- e-commerce
- profitability
- method
How to increase campaign ROAS: the levers that really matter
Increasing ROAS doesn't start with settings. The levers that really raise return on ad spend, with a real e-commerce example, in the order they pay off.
Published on · Joh · 6 min read
ROAS measures the revenue each euro of advertising brings back. When it is too low, the reflex is to open the ads manager and tweak the settings. That is rarely where the biggest lever is.
First, check which ROAS you mean: the one shown by Meta or Google, or the one confirmed in your shop? They often differ. ROAS, its calculation and threshold.
1. The creatives
On Meta, the algorithm finds buyers from the ad itself. A new video, a new angle, a different hook often do more for ROAS than any audience setting. And creatives wear out: without regular renewal, ROAS drops mechanically. Ad fatigue.
2. Average order value
ROAS is calculated on revenue. Raising the average order raises ROAS without spending a euro more on ads: bundles, multi-packs, free shipping above a threshold, complementary products.
A real example: at a cosmetics brand I work with, the average order went from €54 to €68 thanks to bundles, which fed straight into ROAS. The full case.
3. The site's conversion rate
A clearer product page, visible reviews, simpler checkout, a faster mobile site: every conversion point gained raises the ROAS of every campaign at once. The landing page.
4. The signal sent to the platform
Campaigns optimise for what you report. If purchases are poorly tracked, or counted twice, they learn badly. Clean tracking, with the conversions API, and a campaign aimed at purchases, even their value, make them look for the right buyers. The campaign objective.
5. Structure
Too many campaigns and ad sets scatter the data: each learns too little. Fewer ad sets, broad audiences and several creatives per ad set often give better results. Advantage+ campaigns.
6. Settings, last
Excluding recent customers, adjusting bids, cutting placements that don't sell: useful, but last. It is the level people tune first out of habit, and the one that pays least.
Beware of fake ROAS
ROAS can rise for the wrong reasons: campaigns that only reach your loyal customers, who would have bought anyway. ROAS goes up, new customers go down. Always look at total revenue and the number of new customers at the same time.
Further reading: Lowering your customer acquisition cost and Meta Ads for an e-commerce brand.
ROAS stuck? . We look together at which level is blocking.