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Google Ads ROI: How to Calculate & Maximize (2025)

By June 27, 2024February 1st, 2025No Comments15 min read
google ads roi

Last Updated on February 1, 2025

79% of marketers say that paid advertising is vital to their success, and 80% of these companies use Google Ads for their PPC.

And for good reason: advertising on Google has the potential to generate a high return on investment (ROI). But that isn’t a guarantee.

If you don’t use the right strategies or leverage an agency’s expertise, your ads may not perform to their full potential.

In this guide, we’re going to walk you through how to increase your ROI on Google Ads and how an agency can help you maximize success.

When & How Do Google Ads Work Best?

Google Ads work best when you:

  1. Clearly outline your business goals.
  2. Set a realistic ad budget for your Google Ads campaign.
  3. Conduct keyword research to find relevant search terms your target audience is using.
  4. Utilize targeting options such as demographics, locations, interests, and device targeting to reach your ideal audience.
  5. Explore ad extensions, such as site links, callouts, and structured snippets, to offer more information and improve ad visibility.
  6. Optimize your landing page content for conversions.
  7. Take steps to improve your quality store.

We’ll discuss these strategies in more detail below, but this overview will give you a general idea of what factors contribute to a good return on your ad investment.

What’s A Good Google Ads ROI?

What’s considered a good Google Ads ROI depends on your industry. Other factors might include competition, the quality of your ad campaign, and your target audience.

Even though there’s no definite figure you should go after, Google provides an estimate of the ROI you could achieve when advertising on the platform: 100%, which is a 2:1 return. That means if you spent $1, you can expect an average return of $2 from new leads, sales, and engagement.

But if you have an extremely successful online advertising campaign, you could see a 400% return on investment or higher. So, for every dollar you spend on advertising, you generate $4 in revenue.

This is considered a really successful outcome for highly competitive industries.

6 Strategies to Maximize Google Ads ROI

Are you ready to boost ROI on your next Google Ads campaign? Follow these six strategies for best results.

1. Learn How to Calculate Your ROI for a Good Starter Point

You can improve your ROI on Google Ads if you can’t calculate it.

Learn how to measure your ROI so that after you’ve started your campaign, you can start analyzing its performance.

The formula for calculating your return on investment is:

ROI = (Revenue – Cost) / Cost x 100%

Here’s an example. Let’s say you have an SEO agency and want to target SaaS companies. 

Your ads generated $20,000 in revenue.

And you spent $4,000 on ads. 

Plug these numbers into the formula:

ROI = ($20,000 – $4,000) / ($4,000 x 100%)

ROI = $16,000 / $4,000 x 100%

ROI = 4 x 100% = 400% 

Your ROI for this ad campaign would be 400%.

As you get more familiar with running Google Ads campaigns, you might see the term return on ad spend (ROAS). This might seem like the same thing as ROI, but it’s not.

While ROI considers overall costs beyond advertising costs, ROAS doesn’t. ROAS just looks at the revenue you generated from advertising compared to the advertising cost.

Because ROI considers a complete view of your spending—including operational costs, cost of goods sold (COGS), distribution costs, non-advertising marketing expenses, and administrative costs—it measures your overall profitability.

2. Understand the Average Cost of Google Ads

ROI is all about cost. So, it helps to know how much a Google Ads campaign might cost your company if you want to increase your ROI.

On average, businesses spend between $9,000 and $10,000 on Google Ads. How much you spend will depend on many factors. This includes the size of your campaign, expected revenue, and cost per click (CPC).

Your CPC is likely going to be the most influential factor affecting your advertising spend. This number measures how much you’re spending each time someone clicks on your ad.

Your bid amount, the amount other advertisers bid, and the quality of your ad will determine your CPC.


The average CPC for Search Ads is $2.69, while the average CPC for Google Display Network Ads is $0.63. To put that into perspective, you could be paying close to 400 clicks with an advertising budget of $1,000.

Knowing the potential CPC can help you estimate how much you could possibly be spending on ads. For instance, if you’re in the travel industry and your business deals with selling used RVs, understanding the CPC for keywords related to this market will help you budget more effectively and target your ads to the right audience.

You should also consider costs like management costs and fees. For example, if you’re working with a digital marketing agency to manage your Google Ads campaigns, this would be part of your expenses to include in your ROI.

3. Set a Campaign Goal

Ask yourself this: What do you want your ads to achieve?

