5%, based on the 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey reported by Campaign US.
About 24% of B2B organizations with budget knowledge say content marketing takes up one-quarter or more of the total marketing budget, while 48% say it takes up less than 10%, based on the 2024 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.

Email Marketing Benchmarking Statistics

The average email click rate across all industries in 2025 was 2.09%, a slight increase from 2.00% in 2024, based on analysis of over 3.6 million campaigns by MailerLite.
The average email click-to-open rate (CTOR) across all industries in 2025 was 6.81%, up from 5.63% in 2024, based on analysis of over 3.6 million campaigns by MailerLite.
The average email unsubscribe rate in 2025 was 0.22%, more than double the 0.08% recorded in 2024, a change attributed in part to Gmail’s one-click unsubscribe feature rollout, based on analysis of over 3.6 million campaigns by MailerLite.
Religious organizations had the highest email open rates in 2025, averaging 59.7%, while hobbies had the highest email click rates at 4.36%, based on analysis of over 3 million campaigns by MailerLite.
As of February 2025, Apple dominated the email client market with a 50.20% share, followed by Gmail at 27.79% and Outlook at 8.10%, with these three platforms accounting for over 86% of all observed email opens, based on data reported by MailerLite.
The average email open rate across industries as reported by Constant Contact was 32.55%, and the average click-through rate was 2.03%, based on Constant Contact 2024 benchmark data cited in an email statistics roundup by EntrepreneursHQ.
69% of people mark emails as spam based only on the subject line without opening them, based on data cited in the MailerLite 2025 email statistics report at MailerLite.
Australia had the highest average email open rates and click rates globally in 2025, at 46.34% and 2.35% respectively, while Latin American countries had the lowest, based on data from MailerLite.

Paid Search Benchmarking Statistics

The average Google Ads cost per click (CPC) across all industries in 2024 was USD 4.66, a 10% increase over 2023, based on analysis of over 17,000 U.S.-based campaigns by WordStream.
The industries with the highest average CPCs in Google Ads in 2024 were Attorneys and Legal Services (USD 8.94), Home and Home Improvement (USD 6.96), and Dentists and Dental Services (USD 6.82), based on analysis of over 17,000 campaigns by WordStream.
The industries with the highest Google Ads conversion rates in 2024 were Automotive Repair, Service, and Parts (12.96%), Animals and Pets (12.03%), and Physicians and Surgeons (11.08%), based on analysis of over 17,000 campaigns by WordStream.
Cost per lead increased for 19 out of 23 industries in Google Ads in 2024, with an average increase of 25%, based on analysis of over 17,000 U.S.-based campaigns by WordStream.
The average Google Ads cost per lead across all industries in 2025 was USD 70.11, based on analysis of 16,446 U.S.-based campaigns running from April 2024 through March 2025, reported by WordStream.
Attorneys and Legal Services had the highest average cost per lead in Google Ads in 2025 at USD 131.63, while Restaurants and Food and Arts and Entertainment had the lowest at USD 30.27, based on analysis of 16,446 U.S.-based campaigns by WordStream.
Conversion rate increased for 65% of industries (15 out of 23) in Google Ads in 2025, after declining for most industries the prior year, based on analysis of 16,446 campaigns by WordStream.

Social Media Benchmarking Statistics

Instagram’s engagement rate declined slightly to 0.48% in 2025 from 0.50% in 2024, which is still more than three times higher than Facebook’s engagement rate of 0.15%, based on social media statistics data reported by Sprout Social.
The average number of outbound social media engagements across all industries held steady at 2 per day in 2024, while telecommunications led all industries at 21 outbound engagements per day, based on the 2025 Content Benchmarks Report by Sprout Social.
Media sector brands published an average of 64 social posts per day in 2024, the highest of any tracked industry, based on the 2025 Content Benchmarks Report by Sprout Social.
94% of B2B marketers surveyed agreed that trust is the key to success in B2B marketing, based on LinkedIn’s 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report conducted in partnership with Ipsos, surveying 1,500 senior-level B2B marketers, cited by KLIQ Interactive.
65% of marketing leaders say they need to prove how social media supports business goals to get leadership buy-in, based on the 2025 Sprout Social Index reported by Sprout Social.
44.8% of businesses expected significant social media budget increases in 2025, driven by expanding social commerce and AI-driven personalization, based on the 2025 State of Social Media Marketing report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
28.1% of companies maintained their social media budgets at 2023 levels in 2024, while 24% reported a significant budget increase of over 25%, based on the 2025 State of Social Media Marketing report by Influencer Marketing Hub.

