Let’s take a look at some startling Meta performance trends for 2025. Then we’ll discuss how this impacts small business marketing strategies.

The Numbers—’25 vs. ’24

Facebook Lead Campaigns:

• The click-through rate (CTR) is flat YOY
• Conversion Rate is down 11% YOY
• Average cost per lead (CPL) climbed 21-23% YOY

Facebook Traffic Campaigns:

• The CTR is up 8.2% YOY
• The cost per click (CPC) is down 6.7%

Sources: Wordstream, Focus Digital

What is Happening?

Interestingly, while Facebook lead campaigns have taken a dive in terms of cost per lead (CPL), traffic campaigns have shown improvement with the corresponding cost-per-click (CPC) metric. This means advertisers can expect to get considerably less leads for the same spend in 2025 versus 2024. On the flip side, it means advertisers should expect slightly increased performance for traffic-focused campaigns.

Why is it Happening?

To an extent, an upward adjustment is expected for an increasingly competitive market. Meta campaigns have been serving up better CPL than Google ads for a long time, and marketers and business owners have taken notice. A more crowded marketplace requires more money to stand out. Furthermore, considering the fact that Facebook’s CPL actually decreased YOY in 2023 (the only such recorded instance on record), perhaps we were due for a large correction.

Still, the estimated 22.8% increase in 2025 is by far the largest on record. We saw a 16.8% increase in 2017, but that was only from $16 to $18.68, as the figures were smaller back then. Aside from that relative anomaly, the largest YOY increase in the previous 10 years had only been 9.5% in 2021. When put into a historical context, the 2025 jump is even more astonishing. Below is a table of estimated annual Facebook CPLs over time:

Does this mean Meta Traffic Campaigns are now Preferable to Lead Campaigns?

While general investment sense might tell you to sell high (lead campaigns) and buy low (traffic campaigns), the decision actually rests on your individual business needs. Lead campaigns focus on conversions whereas traffic campaigns home in on exposure. The preference of one campaign type versus another depends on the individual business, as well as the specific campaign strategy.

For example, an online retailer looking to immediately showcase products in a carousel ad with the goal of recipients adding items to the cart to purchase, would want to run a conversion campaign. Alternatively, a non-profit seeking to raise awareness for a cause with no associated conversion activity, would more likely choose either an awareness or traffic objective (perhaps with the goal of directing users to a site or micro-site with more information).

How do Meta Ads Compare to Other Digital Ads?

Entering 2025, Facebook’s average CPL was $21.98 and has since risen to $27.66. This is still less than where Google ads sat entering 2025, with an average CPL of $53.52. Bing ads entered the year with an average CPL of $41.44.

Source: 2025 Lead Costs: Google, Facebook, Bing – Simply Be Found

What is the Best Strategy Going Forward?

Facebook ads still offer the best bang for your buck, although the gap is shrinking. Which platform you should use—as well as which ad type—is as much a question of business strategy as it is cost. For a business trying to capture user intent, such as in the moment a potential customer is searching, Google ads still reign king. However, AI tools such as ChatGPT are beginning to eat into the search engine market. Other social media platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest, offer advertising options tailored to specific audience segments.

To discuss which platforms, ad types, and overall marketing strategy is the best fit for your business, reach out to our Ciniva Team for a FREE consultation.