Of course, the goal is always going to be to get more revenue for your business. But you can get more granular with it by identifying objectives that help you work toward that common goal.

For example, maybe you want to increase website traffic. Or maybe you want to generate leads, increase sales, or build brand awareness. Whichever goal you focus on, they all lead back to the same road‌: generating revenue for your business.

But focusing on one of these can also help you choose the most appropriate targeting options and bidding strategies.

That way, your ads reach the right audience at the right time. For example, let’s say you want to target travel radiology technicians for a specific hospital in Michigan.

Tapping into geotargeting to tailor campaigns will help maximize the ROI of each ad dollar you spend.

If your goal is to reach audiences in France, a Google Ads agency in Paris can help tailor your campaigns to the local culture and preferences, ensuring greater engagement and ROI.

4. Know Your Audience

Identify your ideal customer. How can you create ads that appeal to them, ads that make them want to click?

If you have an existing website, analyze your website traffic data using a tool like Google Analytics.

Look at different factors, like demographics, which includes age, gender, income, and location 

For example, let’s say you’re starting a business in California. You can use Google Ads to target people who live in specific areas of the state.

Pay attention to their online behaviors to understand their interests and preferences. This precise approach not only enhances your visibility but also boosts your chances of attracting the right customers, maximizing your ROI from the start. Use the Apple Small Business Program for tailored resources and Google Ads to target key demographics, boosting customer attraction and ROI.

You can also use your customer relationship management (CRM) solution to research your audience. With Google Ads Data Manager, you can look at all of your customer data from multiple sources like CRM, website analytics, and offline transactions all in one place.

Screenshot of Google Ads Data Manager

Image Source

Using this existing data, you can find new users across Google’s network who share similar characteristics with your existing customers.

Once you know your audience, you can use Google’s audience targeting capabilities:

  • Detailed demographics
  • Custom audiences
  • Affinity audiences
  • Similar audiences
  • Customer match
  • Remarketing
  • Life events
  • In-market

5. Optimize Your Website & Landing Pages

Everything we’ve discussed so far was all setup. Now, we’re getting into those little details that drive a high ROI.

The first thing you want to do before creating your ads is to optimize your website and landing pages. We call this content optimization

Why? Because when a potential customer clicks on your ad, it’s going to lead to your website. 

The goal is to keep users on the page. The better your website and landing pages look, answer prospects’ questions, and provide value, the better your chances of increasing conversions.

So, what does a good landing page look like?

Consider an HR consulting company, Synergy Human Resources, based in Minnesota. This ad lets users know exactly what the company does.

Screenshot of Minnesota HR Consultants

Screenshot provided by the author

Wanting to learn more, potential clients may click the ad. It leads them to the right of the homepage.

Image Source

Notice how the homepage is visually appealing, with a high-quality hero image and branded logo that establishes Synergy HR’s brand identity.

The headline also conveys a compelling message, using action verbs to inspire prospective customers to work with them.

There’s also a clear call to action—“Let’s work together”—which urges businesses to take the next step. It creates a sense of personal connection with the audience.

Furthermore, the page’s message aligns with the ad. It uses words like “outsourced” and “experts” to show the company’s expertise in HR.

And notice how the company uses the keywords “outsourced HR services” and “Midwest businesses.” Its target audience likely uses these search terms when looking for an HR consultant in Minnesota. Another trick you can use is connecting to a reliable free VPN while connected to various servers, in order to test any regional variance in search terms.

6. Improve Your Quality Score

There are two main things that can affect your ad visibility in Google’s sponsored search results. These are your bid and your quality score.

Improving your quality score is a great way to boost your Google Ads ROI.

Google uses the quality score to determine the relevance and quality of your ads. It ranges from 1 to 10. The different factors that affect this score include:

  • Landing page experience
  • Click-through rate (CTR)
  • Historical performance
  • Keyword relevance
  • Ad relevance
  • Ad format

According to Semrush, landing page experience and expected CTR are the most important quality score factors. Ad relevance is next in line.

Screenshot of Semrush pie graph showing factors including Google Ad quality score

Image Source

Use these strategies to improve your quality score to increase the chances of Google displaying your ads.

