Analyzing Return on Ad Spending
Service2Client

What is Return on Ad SpendingReturn on Ad Spend (ROAS) is one way to help advertising and marketing professionals and investors analyze how well promotions do (or don’t) produce sales. It helps advertisers develop data based on their campaigns’ revenue production (or lack thereof). Understanding how this metric is calculated and how to analyze ROAS is essential for businesses to monitor and increase their advertising performance.

Known as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), ROAS determines how much sales are generated per dollar invested on advertising outlays. It separates advertising costs from the company’s costs, and it focuses on:

1. The differences between advertising income and advertisement expenses

2. Assisting companies with creating efficient budgets

3. Identifying unprofitable campaigns

How ROAS is calculated:

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) = Revenue generated from ad campaign/Total advertising costs for a specific campaign

The revenue generated from an ad campaign is the revenue immediately assignable to promotions utilizing a tracking tool.

Total advertising costs for a specific campaign are expenses explicitly connected to the advertising platform.

The resulting calculation determines the business’ return on ad spend, giving owners and managers an idea of how well (or not) ad spending impacts the company’s sales. It similarly enables business owners to reconcile the company’s budgeted advertising costs against growing sales metrics. The following hypothetical breakdown shows what a positive scenario looks like:

A ROAS of 10 = $10 of revenue was earned for every $1 spent on ads. This would translate into:

Total Ad Spend: $10,000

Revenue Generated: $100,000

ROAS = $10

ROAS = 10:1

Important considerations when calculating this include factoring in merchant expenses, costs for digital content production, and costs incurred from media platforms. It’s also important to consider that it’s not always cut-and-dry as to how and what specific ads convert potential customers into paying customers. Assigning the exact ad platform or campaign is a common problem when determining the exact ROAS.

Credit analysis conducted by lenders evaluates ROAS to determine the sales ability of companies seeking loans, especially with promotion-centric companies. The higher the ROAS, the less risk there is and the more reliable the revenue from each campaign. For merger and acquisition professionals, ROAS trends offer insight into a target company’s sustainability. It helps determine if a company’s advertising campaigns can sustain themselves and keep generating future growth.

It’s equally important to see how ROAS compares against other metrics. While ROAS focuses on revenue generated per dollar spent, the advertising-to-sales ratio looks at the total proportion of sales driven by advertising efforts. Similarly, while ROAS measures the revenue per ad spend, return on investment analyzes the comprehensive profitability for the complete level of marketing expenses – not exclusively advertising. While ROAS is a short-term measure on instant sales, Lifetime Value looks at the customer’s history with the company and the entire revenue the company earns from the relationship.

While this metric is helpful for many professionals, it’s important to ensure that only necessary data is included and customer conversion is monitored precisely in order to get the best output.


Disclaimer 

Have any questions, give us a call here at Metro Tax & Financial Services.
We are here to help you get through the stress of taxes!

We offer a free 30-minute consultation so call us and let’s get your appointment set up (928) 680-1444

For more Tax Facts make sure you are following us on Facebook

Click HERE for more Tax Facts and Financial News

Suggested Articles

Tax Fact: Financial Health?

What is Financial Health?Financial Health is a term used to describe the state of one's personal monetary affairs. There are many dimensions to financial health, including the amount of savings you have, how much you’re putting away for retirement, and how much of...

Tips for Tax Season

Whether you file your income tax return early or at the last minute, there are ways to simplify the process and reduce what you owe – or even increase your refund – before the deadline.Filing Simplification TipOnce you receive your W-2 and/or 1099 tax...

Tax Fact: Employee or My Own Boss

Should I be an employee or be my own boss? Everyone needs income to live and support their family. Question is should I be an employee, or should I be my own boss? There are pros and cons to both. As an employee, you are subject to fewer taxes (7.65%) being taken out...

Second Covid-19 Stimulus Relief Package

The IRS and Treasury Department released the second round of the covid-19 stimulus relief payments as part of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into law on December 27th, 2020. It’s part of the $900 billion coronavirus relief package designed to help...

The Low Down on Student Loans and Taxes:

Student Loans Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash Let's now talk about Student Loans and Taxes. In 2020, the National Center of Educational Statistics stated that over 19.7 million students were likely to attend the fall semester, either online or in person. On...

Student Loan Relief Package

Loan Relief Photo by MD Duran on Unsplas With 2020 being a pandemic year, the government understood that many individuals lost their jobs and couldn’t make payments to their loans. So they created a student loan relief package. Last time we talked about the Low Down...

Tax Fact: Do Not Give Out Your Personal Information

I feel like I need to touch base on this subject again... "Do Not Give Out Your Personal Information" My financial establishment, along with many others, are receiving reports of criminals who are contacting individuals directly, claiming to be from the CDC, state, or...

CFOs: Keep Your Company in Balance

Chief Financial Officers (CFO’s) keep the company in balance. We previously discussed their roles for business management, which included budgeting, financial forecasting, and keeping the business profitable. Report managing encompasses all of the business management...

Tax Fact: Stimulus Check

With the talk about the stimulus check, we all have many questions. One of the things I have read is if you haven't had your 2018 or 2019 taxes done get them done as soon as possible. They are going to base your check amount on your tax return. If you have received a...

Tax Fact: Taxable Income is BELOW your Gross Income.

Did you know..... Your taxable income is below your gross income. What?? Some taxpayers assume if they make $50,000, they'll be taxed on $50,000 in income---- but this isn't the case. The salary you earn from your employer is called your gross income. You'll need to...