Cost per Order (CPO)

Definition

Cost per order (CPO) is used to calculate the average cost of marketing per sale. This includes advertising and shipping costs, for example. CPO is also commonly used as a pricing model for internet advertising. It means that an advertiser only pays a fee when an actual purchase occurs and is often applied in affiliate marketing.

Formula and calculation

In order to calculate the cost per order, you need two key figures: the total cost of a marketing campaign as well as the number of orders generated through this campaign. Dividing these two numbers results in the cost per order.

CPO Formula

Figure: Formula used to calculate the CPO, Author: Seobility

To give an example: an internet ad campaign costs 500 dollars and generates 50 sales. 500/50 equals 10, which means the cost per order is 10 dollars.

Understanding all costs

When employing the CPO model, a comprehensive understanding of all associated costs is vital. This is also the most difficult part of the formula to get right. It includes not only direct advertising costs but also additional costs associated with the sale of the product. For example, in e-commerce transactions, shipping costs are integral to the overall CPO. Operational costs, including customer service, packaging, and handling, along with variable costs like transaction fees, must also be considered to ensure an accurate CPO calculation. This comprehensive approach ensures that the CPO accurately reflects the total expenditure per order, providing clear insight into the actual profitability and efficacy of a marketing campaign.

Why is the CPO important?

The cost per order allows you to assess the success of your ad campaigns. If you spend 200 dollars on a well-written and designed newsletter that leads to only a few conversions, this indicates that the campaign might have its weaknesses. However, you should keep in mind that you need more than just the CPO to judge your business model’s profitability. To get meaningful numbers, you need to include variables like the cost of production, service costs, as well as other expenses, like personnel costs.

Because CPO is easy to calculate for each ad campaign, it is a suitable tool to compare the impact and success of multiple marketing campaigns. This helps you to compare the costs and revenue generated by campaigns on Facebook and Google Ads or simple banner ads, for example. While a low cost per order indicates that your online marketing strategies are efficient, a high CPO does not have to mean the opposite. If your products and services are rather high-priced, a higher CPO is more justified than with low-priced offers.

Advantages and disadvantages of CPO as a pricing model

Advantages

Only pay for actual sales

Advertisers using the CPO model only incur costs when actual sales are made through their ads, ensuring every dollar spent correlates with revenue.

More control over ad spend

Besides creating the ad content, there are no additional expenses, allowing for precise budget management and minimized waste on non-converting ads.

Potential for flexible spending

By paying exclusively for successful transactions, a company can allocate a higher budget per order, especially for attracting new customers.

Versatility in payment structure

Usually, collaborators can choose whether the CPO is a fixed amount per transaction or a percentage of sales, providing them with more flexibility.

Opportunity for website owners to generate more revenue

Website operators might secure higher earnings when compared to other pricing structures, especially when advertising high-margin products or services.

Disadvantages

Dependency on the advertiser’s integrity

Website operators must trust that advertisers will report sales accurately, posing a risk of potential revenue loss due to underreporting or false reporting of sales.

Disparity between clicks and sales

An inconsistency between high click-through rates and reported sales or high returns can sow seeds of mistrust, suggesting possible manipulation of reported data.

Assurance of claims

When first starting out, there is always some uncertainty about each party’s claims, whether it's about the reach of a platform offering ad space or the efficacy of the ad content provided.

Alternatives to CPO

There are various alternatives to the cost per order model you can choose from that are closely related. As an example, the differences to cost per sale (CPS) are marginal. Cost per action (CPA), cost per click (CPC), and cost per lead (CPL) are basically variations of CPO with one important difference: advertising fees are paid as soon as traffic is generated or data from potential customers is supplied. A similar model is cost per view (CPV), which focuses on the number of views and is used for advertising in videos or online games, for example.

A closer examination of CPO and its alternatives, such as CPS, CPA, CPC, and CPL, reveals distinct advantages and applicable scenarios for each pricing model. For instance, CPS or CPO may be preferred when the primary objective is to generate sales, making it suitable for e-commerce platforms. Conversely, CPA may be favored in campaigns where the objective is to have the user perform a specific action, such as signing up for a trial, making it apt for service-oriented businesses. CPC is generally utilized when the aim is to drive traffic to a website, which can be beneficial for platforms that monetize through on-site advertising. Lastly, CPL might be the model of choice for businesses looking to build a database of potential leads for future marketing efforts, such as email marketing campaigns. The selection between CPO and its alternatives, therefore, largely hinges on the specific goals and nature of a marketing campaign.

In summary: Cost per Order FAQs

What is cost per order used for in digital marketing?

Cost per order lets you calculate the average of how much money you spent on marketing per order. CPO also refers to a pricing model for advertising.

How do you calculate the cost per order?

You calculate your CPO by dividing the total advertising costs by the number of orders.

Why should you calculate your cost per order?

You should utilize the cost per order because it lets you measure how successful your ad campaigns are. This allows a comparison between multiple marketing campaigns, too.

What other pricing models can you use instead of CPO?

Other, similar pricing models include:

CPS
CPA
CPC
CPL