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Vendor reportLocaliQ, 2026

Average search ad cost per lead fell 4.88% to $66.69 in 2026, the first drop LocaliQ has recorded since before 2020

Channel validation

YearAverage cost per lead (USD)Year-over-year change (%)
2021$41.4—
2022$48.4417%
2023$53.5210%
2024$66.6924%
2025$70.115.13%
2026$66.69-4.88%

Average Google Ads cost per lead by year, with year-over-year % change (2021-2026)

Reader Note:
This is the overall average cost per lead across LocaliQ client search campaigns on Google and Microsoft Ads. CPL had risen every year in the chart before this, from $41.40 in 2021 to $70.11 in 2025. The 2026 figure is exactly the same as the 2024 figure ($66.69), so the drop takes CPL back to its level of two years earlier rather than to a new low. The chart is labelled “Google Ads”, but the data blends Google and Microsoft. The report does not say what campaigns each earlier year is based on.
Evidence:
Observed behaviour
Vendor interest:
Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:
13,474 LocaliQ customer search advertising campaigns running from April 2025 through March 2026; campaign data from accounts using LocaliQ's platform, with aggregate budget split roughly 80-85% Google and 15-20% Microsoft. US campaigns only, and each industry subcategory included at least 52 unique active campaigns. The published figures are medians rather than means, calculated that way to limit the effect of outliers, even though the report labels them averages throughout.

Good for

Comparing yourself against a similar segment, and choosing what to test next.

Not for

  • Saying that one thing caused another, or predicting what you would get.
  • This was measured in one market. It may not hold where you are.
  • This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
  • This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.
  • Nobody counted this directly — it's a calculation. The publisher worked it out itself, or took the ad platform's word for what its ads achieved.
  • The source never says how this number was measured.
Channel validationTrend

20% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials discover new brands through influencer endorsements, vs 12% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers

Vendor report

GWI, 2026

20% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials discover new brands through influencer endorsements, vs 12% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers

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