Topic
Lead generation and pay per lead (CPL)
How you pay for marketing shapes what you get back. Pay per click and you'll get clicks. Pay per sale and partners will go after buyers. Pay per lead and you'll get form fills, which is only good news if the people behind them are real and actually interested.
Picking a model starts with your own numbers: what a customer is worth, how many leads turn into sales and how long it takes you to check them. It also means agreeing what counts as a valid lead before a campaign goes live, not after the first invoice arrives.
The guides below cover the main pricing models, how to keep lead quality up and where performance marketing fits overall. For paid search run against conversions, see our PPC service. For partner-led lead generation, see affiliate and publisher marketing.
How pay per lead works with Ascendia Prime
You pay a fixed fee for each lead that passes the checks you agreed, through a network of 17,000+ UK and global affiliates, with no network fees or overrides.
Step 1
Agree what counts as a lead
We start with what a good customer is worth to you, then agree the cost per lead and exactly what makes a lead valid, before anything goes live.
Step 2
Set up and test tracking
Tracking runs on your existing platform or one we set up together. It is tested before launch, so every lead is counted from day one.
Step 3
Brief and approve publishers
We match the campaign to publishers whose audience fits, brief them on your rules and approve each one. Traffic sources are declared up front.
Step 4
Check leads before you pay
You see leads and partner performance in real time, and leads are checked against your records and the agreed rules before commission is paid.
See it in practice: How We Caught 200 Invalid Leads on an £8 CPL Campaign.
27 September 2026
CPA vs CPL vs CPS vs CPC: How to Choose a Performance Pricing Model
CPA pays for a defined action, CPL for a qualified lead and CPS a commission on each sale. The differences, who carries the risk, and how to choose.
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30 September 2026
Cost Per Lead Campaigns: How to Get Leads That Actually Convert
Cheap leads are easy. Leads that turn into customers take more work. How to define a valid lead, set a CPL you can afford and keep quality high as you scale.
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4 October 2026
How We Caught 200 Invalid Leads on an £8 CPL Campaign
A UK home-services publisher doubled its lead volume in a week while contactability fell from 60% to 35%. How we found 200 invalid leads and restarted safely.
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27 September 2026
What Is Performance Marketing? A Practical Guide for Growing Brands
Performance marketing means paying for results, not reach. What it is, the channels it covers, the numbers to watch and how to start without wasting budget.
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