Terms and Definitions
Leads are shoppers who have converted and identified themselves either via a form-fill or a phone call. Fullpath does not count pageviews or clicks as leads. We define leads as an opportunity whose details are captured and sent into the Dealership CRM, either by Fullpath or sometimes by another provider.
Cost Per Lead
Cost per lead is typically calculated by taking the total of your ad spend divided by the number of leads captured in a particular campaign. This is a pretty straight forward calculation if you have a closed system where you can track every action in your conversion funnel. Given that Fullpath operates across multiple channels and the lead conversions come in from multiple traffic sources, and can take place within multiple forms and website plugins, a direct calculation can be challenging and sometimes present an incomplete picture.
Lead We Can't See
There are some kinds of leads that we cannot track but which we know have come to your site and should be attributed to Fullpath. This is because some conversions can occur on web pages that are embedded within an Iframe. Examples of these kinds of pages can include service appointment booking pages or Trade-In forms.
Forms
There are some kinds of leads that we can track, which Fullpath sent to your Dealership website from an email or ad, but who converted on a lead form which is not ours. We therefore don't send the lead into your CRM and will not be listed as the lead source (the other vendor will do that) but we do count that conversion as we use this data to optimize our ad and email performance, and we do attribute it to our Ad and Email campaigns since this is traffic origin of that visitor.
iFrames
Conversions which take place within an IFrame are difficult for Fullpath to track because the IFrame provider is often times unable or unwilling to insert the Fullpath code snippet into their pages. Therefore, we can't "see" what happens in those forms. However, based on our research and observations across hundreds of clients and thousands of websites, we are certain conversions are taking place.
Calls
Another type of lead which is difficult to track are phone calls which don't come from ad extensions or known DNI numbers. Sometimes dealerships have multiple phone numbers - one listed on their Google My Business Page, another listed on their website, another listed in their website footer, another listed on a dealer group page etc. Again, based on our research and observations across hundreds of clients and thousands of website, we are certain additional phone conversions are taking place that we don't necessarily have visibility into.
Calculations
While the discrepancy between the actual tracked number of leads and leads which we know are taking place but lack visibility for is very small, we do incorporate them into our calculation of the overall Cost Per Lead. Meaning, the formula we use is the Total Ad Spend divided by Tracked Phone Leads + Tracked Website Leads + % of hidden leads. In this way, we can be sure to report more accurately the true cost per lead on your account. Keep in mind, hidden leads are estimated based on a ratio of clicks to reported leads for your account.
Important to Note
It is important to note however, that while we incorporate a certain % of hidden leads into the calculation for cost per lead, we do NOT include any leads in your total lead count that are not tracked and verified.
To track Fullpath events or set up goals inside your Google Analytics account, click here.
How can you help us improve accuracy?
You can help us improve accuracy by reducing the rate of your Hidden Website Leads and increasing the rate of your Tracked Website Leads.
Read about how you can help us to track more leads.
What factors can impact my cost per lead?
Typically we see that the higher the spend, the higher the CPL. With low spend the system will focus on the low hanging fruits which are the “cheap” leads. The more spend it has, the more expensive leads it can reach for (see visual aid below to explain how more budget can increase CPL).
It's also important to note that any restriction/adjustments to the system will increase the CPL. This can include actions like, budget allocation, targeting exceptions, boosting, etc. Following any major changes, one should also keep in mind that any major change to the system will re-trigger the learning process which can also affect CPL (for a limited time) - changing budget, changing targeting, pausing/running new Channels/Objectives and even Bundles.
Even though the Digital Advertising AI system is always learning, it’s not guaranteed that each month will have a lower CPL than the previous month. Sometimes there are “external” factors that can affect the performance such as seasonality, inventory levels, OEM and dealer incentives and the market demand.
To learn more about factors that can impact your CPL, check out this user webinar where we discuss Cost Per Lead.
*Visual Support:
Viewing Campaign Performance and CPL Inside the Google/Facebook Platforms
In order to view performance in the platforms themselves to monitor boosting, allocations, and modified targeting (and the very real impact these actions have on CPL) the naming protocol of the campaigns we run for Dealers across Google Search, Display and Social include the following convention:
- b234567890- = budget (these are campaigns created when budget is set monthly)
- wh98765432 = allocation (these are campaigns created when specific allocations are made)
- t234569876 = targeting (these are campaigns created when specific targeting is implemented)