SEO and Organic Search Benchmarking Statistics

The average top-ranking Google result receives 27.6% of all clicks, based on data from Advanced Web Ranking cited in a 2025 SEO statistics compilation by SearchAtlas.
The top three organic search results receive 54.4% of clicks, based on Backlinko SERP CTR study data cited in a 2025 SEO statistics compilation by SearchAtlas.
Only 0.63% of users click on page two search results, meaning over 99% of organic traffic goes to page one listings, based on Backlinko SERP CTR study data cited in a 2025 SEO statistics compilation by SearchAtlas.
91% of marketers confirmed that SEO positively affected both website performance and overall marketing goals in 2024, based on the 2025 Conductor State of SEO Survey cited in an SEO statistics compilation by SearchAtlas.
Mobile devices excluding tablets accounted for 62.54% of global organic search traffic in Q4 2024, based on Statista data cited in a 2025 SEO statistics compilation by SearchAtlas.
Organic search accounted for approximately 53% of all tracked website traffic on average, based on BrightEdge 2024 data cited in SEO benchmark analysis by internationaloutsourcinggroup.com.
Since the introduction of Google’s AI Overviews, 63% of marketers reported improvements in their organic traffic, visibility, or rankings, while 17% reported no changes and 10% experienced a negative impact, based on the 2025 Conductor State of SEO Survey cited by Demand Sage.

Content Marketing Benchmarking Statistics

87% of B2B marketers reported that content marketing generates demand and leads in 2024, up 11 percentage points since 2023, based on the 2024 Content Marketing Institute B2B survey cited in a content marketing statistics compilation by Ahrefs.
The most effective B2B content distribution channels in 2024 were social media platforms (90%), blogs (79%), email newsletters (73%), email (66%), in-person events (56%), and webinars (56%), based on Content Marketing Institute 2024 research cited in a content marketing statistics report by Taboola.
72% of B2B content marketers used generative AI tools in 2024, with 51% using them to brainstorm topics, 45% to research headlines and keywords, and 45% to write drafts, based on the 2024 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.
46% of B2B marketers agreed their organization measures content performance effectively, while 36% disagreed, based on the 2024 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks report by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.
84% of B2B marketers created videos in 2024, up from 75% the prior year, based on Content Marketing Institute survey data cited in a content marketing statistics roundup by First Word Media.
In 2025, short-form video was the most used content format (60% of marketers), followed by long-form video (38%) and blog posts (38%), based on HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report cited in a statistics roundup by HubSpot.
Website, blog, and SEO efforts ranked as the top ROI-generating channel for B2B brands in 2024, followed by paid social media content and social media shopping tools, based on the HubSpot State of Marketing 2025 Report cited by HubSpot.
For B2C brands, email marketing ranked as the top ROI-generating channel in 2024, followed by paid social media content and content marketing, based on the HubSpot State of Marketing 2025 Report cited by HubSpot.

Influencer Marketing Benchmarking Statistics

The global influencer marketing industry’s estimated market size reached USD 32.55 billion in 2025, up from USD 24 billion in 2024 and USD 1.4 billion in 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate of 33.11%, based on the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
Nano-influencers achieved an average engagement rate of 1.73% in 2024, significantly higher than macro-influencers (0.61%) and mega-influencers (0.68%), based on the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
Instagram’s average engagement rate across all influencer tiers declined from 2.18% in 2021 to 1.59% in 2024, based on the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
In 2024, influencers collectively created 1.4 billion posts globally, generating USD 236 billion in Earned Media Value, based on HypeAuditor data cited in the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.
81.2% of marketers rated influencer marketing as highly effective for their brand in 2024, down from 90% two years prior as measurement expectations grew more refined, based on the 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report cited in a statistics roundup by Stack Influence.
U.S. influencer marketing spending on Instagram reached USD 2.21 billion in 2024, followed by TikTok at USD 1.25 billion and YouTube at USD 1.07 billion, based on industry data cited in an influencer marketing statistics compilation by SociallyIn.
74% of brands tracked sales directly from their influencer campaigns in recently published data, up significantly from prior years, based on the Influencer Marketing Hub Benchmark Report cited in an ROI metrics report by Archive.com.
26% of marketing agencies and brands allocated over 40% of their total marketing budgets to influencer partnerships in 2024, based on the 2025 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub.

References

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