Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The total marketing cost required to produce one paying customer (closed job, not just a lead).
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is the total marketing spend divided by the number of paying customers acquired. CPA includes ad spend, agency fees, and the cost of all marketing infrastructure. Unlike CPL, CPA accounts for close rate — making it the true measure of whether marketing pays.
Two contractors with identical CPLs can have wildly different CPAs based on close rate. CPA is the bottom-line truth.
If a contractor's CPL is $80 and their close rate is 25%, their CPA is $320. If the average job value is $4,000, the marketing ROI is positive.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
The total marketing cost required to produce one qualified lead.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of website visitors who take a desired action (call, form submission, booking).
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
The total revenue a customer generates over the entire relationship, including repeat work and referrals.
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