Lead generation: what it is, lead types, channels and cost per click (2026)

Lead generation is the set of actions a company uses to get people or businesses interested in what it sells to leave their contact details: a form, a download, a quote request, a demo. A lead is exactly that, an interested contact who is not yet a customer. In the United States, “lead generation” is searched 12,100 times a month and “b2b lead generation” 1,600 times; in five Latin American countries, the word “leads” gets about 29,900 searches a month.

This guide explains what a lead is, how leads are qualified, which channels generate them and what each one costs, using Google Ads data from Chile and the region. The standout number: a click on “lead generation” costs US$37.59 in Chile, more than in Mexico or Argentina, though still below the US$55.64 suggested in the United States.

US$3.93US$5.00US$15.00US$24.00US$30.00–US$37.59

Five countries were measured; the rest have no data. United States: US$55.64.Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, monthly average and suggested CPC, queried November 14, 2026

View the data as a table

Chile	US$37.59
Argentina	US$23.65
Mexico	US$23.52
Colombia	US$14.98
Peru	US$3.93

What lead generation is and why it matters in 2026

For years, the salesperson was the buyer's main source of information. That has changed. According to a 2020 Gartner press release, B2B buyers spend only 17% of the buying process meeting with potential suppliers; the rest goes to independent research, internal discussion and comparison. With three suppliers in the running, each gets a fraction of that time.

That is why lead generation starts long before the form: in what buyers find when they search Google, read in the media or ask ChatGPT. The company that shows up in that research enters the conversation with an edge. We cover the full path, from first visit to sale, in our guide to the sales funnel.

17%of the B2B buying process is spent meeting suppliers

US$37.59suggested CPC for “lead generation” in Chile

29,900monthly searches for “leads” in five Latin American countries

Source: Gartner, September 15, 2020; Google Ads via DataForSEO, monthly average and suggested CPC, queried November 14, 2026

View the data as a table

of the B2B buying process is spent meeting suppliers	17%
suggested CPC for “lead generation” in Chile	US$37.59
monthly searches for “leads” in five Latin American countries	29,900

Types of leads: from contact to customer

Not all leads are worth the same. A contact who downloaded a guide is not ready to talk to sales, and passing them to the sales team burns time and goodwill. That is why teams separate leads by stage.

The key is for marketing and sales to agree on what a qualified lead is. Without that definition, marketing celebrates hundreds of contacts and sales complains none are any good. A simple starting rule: company size, the person's role and one high-intent action, such as visiting the pricing page or requesting a quote.

Over time, that rule becomes a score (lead scoring): each action adds points, such as opening an email, returning to the site or downloading a second asset, and the lead goes to sales once it crosses a threshold. You do not need expensive software to start; a spreadsheet shared by marketing and sales works for the first few months. What matters is reviewing every quarter which leads actually bought and adjusting the points based on that, not on gut feeling.

Lead generation strategies: six channels compared

Each channel has its place. Google Ads delivers leads from day one, but the cost never falls. SEO and media coverage take longer, but cost per lead drops over time because the page or story keeps bringing visits without paying for each click. The B2B companies that do best combine both: they pay while content climbs the rankings. We go deeper in our guide to B2B marketing.

What lead generation costs on Google Ads in Chile

Cost per click (CPC) is the starting point for working out what a lead costs. If a search has a US$11 CPC and one in 20 visitors leaves their details, each lead costs about US$220 in ad spend alone. In Chile, searches for business software are among the most expensive on Google Ads.

payroll softwareUS$23.97

accounting softwareUS$11.14

car insuranceUS$6.92

digital marketing agencyUS$6.66

crmUS$4.93

employment lawyerUS$3.46

English courseUS$2.37

dental clinicUS$1.10

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, suggested CPC in Chile, queried November 13, 2026

View the data as a table

payroll software	US$23.97
accounting software	US$11.14
car insurance	US$6.92
digital marketing agency	US$6.66
crm	US$4.93
employment lawyer	US$3.46
English course	US$2.37
dental clinic	US$1.10

A 5% conversion rate is a reasonable assumption for a well-built page, but it varies widely by industry and offer. The logic holds either way: the more expensive the click, the more it pays to rank organically for that same search. We reviewed 59,790 keywords in our study of the most expensive Google Ads keywords in Chile.

Five common lead generation mistakes

• Measuring volume only. A thousand contacts who never buy are worth less than fifty who do. The metric that matters is cost per customer, not per form.
• Asking for too much data. Every extra form field lowers conversion. For a download, name, email and company are enough; ask for the rest later.
• Replying late. A lead who requested a quote and hears back three days later has already talked to a competitor.
• Buying contact lists. Besides performing poorly, data protection laws in many countries, including Chile, require consent to use personal data for commercial purposes.
• Relying on a single channel. If everything comes from Google Ads, a CPC spike or an account problem cuts the flow overnight.

How to lower cost per lead with SEO and media

To show up on Google without paying for each click, a page needs two things: a good answer to the search and authority, which is built largely through links from other sites. Links from news outlets carry special weight because they also bring visits and trust. And they are the same stories ChatGPT and Gemini read when a buyer asks them to recommend suppliers.

1. Pick the searches that bring leads. Commercial-intent queries (“accounting software for small businesses”, “agency for…”) convert better than informational ones.
2. Build one page per intent. A clear service page, with indicative pricing or at least the process, converts better than a generic form.
3. Offer something in exchange for the email. A study with original data, a template or a quote calculator.
4. Add authority through media. Stories on news sites linking to those pages.

At ESBUENISIMO LINKS we handle that last part: link building for B2B companies in Chile, with stories in more than 1,400 real outlets across the region. If you also need the full keyword and content strategy, our SEO agency builds it with you.

Country	leads	qué es un lead (what is a lead)	generación de leads (lead generation)	lead generation	“lead generation” CPC (US$)
Chile	3,600	590	20	90	37.59
Argentina	4,400	720	70	140	23.65
Mexico	12,100	1,600	140	320	23.52
Colombia	5,400	880	50	170	14.98
Peru	4,400	720	50	70	3.93

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, monthly average and suggested CPC, queried November 14, 2026