Cost per lead
Also called: CPL
Cost per lead (CPL) is the total marketing spend on a channel or campaign divided by the number of leads it produced, giving the average amount paid to generate one enquiry.
Cost per lead in dealership marketing
CPL is the most common number dealers use to compare channels, but it is only meaningful alongside lead quality. A cheap CPL from a channel that produces browsers can cost more per sale than an expensive CPL from a channel that produces verified buyers.
CPL varies widely by vehicle category, city tier, and season, so it should be benchmarked against comparable dealerships rather than a single national figure. The more useful downstream metrics are cost per walk-in and cost per sale.
Related terms
- Leads & Sales
Cost per walk-in
Cost per walk-in is the marketing spend divided by the number of showroom visits it generated, measuring what a dealership pays to get a buyer physically in front of a vehicle rather than just into a CRM.
Read definition - Advertising
Return on ad spend
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue attributed to a campaign divided by what was spent on it, expressed as a ratio or multiple, and it is the most direct measure of whether advertising is paying for itself.
Read definition - Leads & Sales
Verified lead
A verified lead is an enquiry that has been confirmed by a phone conversation before it reaches the dealership's sales team, checking that the person genuinely intends to buy, has a realistic budget for the vehicle they asked about, and is in a location the dealership can serve.
Read definition
Where it applies
AutoSutra services where cost per lead comes into play.
Digital Marketing
Full-funnel campaigns across search, social, and display, built specifically for automotive buying cycles.
Google Ads
Search, Performance Max, and local campaigns engineered for cost-per-lead, not just clicks.
Meta Ads
Instagram and Facebook campaigns that turn scroll-stopping creative into showroom footfall.
Further reading
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