# 2026 marketing benchmark guide: sources and definitions

Review date: September 23, 2026. This guide compares published aggregate research; it is not an original agency performance survey.

## Included sources

- [WordStream/LocaliQ 2026 search advertising report](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/2026-google-ads-benchmarks): 13,474 US campaigns, April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026. Finance & Insurance combines sectors. The exact sector sample size is not disclosed; the publisher states at least 52 campaigns per subcategory. Reported figures are medians. The category is not an independent-agency cohort, and conversions are not established as bound policies.
- [Invoca 2026 Insurance Buyer Experience Report](https://www.invoca.com/reports/insurance-buyer-experience-report-2026): 129 US insurance respondents within a 1,356-person US/UK study across seven sectors. Fieldwork ran May 8–22, 2026 through Gather. Responses describe attitudes rather than observed switching, churn or measured effects of response time.

## Comparison rules

Match the population, outcome definition, included costs and measurement period before comparing figures. Media-only cost per lead differs from full customer acquisition cost. Separately reported medians cannot be combined to reconstruct a typical campaign funnel.

Campaign results and survey responses answer different questions and are not pooled. Published percentages are not used to reconstruct individual respondent records. The year identifies the report edition, not a measured year-over-year improvement.

The downloadable source register also records supplementary sources examined during research. These are distinguished from the figures used in the article. Agency-specific targets should use consistent inquiry records, actual costs and sufficiently mature outcomes.