Why a high-ROAS campaign can still be bad for your business.

A campaign reporting a strong ROAS looks like a winner. But ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend, as attributed by the platform. It says nothing about margin, and very little about whether the sale would have happened anyway.

Revenue isn't profit

A product with thin margins can show a healthy ROAS and still lose money after cost of goods, shipping, discounts and returns. The number that matters is contribution after acquisition cost.

Who are you actually buying?

Retargeting and branded search often report the highest ROAS because they reach people already about to buy. Useful — but they rarely grow the customer base. New-customer acquisition usually looks worse in-platform and matters more.

Measure the business, not the ad account

Pair platform ROAS with blended efficiency (total revenue ÷ total marketing spend), new-customer CAC and repeat purchase. Decide budgets on those.