Cost per lead (CPL)
Cost per lead is your total ad spend divided by the number of genuine enquiries it produced.
Spend $1,200 in a month and get 20 enquiries, and your cost per lead is $60.
It's a reliable number when every enquiry in the count is a real one.
A phone-number tap shows intent, though it doesn't prove the call connected, so I report taps separately from forms and calls.
I set every lead action to count 1 per click, so someone who rings twice is recorded as 1 lead.
The number you want next to it is what a job is worth, because $60 a lead is excellent for a roof restoration and too high for a $90 callout.
What this means for you
Cost per lead is the number to hold an ads account to, and it's the one I report on. Ask any agency how they define a lead before you compare their figure to anyone else's.
This one sits under Google Ads management.
Want to know how this looks on your account?
I'll look at what you've got and tell you where it stands, in the same plain terms.
Get in touch