Implant ad spend vs implant leads, by month

Our ad spend has been inconsistent and has gone up. Our leads have gone down.

Scope Dental Implant pipeline, both CRMs, person-deduped Period January 1 to October 14, 2026 Attribution GHL first-touch channel Spend agency actuals, Jan to Sep (Oct pending)

Average monthly ad spend is up 23% from the first half of the year to the summer, and it has swung by as much as 53% month to month. Over the same window, average monthly implant leads are down 16%. The months we spent the least produced the most leads. We are paying more for less, and the spend is not being applied consistently.

Spend up, leads down

From the first half of the year to the summer, monthly ad spend rose about 23% (from $10,034 to $12,361 a month on average) while implant leads fell about 16% (from 201 to 168 a month). We paid more and got fewer leads.

Spend is inconsistent

Monthly ad spend has swung from $8,791 to $13,488, a 53% range, with no matching move in leads. The lowest-spend months (April $9,087, May $8,791) produced the MOST leads (242, 211); the highest-spend months (July, August) produced some of the fewest (147, 183).

Spend went up. Leads went down.

Ad spend and the leads it produced, side by side, months across the top. Spend has been inconsistent and has trended up, while implant leads have fallen. October spend has not been reported. "Paid leads" counts Meta plus Google only; Jan to Sep is the spend-complete window.

Total paid spend vs implant leads, by month

Bars are monthly Meta + Google spend (left). The line is implant leads (right). They move in opposite directions.

Per month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct MTD	Jan–Sep
Meta spend	$6,258	$5,785	$7,105	$6,397	$6,316	$7,840	$10,089	$10,933	$8,130	pending	$68,853
Google spend	$4,797	$4,754	$2,939	$2,690	$2,475	$2,849	$2,769	$2,555	$2,606	pending	$28,434
Total ad spend	$11,055	$10,539	$10,044	$9,087	$8,791	$10,689	$12,858	$13,488	$10,736	pending	$97,287
Meta leads	155	169	148	222	191	175	128	171	166	38	1525
Google leads	35	30	27	20	20	16	19	12	9	3	188
Paid leads	190	199	175	242	211	191	147	183	175	41	1713

From the first half of the year to the summer, average monthly ad spend rose $10,034 to $12,361 (+23%) while average monthly paid leads fell 201 to 168 (-16%). Monthly spend swung from $8,791 to $13,488 (a 53% range), yet the lowest-spend months (April, May) produced the most leads. More money, inconsistently applied, has produced fewer leads.

Lead volume by channel

New implant leads, by month

Each lead counted once, by the month it first came in and its first-touch channel, across both CRMs. Months run across the top. October is month-to-date and labeled MTD.

Channel	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct MTD	YTD
Meta	155	169	148	222	191	175	128	171	166	38	1563
Google Ads	35	30	27	20	20	16	19	12	9	3	191
Organic / SEO	9	10	2	3	4	4	2	6	2	2	44
Other / Direct	31	4	1	0	3	2	3	2	0	1	47
Total implant leads	230	213	178	245	218	197	152	191	177	44	1845

Baseline (January to September monthly average): Meta 169, Google Ads 21, total 200. October is partial (MTD) and annualizes to roughly 97 total leads.

Efficiency

Cost per lead, by month

Each platform's spend divided by its implant leads, months across the top. Actuals for January through September; October spend has not been provided yet, so October cost per lead is pending. SEO / organic spend is not yet included.

Cost per lead	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct MTD	Jan–Sep
Meta CPL	$40	$34	$48	$29	$33	$45	$79	$64	$49	pending	$45
Google CPL	$137	$158	$109	$135	$124	$178	$146	$213	$290	pending	$151
Blended paid CPL	$58	$53	$57	$38	$42	$56	$87	$74	$61	pending	$57

Heat is relative to each channel's own history: Meta green below $55 / red above $75; Google green below $175 / red above $250. Meta cost per lead worsened from $29 (April) to $79 (July) as its budget rose to a $10,933 August peak. Google spend was cut 46% but its cost per lead still climbed to $290.

By month

Trends

Implant leads by month, by channel

Stacked. The blue band is Meta; it is the whole top of the funnel.

Monthly ad spend by platform

Meta budget ramped into the summer; Google was cut. October not yet reported.

Cost per lead (actual spend)

Meta efficiency worsened as budget rose; Google pulled away.

Accountability

What the agency needs to answer

Specific, per channel, with the numbers to back each answer. These are the questions this report exists to force.

Spend planQ1

Monthly ad spend has ranged from $8,791 to $13,488 and is up 23% from the first half to the summer, while implant leads are down 16%. What is the monthly budget plan, why has spend moved month to month, and what did each increase buy? We need a consistent monthly budget tied to a lead target.

MetaQ2

Meta's best month was April (222 leads, $29 a lead on $6,397), yet July cost $10,089 for 128 leads ($79 a lead). Why did cost per lead nearly triple as spend climbed? What changed in targeting, creative, or bidding, and what is the plan to get back to spring efficiency?

OctoberQ3

October implant leads are pacing roughly half of September, almost entirely on Meta. Send October spend by channel and confirm whether this is a budget cut, campaign pause, creative fatigue, or billing lapse. Until October spend arrives we cannot score the month.

Google AdsQ4

Google spend was cut 46% and volume fell faster (down 74%), so the remaining budget is buying leads at $290 each. Is Google being deliberately retired? If it is staying, what gets cost per lead back under control; if not, reallocate the $2,606/mo to Meta.

AttributionQ5

Confirm the Meta pixel, Google click tracking, UTMs, and call tracking are all firing and posting to the implant intake. "Other / Direct" is near zero, which is good, but we need a standing confirmation that tagging is not degrading over time.

TargetsQ6

Spend is now known through September. Commit to a monthly lead target and a cost-per-lead ceiling per channel so this report measures against an agreed line, not a baseline inferred from history. Also provide any SEO / organic spend, which is not yet reflected here.

How to read this

Method and caveats

ScopeDental Implant pipeline only, across the Progressive and SGA CRMs, since the Meta and Google spend is implant advertising. Website and general leads are excluded.

Lead countEach person counted once in the month they first appear, bulk-migration rows removed, synced duplicates deduped by email, phone, then name.

ChannelFirst-touch from the opportunity attribution array. Meta via fbclid or facebook or instagram; Google via gclid or gbraid or paid search; else organic or direct.

Spend and CPLAgency-reported actual ad spend by platform for January through September. Cost per lead is that platform's spend divided by its implant leads. October spend has not been provided, so October CPL is shown as pending. SEO / organic spend is not yet included.

Read before quoting a number

Spend is Jan to Sep only. October spend by channel is outstanding; cost per lead for October cannot be computed until the agency provides it.
October is a partial month (through the 13th). Lead volume is shown month-to-date and annualized for pace; do not read it as a final month.
This is lead volume and media cost, not lead quality. A separate issue (lead to contact, speed to lead) sits downstream in the practice; this report is scoped to what the agency controls, which is lead supply and cost per lead by channel.
Live GHL pull carries about plus or minus two percent noise on the two CRM-cutover months (August, September). Fine for a trend, not for a single-lead audit.

Troy Family Dental · Paid Media Accountability · Generated October 14, 2026
Source: GoHighLevel implant-pipeline opportunities across the Progressive and SGA locations, person-deduped, first-touch attribution. Ad spend is agency-reported actuals for January through September; October and SEO spend outstanding. Aggregates only, no patient data. Confidential, internal use.