What Is ROAS? Return On Ad Spend In Under 5 Minutes

Have you tracked whether your ads are actually working? We often spend time on Google Ads, Instagram, and Facebook. Experts say these paid ads are critical for growth. But what are your real returns on investment? That’s where you can count on ROAS. What is ROAS? 

Let’s simplify ROAS here and see why it matters for your business. In this comprehensive guide, we will explain what ROAS is, its importance in the current marketing landscape, and why you cannot afford to ignore it in 2025 and going forward.

What Is ROAS?

What is ROAS? ROAS is a significant key performance indicator (KPI) in digital marketing. It denotes the revenue earned for every dollar spent on a marketing campaign.

Based on the principle of return on investment (ROI), it highlights the profit earned for each ad expense and can be effectively measured on a high as well as on a minute level.

ROAS is a crucial marketing measure for mobile applications to determine the strategic success in advertising in terms of the whole marketing strategy or to simply track the performance of a specific ad campaign.

How To Calculate ROAS? 

The main formula for calculating return on ad spend is: 

ROAS = revenue (total income from ad) / Cost (total ads spend).

ROAS is shown as a ratio; the higher the ratio, the better the ad campaigns perform.

Example: Say you invested $1000 in ad spend for a said marketing campaign that resulted in $4000 in revenue for your mobile application. Your ROAS would be 4: 1 meaning for every dollar you spent, you made $4 in overall revenue. Your calculation should be as follows:

$4000 (revenue)/$1000 (ad spend) = $4 or 4: 1 (ROAS)

Why Is ROAS Important For Your Business? 

ROAS is much more than a mere acronym. It is the most viable scorecard that you can use to track your ad performance. Business owners can expect the following benefits from ROAS- 

• Measure ad effectiveness: ROAS tells you whether your ads generate revenue or waste money.

• Manage your budget: spend more on the ads that work and cut back on what’s not generating ROI for you.

• Maintain accountability: if your company doesn’t match the target ROAS, it is time to change your strategy. 

Best Practices To Improve Your ROAS

A marketer’s main goal is to boost conversions and increase revenues. Let’s check out how you can improve your overall ROAS: 

(i) Set Benchmarks

Find out what qualifies as good ROAS and then set a benchmark. Knowing your baseline for each marketing channel and ad campaign can showcase where you have been successful and areas for improvement. Successful ad campaigns can also act as a model for future successful campaigns.

(ii) Try, Test, Learn 

Achieving a good ROAS depends on varying factors. Hence, testing which creatives, campaigns, and channels deliver the best results from the most valuable users is key.

The best way to test and learn the success of your ad campaigns is by using A/B testing to experiment with different placements, targeting strategies, and creatives.

(iii) Optimize Your Landing Pages

Noticing that your ads are getting plenty of clicks, but the overall ROAS remains incredibly low? This might be due to not having your landing pages optimized for a seamless user experience. 

As a business, look at your landing page. Is your website landing page crisp, clear, and engaging for your users? Is the look and feel of your page aligned with your ad efforts? Does your page load fast? Do you have clear calls to action plans? 

There are many ways you can keep your users engaged and help them move smoothly through their purchasing journey.

(iv) Lower The Cost Of Your Advertisement; Make Them Cost-Effective

One obvious but important point marketers need to remember is that to get more return on their overall ad spend, they need to reduce the expenditure of their ad spend.

This can be done by improving your quality score. A better-quality score results in higher-ranking ads and, hence, contributes to a lower cost per click.

Keywords are also known to affect total Cost. Instead of primarily aiming for popular terms, look for relevant long-tail keywords related to the targeted niche.

Negative keywords can also be introduced to help exclude users looking for similar items but not the exact ones. 

For instance, if your shopping app has a summer deal for sunglasses. You can exclude users who are searching for summer scarves, as they are likely to ignore your ad and dwindle your CTR.

Worse, users can click on your ad and bounce after they realise the product is not relevant to them. This would, in turn, cost you more money for the click and leave you with no cost in return.

(v) Know Your Specific Audiences

Carry out intense customer research to understand who your ideal customers are, what they are interested in, and when they are online.

For example, if you know adults who follow food content on Facebook, they would be interested in your recipe app. That’s where you can leverage social media marketing. By intricately aligning your brand’s message to your audience, you’ll have better conversions and will not waste time on the wrong channels.

(vi) Use Predictive Analysis

In ROAS optimization, knowing how your users monetize throughout their lives using your app can be a game-changer. By correlating early actions in the funnel with future monetization tactics, you can effectively improve your ROAS. 

For instance, if you find that users who have completed level 15 of your game within the first 24 hours are likely to make in-app purchases, you can use this information to effectively optimize your ad campaign after a day.

This can be done smoothly without waiting for more signals later in the funnel. This way, you can meet your revenue targets and cut waste.

What Is ROAS vs. ROI: The Main Differences? 

ROAS and ROI are from different leagues. ROAS is simply a measure of revenue versus ad expenses. In comparison, ROI takes all costs into account. For example, salaries, fulfilment cost, and software expenses are considered individually.

For every business, tracking both parameters is essential. However, you need ROAS for a quicker and clearer answer.

Factors Defining A Good ROAS In 2025 

There is no idealistic figure. However, the latest research based on search engines and their data reveals these realistic benchmarks- 

• This year, the average ROAS across all sectors is around 2.87:1. In other words, it is $2.87 against each $1 spent.

• In July 2025, the median ROAS earned against Google Ads is 3.08. 

• The popular ecommerce brands and FMCG retail brands go for an ROAS of 4:1 or more.

A good ROAS depends on the industry. For instance, the ROAS of software companies increased by 18.2% in June-July, while others experienced a lag. If you have meagre profit margins, you need a substantially higher ROAS to be deemed successful.

Practical Suggestions To Improve ROAS 

What can we do now to improve ROAS? The first thing that comes to mind is to track every conversion. Simply counting the clicks is not enough. In addition, you have to link your leads and sales to every ad spend.

Simultaneously, you have to analyze the performance of every channel you use. Some channels offer better returns compared to others. 

Test returns and often tweak your strategy. Occasionally, a better headline or picture can also improve ROAS by at least 20%. Lastly, be mindful of your margins. If your profit against sales is narrow, you must leverage a higher ROAS to achieve break-even. 

Be Careful Of These Pitfalls

Most emerging brands fall into these traps. So, check them before you are affected: 

1. Don’t disregard any non-digital conversion. Your physical sales are also important.

2. Don’t take the ROAS results generated on platforms seriously. Usually, platforms will overstate results. But they don’t often track the entire customer journey.

3. Don’t forget to take your true costs into account. Check whether you have calculated the team wages, design and agency fees, platform charges, etc.

4. Many people will suggest that you use outdated benchmarks. The market benchmarks are shifting faster than you think.

Concluding Remarks

What is ROAS? It is among the key metrics for marketers. Having high-value users is of no use if you paid more to acquire them than the amount they spent in your app.

Good ROAS depends on your business and the platform you are using; however, with the right tricks, you can master the ROAS game. So, unleash the power of ROAS in your marketing efforts and watch your business thrive.