  • Find relevant keywords. Use a keyword research tool to find keywords relevant to your target audience’s interests, your industry, and your business/products/services. Look for long-tail keywords that show high intent and that are less competitive.
  • Organize your ad groups. Within your Google Ads campaigns are ad groups. Within those ad groups are keywords. So, organize your keywords into those ad groups. Example: You run a perfume store. You offer men’s fragrances and women’s fragrances. You can make your ads more specific by separating them into ad groups and using separate keywords for each ad group. So, you might use the keywords “women’s perfume” and “men’s cologne” and organize them into their own ad groups. As a result, if someone searches for “best perfume for women,” they’ll see your ad that’s closely related to their search term. This increases the chances of them clicking on it.
  • Align your ad copy with keyword intent. Make sure your ad copy includes relevant keywords, addresses how your business/product/service meets your potential customers’ needs, and includes an actionable CTA.
  • Optimize your landing page. Beyond including relevant keywords, using a clear CTA, and having a visually appealing design, there are other ways to improve your landing page experience. Ensure it loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and is easy to navigate.

Using Analytics To Improve Your Digital Advertising

Measuring the performance of your ad campaigns can help you increase your ROI. Set up Google Ads analytics to track your ads data. Partnering with MSP marketing companies can provide valuable insights and expertise, helping you optimize your campaigns and boost performance.

By regularly reviewing performance metrics in the Google Ads dashboard, you can quickly spot trends, identify underperforming campaigns, and make data-driven changes to maximize your ROI.

Look at different metrics to see where you can improve your advertising strategy.

  • Impressions: The number of times your ads are displayed to users. If your impressions are low, consider adjusting your targeting options or your bidding strategy. CPM (Cost Per Mile) is a key metric in advertising, representing the cost you pay for every 1000 impressions. Here, a cost-per-thousand calculator can be a valuable tool. By inputting your desired CPM and budget, you can calculate the impressions your campaign might achieve. This allows you to strategically plan your budget and optimize your bids to maximize impressions within your financial constraints.
  • Clicks/CTR: The number of times people click your ads or the ratio of clicks to impressions. Not getting enough clicks? Low CTR? Tweak your headline and ad copy. Adjust your keywords to make sure they align with your audience’s needs.
  • Conversion rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action. If you have low conversions, optimize your landing page, simplify the checkout process, or refine targeting.
  • Cost per conversion (CPA)/cost per click (CPC): The average cost you pay for each conversion your ad campaign generates/the average cost per click your ad generates. A high CPA or CPC could signal inefficient ad spend and targeting. Analyze your campaign’s performance by segment. Spend more on high-converting segments and less on underperforming ones.
  • ROAS: How much revenue you generate compared to how much you spend on ads. Dealing with‌ low ROAS? Optimize your campaigns to improve conversion rates, increase average order value (AOV), or target higher-value customer segments.
  • Ad position: Where your ad is in the search engine results pages (SERPs) or website. Low ad position? Increase bids or improve ad relevance.

If you need help improving the performance of your ads, consider working with a digital marketing agency. These experienced teams of marketers and advertisers help businesses like yours measure the performance of ad campaigns and identify opportunities for optimization. They can also help you conduct A/B testing to see which elements of your ads drive the highest performance.

Other Ways To Maximize Digital E-commerce Impact

How else can you maximize your marketing ROI?

Here are some other strategies that can indirectly help you achieve a successful Google Ads campaign:

  • Search engine optimization (SEO): To improve your site’s visibility in organic search, master SEO strategies, including on-page and off-page optimization, technical SEO, and user experience (UX) optimization.
  • Content marketing: Create valuable, relevant content to attract, engage, and build trust with your target audience.
  • Email marketing: Send targeted, personalized emails including videos, to your subscribers to nurture leads, drive conversions, and retain customers.
  • Social media marketing: Connect with your audience on social media to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO): Improve your website’s conversion rate by optimizing landing pages, CTAs, and checkout processes.
  • Remarketing and retargeting: Target ads to users who previously visited your website but didn’t convert.

Final Thoughts on Google Ads ROI

Is your Google advertising strategy driving the results you desire, including a higher ROI?

If it isn’t, follow these best practices we discussed above. Make sure your ads are relevant to what your target audience is looking for.

Then, measure your performance to see where you stand and what you need to do to get where you want to be. 

Another thing that can help is a digital marketing agency, like Omniscient Digital. We’re a content production and growth agency specializing in content creation for digital visibility, stronger authority, and better online sales.

Get in touch to start driving a results-driven Google advertising campaign.

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Cassandra Rosas

Cass is the SEO Outreach Manager at Omniscient Digital, she loves writing about topics such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content operations, e-commerce, and social media marketing. In her spare time she likes listening to music and hiking in the mountains.