Cost of Target Action in Online Advertising Rose 17.4%
CPA in performance advertising rose 17.4% over the half-year, while the cost of a click increased by 2.1%. The largest gap was in real estate: CPC −6%, CPA +28.6%. Data from E-Promo Group.
The cost per action (CPA) in performance advertising rose 17.4% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The cost per click (CPC) increased by only 2.1% over the same period. These figures were reported by E-Promo Group based on a study covering five industries: online retail, finance, pharmaceuticals, real estate, and tourism.
The gap between the growth rates of the two metrics amounted to 15.3 percentage points. Clicks on ads have barely become more expensive, but advertisers are paying noticeably more for a purchase, lead, or booking. E-Promo Group analysts see this as a sign of declining conversion rates: users click and compare options but less often follow through to the target action.
Real estate: cheaper traffic, more expensive leads
The largest divergence in dynamics was recorded in real estate. CPC fell by 6%, while CPA rose by 28.6%. Driving a user to a website became cheaper, but this did not reduce the cost of a lead. The dynamics may have been influenced by mortgage conditions, the key rate, regional market specifics, and a decline in the number of new projects.
In online retail, CPC increased by 11.5% and CPA by 18.7%. The cost of results grew faster than the price of traffic. One possible factor is the rationalization of consumption: buyers compare more offers, pay closer attention to price and practicality, and make impulse purchases less often.
"Rationalization of consumption is observed both in categories with a long sales cycle, such as real estate, and in shorter ones — online retail. It is not necessarily the sales cycle itself that is lengthening, but rather the selection process within the same budget: buyers consider more options and look for the best price-to-quality ratio," noted Alexey Syrovegin, head of research and consulting at E-Promo Group.
Finance: the opposite picture
In the financial segment, the ratio turned out to be the reverse. CPC grew by 10.4%, while CPA fell by 4.2%. Despite traffic becoming more expensive, a single target action became cheaper to obtain. This shows that CPC dynamics cannot be used to forecast changes in CPA.
In pharmaceuticals, CPC rose by 36.1% and CPA by 15.5%. Analysts advise taking the structure of ad placements into account: the industry is seeing a redistribution of volumes toward feed campaigns, which are usually cheaper than other types of advertising. Because of their high share, small changes in cost in rubles produce noticeable percentage dynamics.
In tourism, the metrics moved almost in sync: CPC +2%, CPA +2.6%. The increase in the cost of results virtually matched the price of traffic.
No single KPI
The opposite dynamics in real estate and finance do not diminish the value of CPC as a metric, E-Promo Group emphasizes. The significance of the metric depends on campaign goals and business strategy.
"There is no single effectiveness metric that works for all advertisers. For some companies, it is important to keep CPA or the share of ad spend at a level where profitability is maintained. Others are willing to accept CPA growth in order to scale the business and increase customer value. That is why the primary step is to evaluate the business's main KPI, and then analyze the other stages of the funnel — conversion, click-through rate, cost per click, and cost per impression," explained Alexey Syrovegin.
The study compares aggregate CPC and CPA figures for the first halves of 2026 and 2025. Half-year values were calculated over the entire period.
Original: t.me
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