CPA
Cost per result
What you actually pay for one result — an order, a booking or a conversation — depending on the event you chose to measure.
Formula
CPA = ad spend ÷ number of results
A worked example (hypothetical numbers)
Say you spend 1,200 EGP and get 24 orders. CPA = 1,200 ÷ 24 = 50 EGP per order. To judge that figure, set it against what one order leaves you, not against any market average.
The numbers are illustrative, only to show the arithmetic. They are not real results or market averages.
How to read it
- Before reading the figure, know which event it counts: add-to-cart, conversation started and completed order are three different numbers, and the gap between them is wide.
- The correct ceiling comes from your margin: the most you can pay per order is your contribution per order, and anything above it is selling at a loss.
- A rising cost is not always an advertising problem — a slow checkout or a late reply to messages shows up here too.
The common mistake
Taking comfort in a low cost for a weak event: a hundred cheap add-to-carts look like success until you find four of them became orders. Read the cost at the event that reaches the bank.