What does Pay Per Lead (PPL) means?

Pay per lead (PPL) is a method of marketing that enables an advertiser to receive membership or advertising services in return for paying per lead received from the marketing venue used. It can be compared to PPC (pay per click), PPS (pay per sale) and PPA (pay per action) advertising methods that require the advertiser to respectively pay for clicks, sales and actions generated through a marketing venue.

The cost associated with each lead purchased by an advertiser or vendor utilizing PPL marketing, is referred to as Cost per lead (CPL). Pay per lead services either charge clients for all leads received, or more commonly vet leads against a qualifying checklist to ensure a consistent level of quality. Pay per lead services are often delivered through existing pay per click affiliate channels, or increasingly through specialist lead generation companies.

These lead generation companies often pass leads on to multiple suppliers in order to provide the buyer with several quotations for comparison or on an exclusive basis.