Average ROAS by Industry: The Most Difficult Metric to Measure

Summary

• What is ROAS, and how do you calculate it? ROAS is Return on Ad Spend, calculated as revenue directly attributed to ads divided by ad cost.
• What is the average Google Ads ROAS, and why are industry averages hard to pin down? The overall ROAS for Google Ads is about 200% ($2 returned per $1 spent), but industry “averages” are difficult due to attribution differences, tracking gaps, and varied business models.
• How is ROAS different from ROI? ROAS measures revenue vs. ad spend only, while ROI considers total costs and profit. Use ROAS to gauge channel efficiency, and use ROI to assess profitability.
• Which factors most affect ROAS by industry? Gross margins, CPC competition, sales cycle length, offline conversions, customer lifetime value, and attribution models all drive ROAS variability.
• How should you use ROAS benchmarks? Treat them as directional guides, set your break-even and target ROAS based on margins and LTV, and prioritize accurate tracking, attribution, and ongoing optimization.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) for Google Ads is one of the most difficult metrics to measure, especially across an industry, because it requires businesses to share how much they spent on Google Ads and how much they earned from their ads.

CALCULATOR: CALCULATE YOUR ROAS INSTANTLY!

While you probably won’t find an average ROAS by industry for Google Ads, you can look at some data from Google Ads, like ad spend and return on investment (ROI), to get a general benchmark for your company.

Hint: That benchmark is 200% — a 2:1 ROAS, or an average return of $2 for every $1 spent. If you’re curious to learn more about the data behind this ROAS benchmark for Google Ads, keep reading! You’ll also learn how to calculate ROAS and what to watch for when calculating your company’s ROAS for Google Ads.

How to calculate your ROAS from Google Ads

No matter how you calculate ROAS from Google Ads, whether with a calculator or pen and paper, it’s crucial to understand how ROAS gets calculated. It helps you know what ROAS measures, as well as whether you earned a positive or negative ROAS from Google Ads. The ROAS formula is:

ROAS = Total Ad Revenue / Total Ad Spend

In some cases, you’ll see the ROAS formula formatted as follows:

ROAS = Total Ad Revenue / Total Ad Spend * 100

This formula formats your ROAS as a percentage by multiplying your result by 100. If you use this version, know that a positive percentage, like 50%, doesn’t equal a positive ROAS because you’ve only earned 50% back on your investment. Your ROAS must exceed 100% for your business to make a return on its ad spend.

Download full infographic on Average ROAS by Industry

What is the average ROAS for Google Ads?

The average ROAS for Google Ads is 200%, which translates to earning $2 for every $1 spent. You can also calculate this amount by looking at some publicly available Google Ads data, like:

• What the average company spends on Google Ads
• What the average company earns from Google Ads

The average business, for example, spends $9000 to $10,000 per month on Google Ads and earns $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. If they focus on the Google Search Network, that amount increases to $8 for every $1 spent. This information provides the “Total Ad Spend” for the ROAS formula — $9000 to $10,000. It also offers data to calculate “Total Ad Revenue” for the ROAS formula — $2 for every $1 spent.

If the average business earns $2 for every $1 spent, and they invest $9000 to $10,000 per month, that means they’re earning around $18,000 to $20,000 in revenue from Google Ads each month. You can calculate this value by multiplying $9000 and $10,000 by $2. Now, you can take this data and input it into the ROAS formula:

ROAS = Total Ad Revenue / Total Ad Spend * 100

ROAS = $18,000 / $9000 *100

ROAS = 2 * 100

ROAS = 200%

The result is 200%, meaning you’re earning $2 back for every $1 you invested into Google Ads.

What is the average Google Ads ROAS for my industry?

Calculating the average ROAS by the industry for Google Ads is a challenge for a few reasons. Most companies, for example, aren’t comfortable sharing their ad spend or ad revenue. For accurate ROAS industry benchmarks, you need a decent and diverse sample size, which means you need a significant number of businesses, both small and large, to share their ad spend and ad revenue.

If you don’t have a large and diverse enough sample size, you publish inaccurate benchmarks. Sharing inaccurate data like that can cause businesses to incorrectly measure their Google Ads performance and make decisions that harm not only their overall marketing and advertising efforts, but also their leads and sales numbers. That’s why it’s best to reference the overall ROAS average for Google Ads: 200%.

Paid search ROAS benchmarks by industry (WebFX 2025 data)

For additional context, WebFX analyzed performance across paid search campaigns in 2025. The analysis found an average ROAS of 2.26x (226%) across industries. While this dataset isn’t Google Ads–exclusive, it reflects the realities of paid search performance and provides a valuable directional benchmark.

These numbers show why industry context matters. A 1.7x ROAS may be common in ecommerce but unsustainable for businesses with slim margins, while a 5x ROAS can be realistic in manufacturing.

Takeaway: Use industry benchmarks as perspective, but always calculate your own break-even ROAS based on profit margins and customer lifetime value to know what’s truly “good” for your business.

Break-even ROAS: How to set targets by margin

Before you decide whether your ROAS is “good,” you need to know your break-even ROAS. This is the point where ad revenue covers your costs without profit or loss. The break-even ROAS formula is:

Break-even ROAS = 1 / Gross margin

Examples:

• If your gross margin is 25%, your break-even ROAS is 4.0 (4:1).
• If your gross margin is 40%, your break-even ROAS is 2.5 (2.5:1).

