Glossary
without the jargon.
ROI, leads, conversion and more — in plain English, with examples for businesses like yours.
20 terms · page 1 of 3
Term index
Advertising
Lead
A lead is a sales contact: someone who showed interest and messaged you, called or left their details. They're not a paying customer yet.
Example · If your ad brought in 20 calls and 5 form submissions this month, you had 25 leads. How many you close depends on your close rate.
Related tool →Advertising
Close rate
Out of every 100 people who contact you, how many become customers with a paid job. It's key to estimating your ad budget.
Example · If you close 2 jobs out of 10 quotes, your close rate is 20%.
Related tool →General
Average sale
The typical amount you charge when you close a customer. It tells you whether your marketing spend makes sense.
Example · If you mix $2,000 and $5,000 jobs and average $3,500 per job, that's your average sale.
Related tool →Advertising
Cost per lead
What each call, message or form from advertising costs you. Formula: ad spend ÷ number of leads.
Example · You spent $1,000 on Google and got 20 contacts → cost per lead = $50.
Related tool →Advertising
Cost per customer
Also called CAC (customer acquisition cost) in marketing. It's your ad spend divided by the customers you actually closed.
Example · You spent $1,200, got 24 leads and closed 4 jobs → $300 ad cost per customer.
Related tool →Advertising
ROI
ROI stands for Return On Investment. It shows whether what you put in brings back more money than it cost.
Example · You invested $1,000 and generated $4,000 in jobs → a strong return (before business costs).
Related tool →Advertising
Return on ad spend
In our calculators, it compares the revenue you could generate with what you spend on ad platforms. It doesn't include campaign management, materials or payroll.
Example · If you spend $800/month on ads and close $3,200 in jobs, your return on ad spend is positive — but check that you have real margin left.
Related tool →Advertising
Ad spend
The advertising budget on the platform (Google Ads, Meta Ads). It goes on your card straight to the platform — it's not an agency fee.
Example · Paying Google $600/month for search campaigns is ad spend. Monthly management is billed separately.
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