Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

A practical example

Example: a paid search campaign spends a fixed monthly budget and the platform reports attributed revenue four times that spend; the team also checks CRM-joined revenue to see whether the ratio holds after leads mature into opportunities.

What to evaluate before investing

• Confirm whether ROAS is computed from platform-reported conversions or from revenue joined to your CRM, and note the difference.
• Check if the tool can exclude or flag brand campaigns, whose ROAS often overstates incremental performance.
• Verify you can view ROAS by ad set and creative, not only at account level, to make reallocation decisions.

Limitations and tradeoffs

ROAS is sensitive to attribution settings and often flatters retargeting and brand terms. Treat it as a relative efficiency signal within a channel, not as proof that ads caused the revenue.