Question

How should I compare Yelp advertising costs with LSA lead costs?

Answer 1

The best way to compare Yelp advertising costs with LSA is to compare the cost of acquiring an actual customer, not just the advertised cost or cost per lead. The two platforms can charge differently, so a lower cost per lead does not necessarily mean lower overall customer acquisition cost.

Track the same metrics for both platforms:

• Total ad spend

• Leads generated

• Qualified leads

• Booked jobs

• New customers

• Revenue generated

• Cost per acquired customer

For example, if Yelp costs $1,000 and generates 25 leads while LSA costs $1,000 and generates 15 leads, Yelp looks cheaper at first. But if only 3 Yelp leads become customers and 6 LSA leads become customers, LSA is actually producing customers more efficiently.

Just compare Yelp vs. LSA based on qualified leads, customer acquisition cost, and revenue and not just cost per lead.

Answer 2

Yelp charges you per click, whereas Google LSA charges you per lead. The straightforward way to do this is to calculate the CPL from Yelp (by dividing the ad spend by leads) and then compare it.

For better insights, you can also track the conversions from each platform and calculate the ROI.