This means a business with higher margins can be profitable with a lower ROAS, while low-margin industries need a much higher ROAS just to break even.

Why break-even ROAS matters

• Adds context to benchmarks: A 2:1 ROAS may be fine in high-margin industries, but disastrous in ecommerce with razor-thin margins.
• Prevents wasted spend: Knowing your break-even point keeps you from scaling campaigns that look efficient on the surface but lose money.
• Improves goal-setting: Use your break-even ROAS as the baseline, then aim higher for profitable growth.
• Connects to lifetime value (LTV): If you earn repeat purchases, you can tolerate a lower initial ROAS because profit comes later.

What is a good ROAS for Google Ads?

Meeting the average ROAS for Google Ads is great, but going beyond the average is even better. When you increase your ROAS, you help your business earn even more from paid advertising, which will probably lead to a few high-fives. Generating a higher ROAS can also lead to a bigger Google Ads budget, which gives you even more room to drive results for your company. So, what is a good ROAS for Google Ads? Anything above 400% — or a 4:1 return. In some cases, businesses may aim even higher than 400%. Remember, Google found that companies could earn an average return of $8 for every $1 spent on the Google Search Network. Since most businesses start with the Google Search Network, which delivers ads to places like Google search results, it makes sense to set more ambitious ROAS goals.

How to improve your Google Ads ROAS (actionable strategies)

Benchmarks tell you where you stand, but improving ROAS takes consistent optimization. Use these proven strategies to lift your returns:

1. Refine your targeting

• Focus on high-intent keywords and audience segments most likely to convert.
• Use negative keywords to eliminate wasted clicks and protect your budget.
• Layer in demographic and location filters to maximize relevance.

2. Optimize your ad creative

• Test multiple headlines, descriptions, and calls to action (CTAs).
• Highlight unique selling points (USPs) that differentiate your offer.
• Use ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets) to increase click-through rates (CTRs).

3. Improve your landing pages

• Align page content tightly with ad messaging.
• Simplify the conversion path with clear CTAs and fewer distractions.
• Apply conversion rate optimization (CRO) services to turn more visitors into customers.

4. Adjust your bidding and budgets

• Shift spend to campaigns or ad groups with the strongest ROAS.
• Use automated bidding strategies (like Target ROAS) to balance scale and efficiency.
• Test budget allocation between branded and non-branded campaigns.

5. Factor in customer lifetime value (LTV)

• Don’t evaluate ROAS on first purchase alone.
• Track repeat purchases and subscription renewals to justify higher acquisition costs.
• Consider lowering initial ROAS targets if LTV supports long-term profitability.

6. Strengthen tracking and attribution

• Set up accurate conversion tracking in Google Ads and Google Analytics.
• Use offline conversion imports if sales close outside digital channels.
• Apply multi-touch attribution models to see which touchpoints drive revenue.

3 things to know about calculating ROAS for Google Ads

While ROAS calculators make finding your ROAS easy, you should keep in mind a few factors, including:

1. ROAS should include all your advertising costs

When you calculate your ROAS, you enter your total ad spend. A lot of times, companies will look at this number and enter their monthly ad spend, which they pay directly to an ad network, like Google Ads. The problem, however, is that this number doesn’t include additional advertising costs. For example, these costs can include:

• Bid management tools
• Landing page design services
• Employee salaries

Whether your business includes these numbers is up to you. For example, you may exclude employee salaries and include some bid management software that you use, which makes sense. In your company role, you probably do more than PPC management, while your bid management software gets used solely for your ad campaigns.

2. ROAS only considers the revenue generated from advertising

Next, ROAS only looks at how much revenue you generated from advertising, like with Google Ads. This approach may work well for ecommerce companies, but for lead-based businesses, ROAS can provide an inaccurate perspective of your Google Ads ROAS. That’s why it’s helpful to create conversion actions in Google Ads. With conversion actions in Google Ads, you can set custom conversions, like a quote request, and assign them a monetary value, like $250. This tool can help you monitor and measure the performance of your ad campaigns, as well as make your ROAS calculation more accurate, so take advantage of it.

3. ROAS is not ROI

While similar, ROAS and ROI are different:

• ROAS measures your average return from advertising.
• ROI measures your total return from advertising.

ROAS also takes a closer look at your advertising performance, helping you focus on the campaigns, ad groups, and ads that drove the best return for your business. If you want to measure the performance of your advertising efforts, like on Google Ads, use ROAS.

FAQs about ROAS

Calculate your Google Ads ROAS instantly with our ROAS calculator

Knowing the average ROAS for Google Ads is the first step. The second step is calculating your Google Ads ROAS, which is easy with our free ROAS calculator. Just enter your total ad spend and ad revenue for a period, like a month, and our calculator will do the rest. Try it now!

If you aren’t happy with your results — and haven’t been with your Google Ads strategy overall — feel free to contact our team. You can contact us online or give us a ring at 888-601-5359 to learn how our Google Ads agency can help with your pay-per-click (PPC) strategy!