Calculate ROI on Your Marketing Campaigns

Marketing ROI proves whether campaigns make money or waste it. The formula is simple: (Revenue - Cost) / Cost × 100 = ROI %.

A $10,000 campaign generating $35,000 revenue = 250% ROI. Every dollar spent returned $2.50 in profit.

Why Marketers Calculate ROI Wrong

Common mistakes: Not including all costs (staff time, tools, overhead), tracking wrong metrics, ignoring customer lifetime value, and using incorrect attribution windows.

True cost = Ad spend + staff salaries + software + agency fees + creative production.

ROI Benchmarks by Channel

Email marketing: 3,600% ROI ($36 per $1). SEO: 275% ROI. Content: 300%. Social ads: 250%. PPC: 200%. Display: 150%.

Your results vary by industry, audience, and execution quality.

Attribution Window Guidelines

B2C short cycle: 7-30 days. B2C long cycle: 30-90 days. B2B short: 30-90 days. B2B long: 90-180 days. Enterprise: 6-12 months.

Match tracking window to your sales cycle for accurate ROI.

Multi-Touch Attribution

Last-click undervalues awareness. First-click undervalues nurturing. Linear oversimplifies. Time-decay provides balance by weighting recent touchpoints more heavily.

Use time-decay or weighted models for accurate calculations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is good marketing ROI? 5:1 (500%) is good, 10:1 (1000%) is exceptional. Acceptable ROI depends on margins and business stage. Startups may accept 2:1 for acquisition.

How to calculate brand awareness ROI? Track branded search volume, direct traffic, social mentions, and survey new customers on discovery source.

What costs to include? Everything: ad spend, prorated staff time, software, agencies, creative production, and overhead allocation.

How long to track? Match your sales cycle. Set consistent windows for fair comparisons between campaigns.

Calculate performance with our ROI Calculator, CLV Calculator, and Break Even Calculator.