Photography and video Google Ads cost per click
Across the US, a typical photography and video campaign on Google Ads pays about $1.90 a click. That ranks 140 of the 146 kinds of business measured here, where the one in the middle pays $5.40.
$1.90
Cost per click, US
390,000
Searches a month, US
$1.80 to $6.00
Google's top-of-page bids for the same searches
By service
Clicks for headshots, products and video cost the most at $3.00, 2.3 times those for portraits and family photos at $1.30. A campaign that takes every service pays somewhere between, set by which ones people search for most where it runs.
| Service | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| Headshots, products and video | $3.00 | 100,000 |
| Weddings | $1.60 | 180,000 |
| Portraits and family photos | $1.30 | 100,000 |
By state
A click costs the most in District of Columbia at $2.70, 2.5 times one in Hawaii at $1.10. The same searches cost more where more businesses bid on them and each customer is worth more. 6 states are left out, with fewer than 1,000 searches a month to price.
Where people search most
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| California | $2.20 | 45,000 |
| Texas | $2.20 | 35,000 |
| Florida | $2.00 | 26,000 |
| New York | $2.10 | 25,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $1.70 | 14,000 |
| Illinois | $2.10 | 14,000 |
| Ohio | $1.50 | 13,000 |
| Georgia | $1.60 | 13,000 |
| North Carolina | $1.70 | 12,000 |
| New Jersey | $1.90 | 12,000 |
Dearest and cheapest
| State | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $2.70 |
| Colorado | $2.30 |
| California | $2.20 |
| Virginia | $2.20 |
| Texas | $2.20 |
| Maine | $1.30 |
| Nebraska | $1.30 |
| Mississippi | $1.10 |
| Iowa | $1.10 |
| Hawaii | $1.10 |
Every state with enough searches (45)
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $2.70 | 1,700 |
| Colorado | $2.30 | 7,800 |
| California | $2.20 | 45,000 |
| Virginia | $2.20 | 9,400 |
| Texas | $2.20 | 35,000 |
| Arizona | $2.10 | 7,500 |
| New York | $2.10 | 25,000 |
| Maryland | $2.10 | 7,300 |
| Illinois | $2.10 | 14,000 |
| Massachusetts | $2.00 | 8,200 |
| Florida | $2.00 | 26,000 |
| Nevada | $2.00 | 3,000 |
| Washington | $2.00 | 9,100 |
| New Jersey | $1.90 | 12,000 |
| Rhode Island | $1.80 | 1,100 |
| Connecticut | $1.80 | 3,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $1.70 | 14,000 |
| North Carolina | $1.70 | 12,000 |
| Minnesota | $1.70 | 6,600 |
| Michigan | $1.70 | 11,000 |
| Delaware | $1.60 | 1,100 |
| Georgia | $1.60 | 13,000 |
| Oregon | $1.60 | 5,300 |
| Utah | $1.60 | 4,100 |
| Idaho | $1.60 | 1,800 |
| Tennessee | $1.60 | 7,200 |
| New Hampshire | $1.50 | 1,700 |
| South Carolina | $1.50 | 5,400 |
| Ohio | $1.50 | 13,000 |
| Missouri | $1.50 | 6,000 |
| Oklahoma | $1.40 | 3,100 |
| Indiana | $1.40 | 6,900 |
| New Mexico | $1.40 | 1,600 |
| Alabama | $1.40 | 4,400 |
| Kansas | $1.40 | 5,400 |
| Louisiana | $1.40 | 3,900 |
| Kentucky | $1.30 | 3,900 |
| Wisconsin | $1.30 | 6,300 |
| Arkansas | $1.30 | 2,500 |
| West Virginia | $1.30 | 1,400 |
| Maine | $1.30 | 1,300 |
| Nebraska | $1.30 | 1,800 |
| Mississippi | $1.10 | 2,300 |
| Iowa | $1.10 | 3,100 |
| Hawaii | $1.10 | 1,500 |
Against Google's own bids
Keyword Planner puts the top-of-page bids for these searches at $1.80 to $6.00: what advertisers bid to show above the results. A typical campaign pays $1.90, inside that range, because Google charges what it takes to beat the ad below and not the bid itself. Planning a budget on the top-of-page bid overstates what clicks will cost.
No published study measures this business on its own, so its price level is the median for its industry in LocaliQ's studies, moved a third of the way toward Google's prices scaled to what campaigns paid. Google's prices set how its services and the states compare.
Priced near photography and video
Just above and below in the ranking
- Catering$2.20
- Car dealership$2.20
- Nail salon$1.90
- DJ and live music$1.60
- Bike shop$1.60
- Wedding and event venue$1.60
Others in events and food
- Party rentals$3.60
- Florist$3.30
- Limo and party bus$2.20
- Catering$2.20
- DJ and live music$1.60
- Wedding and event venue$1.60
- Family entertainment$1.20
- Bakery and custom cakes$1.20
Where the figures come from
Google's own search counts and click prices for the year to August 2026 (Keyword Planner, through DataForSEO), scaled to what campaigns paid in LocaliQ's published studies, rounded to ten cents. They are medians: half of campaigns pay more. The full method is on the benchmark page, and the budget calculator runs on the same data for any ZIP code.
Bringing your own cost per click down starts in the account:
Written by Grant Epley. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Search data to August 2026.