Jan 6, 2026
Cost Per Lead
CPL
The cost to generate one qualified lead through advertising. Primary metric for B2B and service businesses where conversion is a form fill or call.
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Formula:
Total Ad Spend ÷ Leads
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Benchmarks
Google Ads average: $70.11. Legal: $131.63. LinkedIn: $75-200. Facebook Leads: $27.66. Real Estate Facebook: $16.61.
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Why It Matters
CPL only tells part of the story. A $200 lead that closes at 20% beats a $50 lead closing at 2%. Track lead-to-customer conversion to find true acquisition cost. Facebook legal CPL ($18.17) is 7x cheaper than Google ($131.63)—worth testing.
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