Stop Treating ROAS Like Your Marketing Strategy

ROAS is an outcome—not a strategy.

If your awareness and customer journey are weak, ROAS will always disappoint because you're asking conversion campaigns to do the work of an entire marketing system.

I once read a post on LinkedIn that said, 'ROAS is the most expensive KPI to measure against.' I immediately stopped scrolling because it perfectly described something I'd been seeing for years.

That doesn't mean ROAS isn't important. It absolutely is. The problem is when businesses make ROAS the only KPI that matters. ROAS tells you whether your advertising generated revenue. It does not tell you why it succeeded or failed.

The Biggest Mistake Small Businesses Make

One of my biggest pet peeves is agencies promising: "We'll get you to a 4x or 5x ROAS."  My first question is always: "Great. What's your brand awareness strategy?"

Because if people don't know who you are, they don't click.

If they don't click, they don't visit your website.

If they don't visit your website, they don't buy.

You can't optimize conversions from an audience that doesn't exist.

Marketing Isn't One Funnel—It's an Entire System

The easiest way to think about marketing is as a system with three stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion. Each stage has a different job to do, which means each stage should be measured differently. 

When every stage is healthy, ROAS improves naturally. When one stage is broken, ROAS becomes a symptom—not the problem.

Stage 1: Awareness 

Goal: Your goal isn’t sales, it’s to become recognizable. 

One of my favorite exercises to do is to run a brand awareness survey at the beginning and end of the year. Instead of asking, "Did our ads make money?" I'm asking, "Do more people actually know we exist?" That's the kind of measurement that compounds over time. 

Questions I’d Ask: 

• How many people are seeing your content?

• Are impressions growing?

• Are engagement rates increasing?

• Are people following your brand?

• Are influencers introducing your brand to new audiences?

• Is branded search increasing?

KPIs: Impressions, Views, Engagement Rate, Brand Followers, Branded Search

Stage 2: Consideration

Goal: Your goal isn't immediate purchases—it's moving people from "I've heard of you" to "I want to learn more."

Questions I’d Ask: 

• Are people clicking through to your website?

• Which content is driving the most qualified traffic?

• Are visitors signing up for your email list?

• Which landing pages have the highest conversion rates?

• Where are visitors dropping off in their journey?

• Are we capturing demand, or letting interested visitors leave?

KPIs: Website Traffic, Click-Through Rate (CTR), Email Sign-ups, Landing Page Conversion Rate, Time on Site, Bounce Rate

Stage 3: Conversion

Goal: Sales and Revenue (ROAS belongs here!)

Questions I’d Ask: 

• Are first-time visitors becoming customers?

• What does our retargeting strategy look like for non-purchasers?

• What does our post-purchase experience look like?

• Are we encouraging repeat purchases?

• Which email flows are driving the most revenue?

• Where are customers abandoning the purchase journey?

KPIs: ROAS, Conversion Rate, Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Average Order Value (AOV), Repeat Purchase Rate, Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), Email Revenue

Earlier in my career, I was obsessed with ROAS because that's what everyone talked about. Today, it's one of the last metrics I'd optimize—not because it isn't important, but because it's the result of everything that came before it. Marketing isn't a collection of disconnected tactics. It's a system. When every stage is working together, growth becomes sustainable instead of unpredictable.

So, stop asking how to improve ROAS. Start asking what's preventing people from buying in the first place.

Updated: July 23, 2026