By Joe Burton | 2/5/26
I’m going to say the thing no one’s really saying out loud:
2025 sucked.
Across our clients, our deals, and our relationships, 2025 was a grind. CPCs were up. CPAs were up. And on top of that, conversion values dropped across the board. Lead gen and e-commerce both felt it. Qualified leads weren’t converting like they used to, and sales that did come in were smaller than anyone was used to seeing.
I can’t even count how many conversations I had with clients, business owners, competing agencies, and offer owners who wanted to “pick my brain” about the market. No one wanted to say it directly, but the fear was there. Everyone felt it. Everyone saw it.
No one knew where things were headed.
Why did it happen?
Politics. The economy. Market shifts. Or maybe none of the above.
The reason almost doesn’t matter — the struggle was universal.
Here’s the part that might surprise you:
2025 was the biggest year ROI Marketplace has ever had.
We spent more for our clients than ever before. We made them more profitable than ever before.
And it was also the hardest year we’ve ever had.
Every single day was a battle. And I can say this with complete certainty: if we hadn’t invested aggressively in our technology over the past two years, we probably wouldn’t have made it.
This isn’t a brag. It’s a reality check.
Someone needed to say the quiet part out loud. We’re all struggling. And if things stay like this, the businesses that don’t pivot simply won’t survive.
What 2026 brings is still unknown.
But one thing I’m confident in?
