Introduction
In our daily work with businesses across a variety of industries, one question that keeps coming up is: how do you know if your Google Ads campaigns are truly profitable? The answer lies in performance measurement. Understanding and tracking key metrics like ROAS, CPA, and view-through conversions is essential for managing and optimizing your advertising investments.
This article explains how to use these metrics, with practical examples and best practices from the official Google documentation .
What is ROAS?
ROAS stands for Return On Ad Spend.
It measures how much revenue you generate for every dollar invested.
For example, a ROAS of 4 means that for every $1 spent, you generated $4 in revenue.
ROAS is especially important for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, where direct sales are the primary goal.
Google explains how to track and optimize ROAS in its best practices .
What is CPA?
CPA stands for Cost Per Acquisition .
It measures how much each conversion (purchase, lead, registration) costs you.
For example, if you spend $500 and get 10 conversions, your CPA is $50.
CPA is ideal for search campaigns , where the goal is often lead generation or the acquisition of a specific customer.
To learn more about setting up conversions, see Google's Conversions documentation .
What are view-through conversions?
View-through conversions count users who saw your ad but didn't click immediately, but later converted on your site.
They are particularly useful for Display and YouTube campaigns, where the goal is often to build awareness and influence future behavior.
According to Google, analyzing view-through conversions helps you better understand the hidden value of impressions.
Read Google's explanation of attribution
How to interpret and combine these indicators
|
Indicator |
What it measures |
Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
|
ROAS |
Revenue generated versus expenses |
Ideal for e-commerce and sales-oriented campaigns |
|
CPA |
Cost per acquisition |
Ideal for lead generation and action-oriented campaigns |
|
Post-view conversions |
Impact of unclicked impressions |
Ideal for measuring the influence of awareness campaigns |
In our agency experience, the best-performing campaigns are those that track these three metrics together. For example, a CPA may seem high in isolation, but when you factor in view-through conversions, the overall profitability can be much higher.
Optimize your campaigns with these metrics
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Track your conversions regularly in Google Analytics 4 .
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Set up conversion value tracking to power AI in your Performance Max campaigns .
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Test different messages and audiences in your Display campaigns and analyze the impact on ROAS and post-view conversions.
Support for precise measurement
Implementing a reliable measurement strategy requires technical expertise and rigorous monitoring. As a Google Certified Partner , we help you define the right metrics, configure your tags correctly, and analyze your results to continuously improve your advertising performance.
Conclusion
Measuring the performance of your Google Ads campaigns isn't just about clicks. Tracking ROAS, CPA, and view-through conversions gives you a comprehensive view of the effectiveness of your advertising investments. By understanding these metrics, you can make informed decisions and maximize your return on investment. To go further, explore our Google Ads services and implement a measurement strategy tailored to your goals.
