The $58.64 Click: Revealing The 7 Most Expensive Google Keywords Of 2017 And Why Insurance Lost Its Crown

The year 2017 marked a seismic shift in the world of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, fundamentally changing the landscape of what constituted a 'premium' keyword. For years, the Financial Sector, particularly Insurance, had reigned supreme, commanding the highest Cost-Per-Click (CPC) on the Google AdWords platform. However, an in-depth analysis of data from mid-2016 to mid-2017 revealed a dramatic change, with new, highly specialized, and immediate-need industries surging to the top, driving the average cost of a single click to nearly $60. This article, updated for December 17, 2025, dives deep into the specific keywords and industries that dominated the most expensive list in 2017, and explains the underlying economic forces—specifically Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and urgency—that dictated these staggering prices.

This comprehensive breakdown uses authoritative data from major PPC industry reports of the time, such as those published by WordStream and Search Engine Journal, to dissect the economic rationale behind these high-stakes digital auctions. The surprising results showed that keywords related to crucial, high-value, and often urgent services surpassed traditional financial giants, proving that the value of an immediate, high-converting lead was more important than ever. Understanding these 2017 trends provides invaluable context for today's complex bidding strategies on Google Ads.

The Shocking List: Top 7 Most Expensive Google AdWords Keywords of 2017

In 2017, the most expensive keywords were not single terms but often categories of highly valuable, commercially-driven search queries. The list below represents the average CPC for the top categories, showcasing the intense competition among advertisers for high-intent traffic. This shift demonstrated a move away from broad financial terms to highly niche, high-value B2B and emergency services.

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• 1. Business Services: $58.64 CPC
• 2. Bail Bonds: $58.48 CPC
• 3. Casino (Online Gambling): $55.48 CPC
• 4. Lawyer (Legal Services): $54.86 CPC
• 5. Asset Management: $49.86 CPC
• 6. Insurance: $48.41 CPC
• 7. Cash Services & Payday Loans: $48.18 CPC

Why Business Services Topped the List at $58.64 Per Click

The rise of the "Business Services" category to the number one spot was perhaps the most significant PPC story of 2017. This category includes highly specific and high-value B2B keywords, such as "data room," "network security monitoring," and "enterprise cloud solutions."

The reason for the staggering $58.64 average CPC is simple: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) in the B2B space is immense. A single conversion from a search query like "secure data room provider" can result in a multi-year contract worth tens of thousands, or even millions, of dollars. For a company to pay $58.64 for a click—or even a few hundred dollars for a qualified lead—is a negligible investment when the potential Return on Investment (ROI) is so high.

This trend highlighted a maturation in Google Ads bidding strategy, where companies in the Financial Sector and high-tech B2B space were willing to pay almost anything to capture a prospect at the crucial moment of high search intent.

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The Psychology of Urgency: Bail Bonds and Lawyer Keywords

Categories like Bail Bonds and Legal Services consistently feature at the top of the expensive keyword lists, and 2017 was no exception. These industries capitalize on one powerful human emotion: urgency. When someone searches for "bail bonds near me" or "DUI lawyer," they are not browsing; they are in a state of immediate crisis and require a service right now.

Bail Bonds: With an average CPC of $58.48, Bail Bonds was the second most expensive category. The service is non-negotiable and time-sensitive. The person searching needs a solution immediately, and the bail bond company makes a high-margin fee (often 10-15% of the total bond amount) from a single transaction. This high-profit, high-urgency model fuels the bidding war, driving the Cost-Per-Click to nearly $60.

Lawyer & Legal Services: Similarly, the Lawyer category, with keywords like "personal injury lawyer" or "mesothelioma attorney," saw a $54.86 CPC. The potential settlement or judgment in a single case can be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. A law firm can easily justify spending hundreds of dollars on Pay-Per-Click advertising to acquire one client with such a massive potential payout.

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The Great Dethroning: Why Insurance Dropped to Number 6

For many years prior to 2017, the Insurance industry—encompassing terms like "car insurance quotes" and "life insurance rates"—was the undisputed king of high-CPC keywords. In the 2017 data, however, Insurance dropped significantly to the 6th spot with a still-high, but comparatively modest, $48.41 CPC.

The primary reason for this decline was not a decrease in the value of an Insurance customer, but rather a shift in the market's digital sophistication and the rise of new competitors:

• Increased Competition & Niche Bidding: Other industries, particularly B2B and emergency services, began to recognize and invest heavily in their own high-value, niche keywords. This intense focus on highly commercial "long-tail" keywords in other sectors pushed their average CPCs higher than the more generalized, though still expensive, Insurance terms.
• The Rise of Aggregators: Comparison and lead-generation sites became more efficient at capturing Insurance traffic. These sites, which have sophisticated bidding strategies and high Quality Scores, drove up the competition for broad terms, but the most expensive clicks were being captured by the new top categories.
• PPC Trends of 2017: Focus on AI and Machine Learning: The 2017 PPC landscape was heavily influenced by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning in Google Ads. These technologies allowed advertisers to optimize their bidding strategies for Conversion Rate and ROI more precisely than ever before, leading to an even more aggressive focus on the few keywords that guaranteed the highest possible CLV, which were the newly dominant Business Services and Bail Bonds.

The Economic Entities Driving High CPC

The common thread among the most expensive keywords of 2017 is the concept of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Every industry on the top list had a potential customer transaction worth thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. This high potential Return on Investment (ROI) justifies an aggressive Bidding Strategy where advertisers are willing to pay a premium to ensure their ad appears at the absolute top of the search results.

The key entities and terms that defined the high-stakes Google Ads environment in 2017 included:

Core PPC Entities: Google AdWords, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Return on Investment (ROI), Quality Score, Search Intent, Conversion Rate, Bidding Strategy, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

High-Value Industries: Financial Sector, Legal Services, Online Gambling, Asset Management, Cash Services & Payday Loans, Business Services, Bail Bonds, Insurance.

Specific Keyword Examples: Data Room, Network Security Monitoring, DUI Lawyer, Mesothelioma Attorney, Car Insurance Quotes.

The 2017 data serves as a crucial historical benchmark, demonstrating the moment when specialized, high-urgency services officially surpassed traditional financial giants in the digital advertising arms race, setting the stage for the highly sophisticated and competitive Google Ads platform we see today.