Before you calculate your advertising budget based on cost per lead, it's important for you to know how leads are defined for you and your business. Only then can you be sure that you are getting consistent scaling of your costs and results. The focus of the CPL model is clearly on capturing customer data. This data is used, for example, to target new customers. CPL is often used for products or services that require explanation, such as buying insurance, hiring a specialist, or consulting on financing products. The cost-per-lead model is typically used in affiliate marketing, where advertisers convert their traffic into leads for the advertising partners on their websites.