Black Friday 2025: More expensive, still engaging

Black Friday 2025 was a bit of a head-scratcher. Year on year, spend rose, impressions fell, but clicks and engagement stayed strong.

The data (so far):

• Source: Optmyzr-connected Google Ads accounts (5,000+ ecommerce, 16,000 lead gen advertisers active both years).
• Conversion value and ROAS are still coming in — we’ll update when the full picture is ready.

Two big takeaways:

Visibility got pricier.

• Spend up ~17% across ecommerce and lead gen.
• Impressions fell year over year.
• Translation: advertisers paid more to reach roughly the same audience.

Engagement held steady.

• Clicks and CTR up across the board.
• Lead gen saw slightly lower CPCs and a noticeable lift in clicks.
• Attention is still there — people are clicking.

What this could mean for Q4 and Q1 2026:

Costs likely stay high. Black Friday is already competitive; if reach got more expensive here, the trend probably continues through early 2026.

Clicks aren’t the bottleneck. The bigger question is what happens after the click — returns, conversions, and overall efficiency matter more than raw traffic.

Post-click experience matters. Landing pages, offers, checkout flows, and lead follow-ups will determine success when clicks don’t immediately convert.

Why we care. Black Friday 2025 shows a clear trend: reaching audiences is getting more expensive, even as engagement remains strong. This means that while clicks are easier to get, converting them into revenue or leads will require smarter post-click strategies — optimizing landing pages, offers, and follow-ups is now more critical than ever. Ignoring these shifts could lead to higher spend with lower returns.

Bottom line. Advertisers paid more to stay visible during Black Friday 2025, but attention remained strong. The challenge for the rest of Q4 and Q1 isn’t getting traffic — it’s turning that traffic into results efficiently.

Dig Deeper. Black Friday year on year PPC performance snapshot