# Ads Get Pricier This Fall: Why CPM Is Rising in Meta and Google and What to Do About It > Fall is the season of pricier ads: Meta's price per ad is up 12% year on year, Google Search CPC too. The causes, and 7 steps to keep your cost per lead under control. Canonical page: https://septminor.online/en/blog/rising-cpm-what-to-do/ Site overview: https://septminor.online/llms.txt Published: September 21, 2026 · 7 min read · By [Septminor](https://septminor.online/en/about/) The price per thousand impressions (CPM) keeps rising, and the same budget brings fewer leads. Advertisers in many niches feel it — and business owners often look for the cause in their own account: “something broke in the campaign.” Usually nothing broke. The market got more expensive, and the question is now one thing: how to keep the cost per lead under control when an impression costs more. ## What exactly got more expensive: the numbers - **Meta.** In its Q2 2026 report (July 29) the company reported ad impressions up 14% year over year and the average price per ad up 12%. Advertising revenue was $59.4 billion (+27%). Meta is selling more impressions and at a higher price — [source: Meta Investor Relations](https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2026/Meta-Reports-Second-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx). - **Google Search.** According to Ryze AI’s analysis (a sample of 10,000+ accounts, not official Google statistics), average search CPC was $2.96 in Q1 2026 — up 12% year over year, with a further 8–10% rise projected by Q4. The steepest increases are in niches crowded by Performance Max — [source: Ryze AI](https://www.get-ryze.ai/blog/google-ads-cpc-trends-2026-what-is-changing). - **Seasonality.** In Ukraine, the most expensive auction is November–December (Black Friday and New Year sales). The Ukrainian agency Bullet by Veliev estimates prices in that period rise 30–80% — [source](https://bulletbyveliev.com/blog/skilky-koshtuie-reklama-facebook). We covered preparing for that peak in [our autumn season post](https://septminor.online/en/blog/autumn-ad-season-prep/). For Ukraine there is also 20% VAT on non-resident ad services (in force since 2022). It is not new, but it belongs in your payback calculation rather than being a surprise on the invoice. ## Why it is happening There are several causes, and they work at the same time: - **More advertisers in the same auction.** When search ads get pricier, budgets move to social — and prices there rise too. According to Common Thread Collective (Q1 2026, US DTC market), Meta’s share of e-commerce ad budgets grew from 52% to 63% in two years. There is no such data for Ukraine, but the mechanics are the same: demand for impressions grows faster than supply. - **Fewer signals for optimization.** Because of privacy restrictions (iOS, data laws) platforms see less of who actually buys, so they search for buyers more broadly and at a higher cost. Without correct tracking your account gets even less data than it could. - **AI in search results.** AI Overviews take part of the organic clicks, so businesses compensate with paid traffic — auction competition grows. - **New Meta algorithms.** The Andromeda system looks at creative diversity: if you run several near-identical ads, it treats them as one and frequency climbs. Agencies report that creative “burnout” now comes in 2–3 weeks instead of 6 or more. ## Is it a “period” or a new level? Both. The seasonal part — peak months (November–December) — does pass: in January–February the auction usually gets cheaper. But Meta’s base price per ad has been rising for several quarters in a row, and the Google forecast is not about decline either. So waiting for “everything to go back to normal” is risky: it is better to adapt your ads to the new price than to hold on to old expectations. ## Why CPM is not the number to fight for Cost per lead has three multipliers: the price of an impression, CTR (share of people who click) and website conversion. The formula is simple: **cost per lead = CPM ÷ (1000 × CTR × conversion)**. An illustrative example (not client data): CPM 100 UAH, CTR 1%, lead conversion 3% — a lead costs 333 UAH. CPM rises 15% to 115 UAH, everything else stays — a lead is now 383 UAH. But if you lift site conversion from 3% to 3.5%, a lead costs 329 UAH again — the CPM increase is absorbed with no extra budget. That is why fighting for a lower CPM almost always loses, while working on CTR and conversion wins. ## 7 steps to keep your cost per lead under control - **1. Count the real cost of a lead and a sale, not CPM.** This needs correct analytics: lead events in [GA4](https://septminor.online/en/google-analytics-4/), server-side events for Meta, a link to your CRM. Without it you optimize blind — see [what a lead really costs without GA4](https://septminor.online/en/blog/ga4-setup/). - **2. Raise conversion first, budget second.** Page speed, a short form, a messenger button, a clear first screen. Every +0.5 percentage points of conversion is a discount on your cost per lead that you don’t have to negotiate with the auction. - **3. Keep creatives diverse in Meta.** 8–10 genuinely different concepts (a different hook, format, argument), not one ad in different colours. Refresh every 2–3 weeks. More on our [Meta Ads](https://septminor.online/en/meta-ads/) page. - **4. Consolidate campaigns and remove audience overlap.** If several of your campaigns chase the same people, you compete with yourself and raise your own price. - **5. Bring warm audiences back.** An impression for someone who has already visited your site costs less than a cold one. Well-built [remarketing](https://septminor.online/en/blog/remarketing-for-business/) is the quickest way not to pay twice for the same traffic. - **6. Don’t keep all budget in one channel.** Search demand in [Google Ads](https://septminor.online/en/google-ads/) brings warm customers, while [Bing Ads](https://septminor.online/en/bing-ads/) often gives a cheaper click where its audience exists. Splitting between channels should be data-driven, not “by feel.” - **7. Close the leaks after the click.** A lead answered in 3 hours is less likely to close than one answered in 5 minutes. Fast response, a CRM and automatic reminders for managers win back budget that “disappears” after the ad account — see [where leads vanish without a CRM](https://septminor.online/en/blog/crm-automation/). ## What not to do - Don’t switch ads off at the peak “because it’s expensive”: you reset the algorithm’s learning and lose positions that cost more to win back later. - Don’t chase the cheapest CPM: a cheap impression in a weak audience gives cheap but empty traffic. - Don’t change settings weekly. The algorithm needs time to learn; judge changes over 2–3 weeks, not 2–3 days. The bottom line: the price of an impression is not in your control, but conversion, creatives, tracking and lead response speed are. That is where you win in an expensive auction. ## Ads got pricier, leads didn’t? We will review your ad account and website: where exactly the budget leaks, what gives the fastest effect, which channels to add or drop. You get a concrete plan for the next 2–4 weeks, not generic advice. Data sources: [Meta Q2 2026](https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2026/Meta-Reports-Second-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx), [Ryze AI](https://www.get-ryze.ai/blog/google-ads-cpc-trends-2026-what-is-changing), [Bullet by Veliev](https://bulletbyveliev.com/blog/skilky-koshtuie-reklama-facebook). Figures are estimates and vary by niche and region — rely on your own account data.