Cost Per Lead (CPL) is the amount of money spent on marketing to generate one new lead—someone who expresses interest in your services, such as by filling out a contact form. It's calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of leads generated:
CPL = Total Spend ÷ Number of Leads
CPL is a key performance indicator for paid campaigns such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and display advertising. It helps businesses understand the efficiency of their marketing channels. Unlike Cost Per Click (CPC), which measures how much you pay per visitor, CPL focuses on the actual business outcome—how much you're paying to attract someone who may convert into a customer.
CPL offers insight into how well your advertising campaigns convert visitors into real prospects. For landscaping businesses, this could mean how many people inquire about getting a quote, book an estimate, or call after clicking your ad.
A low CPL combined with a high click-through rate (CTR) often indicates a well-optimized campaign. It also plays a critical role in your overall CRO strategy. If you're paying $25 per lead and closing 1 in 5 of those leads, your customer acquisition cost (CAC) is $125. Knowing this helps guide budget decisions and campaign optimizations.
Example
Suppose your landscaping company spends $500 on a local Google Ads campaign targeting “retaining wall installation.” If that campaign generates 20 quote requests, your CPL is $25. Improving your landing page or targeting could reduce that cost to $15, allowing more leads at the same ad spend.