A click on the Google Ads keyword "online criminal justice degree" costs $128.25, the most of any higher education search. Higher education clicks average $18.40, 1.7 times the $10.82 average across 23 industries, and online degree searches fill the top of the price list.
Analysis of 574 higher education keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.The most expensive higher education Google Ads keyword, "online criminal justice degree", costs $128.25 per click, and the five priciest are all online college or degree searches at $100 or more.
- 2.A click on a higher education Google Ads keyword costs $18.40 on average, 1.7 times the $10.82 average across 23 industries, placing higher education 6th of the 23.
- 3.53.5% of higher education Google Ads keywords cost $10 or more per click, and the most expensive 10% cost $51.59 or more.
- 4.A click on a higher education keyword costs $9.93 on Microsoft Ads against $28.61 on Google Ads for the same keywords, 65% less.
- 5.Colleges advertising in Florida pay 26% more per Google Ads click than the national price for the same higher education keywords, while Massachusetts pays 23% less.
Summary
A college marketing team opens Google Ads in August to fill its fall online programs. The prices on screen vary wildly: "community colleges near me" costs $21.07 a click, while "online business administration degree" costs $110.65. Both searches come from future students, and one costs more than five times the other.
Cost per click, or CPC, is what an advertiser pays each time someone clicks its ad in Google's search results, whether or not that person applies. For a school, it decides how many prospective students a recruitment budget can reach. Knowing which searches are cheap and which are expensive shows where an admissions budget goes furthest.
Higher education is one of the most expensive fields to advertise in. A click on a higher education Google Ads keyword costs $18.40 on average, 1.7 times the $10.82 average across 18,477 keywords in 23 industries. The priciest searches are for online degrees, led by "online criminal justice degree" at $128.25 a click.
What we measured
In September 2026 we collected Google Ads Keyword Planner prices for 574 higher education keywords with a cost per click above zero, each searched at least 2,900 times a month in the US. For those keywords we calculated the average, median and spread of cost per click, and compared higher education with 18,477 keywords across 23 industries. We also collected state-level prices for the 25 largest US states, and Microsoft Ads prices for the 269 keywords priced on both platforms.
Cost per click is Google's estimate of the average price an advertiser pays for one click on an ad shown for that search. The median is the middle keyword: half cost less, half cost more. The volume-weighted average counts each keyword by how often it is searched, so busy searches count for more than rare ones. Each state is compared with the national price of the keywords priced in that state, so a state's percentage shows how much more or less a local school pays for identical searches.
Online degree searches are the most expensive clicks
The top of the higher education price list belongs to online programs. After "online criminal justice degree" come "online colleges" at $110.84, "online business administration degree" at $110.65, "online psychology degree" at $109.60 and "online business degree" at $100.88. Every one of the 12 most expensive higher education keywords is an online college, degree or course search, and all cost more than $80 a click.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 574 higher education keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
| Keyword | CPC | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|
| online criminal justice degree | $128.25 | 5,400 |
| online colleges | $110.84 | 33,100 |
| online business administration degree | $110.65 | 5,400 |
| online psychology degree | $109.60 | 4,400 |
| online business degree | $100.88 | 6,600 |
| online college programs | $99.68 | 6,600 |
| online college courses | $96.68 | 18,100 |
| online cyber security degree | $91.09 | 6,600 |
| online education master's programs | $91.04 | 3,600 |
| online psychology master's programs | $85.60 | 4,400 |
| online computer science degree | $85.19 | 9,900 |
| online early childhood education degree | $82.45 | 4,400 |
Online programs cost the most because they compete nationally. A campus program recruits from its region, but an online degree can enroll a student anywhere, so schools across the country bid on the same few searches. A single enrolled student is also worth years of tuition, which is why advertisers can justify more than $100 for one visit.
Higher education clicks cost 1.7 times the cross-industry average
Higher education ranks 6th of 23 industries by average cost per click. The median keyword costs $10.83, and the middle half of higher education keywords cost between $3.81 and $21.92 a click. Weighted by how often each keyword is searched, the average is $19.13, close to the simple average, so the popular searches cost about as much as the typical one.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 574 higher education keywords · Google Ads Keyword Planner, September 2026
| CPC range | Keywords | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1 | 51 | 8.9% |
| $1 to $2 | 29 | 5.1% |
| $2 to $5 | 94 | 16% |
| $5 to $10 | 93 | 16% |
| $10 to $20 | 145 | 25% |
| $20 to $50 | 101 | 18% |
| $50 to $100 | 56 | 9.8% |
| $100 or more | 5 | 0.9% |
53.5% of higher education keywords cost $10 or more per click, and the most expensive 10% cost $51.59 or more. The most common price band is $10 to $20, which holds 145 keywords. The most searched keyword, "community colleges near me", is searched 135,000 times a month and costs $21.07 a click, a local search that a nearby college can win without paying national online degree prices.
Demand follows the academic calendar. Searches for higher education keywords peaked in September 2025 and were lowest in February 2026, with 1.4 times as many searches in the peak month as in the quietest.
Florida pays 26% more than the national price
Location changes the price of the same search. Among the 25 largest states, Florida is the most expensive for higher education clicks, 26% above the national price of the same keywords, followed by Indiana (19% above) and South Carolina (15% above). Massachusetts is the cheapest at 23% below, with New York at 22% below and New Jersey at 17% below.
| State | vs national price |
|---|---|
| Florida | +26% |
| Indiana | +19% |
| South Carolina | +15% |
| New Jersey | -17% |
| New York | -22% |
| Massachusetts | -23% |
Each state is compared with the national price of the keywords that are priced in that state, so the percentage shows the local premium or discount on identical searches. A college recruiting in Florida pays about a quarter more for each click than the national figures suggest.
Microsoft Ads charges 65% less for the same searches
For the 269 higher education keywords priced on both platforms, a click on Microsoft Ads, which shows ads on Bing search, costs $9.93 on average against $28.61 on Google Ads, 65% less. On these keywords, a Microsoft Ads budget buys almost three times as many visits as the same budget on Google.
What this means for colleges and universities
Separate online and campus recruitment. Online degree keywords cost $80 to $128 a click because they compete nationally, so give them their own budget and judge them on cost per enrolled student, not cost per click. Campus programs can target by geography instead and win local searches such as "community colleges near me" at a fraction of online degree prices.
Time budgets to the admissions cycle, with the most spend in the months when search demand peaks, and set state bids from local prices: Florida, Indiana and South Carolina cost more than the national average, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey less. Then copy your best campaigns to Microsoft Ads, where the same keywords cost 65% less.
Working with a google ads agency that prices campaigns by program type and state keeps expensive online degree clicks for the students most likely to enroll.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/higher-education-google-ads-cpc">Online Degree Searches Cost Up to $128.25 per Click on Google Ads - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). Online Degree Searches Cost Up to $128.25 per Click on Google Ads. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/higher-education-google-ads-cpc
Online Degree Searches Cost Up to $128.25 per Click on Google Ads - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/higher-education-google-ads-cpc
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