How to Double Your Ad Campaign ROI in Just Weeks

Every dollar counts. 

Return on Investment (ROI) has become the gold standard for measuring the success of ad campaigns, and it's no surprise why. When you invest in advertising, you want to know that your efforts are yielding significant returns. In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into proven strategies, real-world examples, and actionable tips that will help you maximize your ad spend and see a substantial increase in your ad campaign ROI.

What is ad campaign ROI?

Ad Campaign ROI is a key metric that marketers use to evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising efforts. Simply put, it measures the profit generated from an ad campaign relative to the cost of running that campaign. The higher your ROI, the more successful your campaign is at driving revenue compared to the amount spent.

Why is ad campaign ROI important?

Businesses are constantly looking to optimize their marketing budgets. ROI provides a clear picture of whether your ad spend is justified or if adjustments are needed. It’s a critical metric that helps you make informed decisions, allocate resources more efficiently, and ultimately drive more growth for your business.

Common pitfalls in calculating and interpreting ROI

Despite its importance, many marketers fall into common traps when calculating and interpreting ROI. One mistake is failing to consider all relevant costs, such as creative production, agency fees, or technology costs. This can lead to an inflated perception of success and potentially misguided decisions.

Another pitfall is focusing solely on short-term ROI without considering the long-term value of customer acquisition. While a campaign may show a modest ROI in the short term, it could lead to higher customer lifetime value (CLTV) that justifies the initial investment.

By understanding these common pitfalls, you can avoid them and ensure that your ROI calculations provide an accurate reflection of your campaign’s performance.

Breaking down the ad campaign ROI formula

The basic formula for calculating Ad Campaign ROI is straightforward:

For example, if you spent $10,000 on an ad campaign and it generated $30,000 in revenue, your ROI would be:

This means that for every dollar you spent, you earned $2 in profit. While the formula is simple, getting the inputs right is crucial. Make sure to include all relevant costs and revenue to get an accurate measure of your campaign’s success.

Example of an ad campaign ROI 

Let’s say you run a Facebook ad campaign with a budget of $5,000. The campaign generates 100 leads, and 25 of those leads convert into customers with an average purchase value of $400. Your total revenue from the campaign is $10,000. Here’s how you would calculate your ROI:

This instance shows a 100% ROI, meaning you doubled your investment. 

Proven strategies to double your ROI

Doubling your ad campaign ROI isn’t about throwing more money at the problem; it’s about smart, strategic adjustments that maximize efficiency and impact. Here are some proven strategies that can help you achieve this goal.

1. Targeting and segmentation

One of the most effective ways to increase ROI is by refining your audience targeting. The more precisely you can target your ads, the more likely they are to reach individuals who are genuinely interested in your product or service. This means fewer wasted impressions and clicks, and a higher conversion rate.

Start by analyzing your existing customer data to identify key demographics, behaviors, and preferences. Use this information to create detailed buyer personas and segment your audience accordingly. Platforms like Facebook and Google display ads offer advanced targeting options that allow you to hone in on specific audiences based on factors like age, location, interests, and online behavior. More on that later in the blog. 🙂

Additionally, consider leveraging lookalike audiences—groups of people who share characteristics with your best customers. By targeting these high-potential audiences, you can significantly improve your campaign’s performance and ROI.

Here's how to set up lookalike audiences on Google Ads:

Step 1: Choose a source audience

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  Select an audience list that represents your best customers, such as a remarketing list of website visitors or a customer match list of email subscribers.

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  The source audience should have at least 1,000 members for Google to analyze and find similarities.

Step 2: Create a lookalike audience

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  In your Google Ads account, go to the "Audience manager" section.

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  Click on "Audience lists" and select the source audience you want to base your lookalike on.

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  Click on the "Actions" dropdown and choose "Create similar audience."

Step 3: Select audience similarity

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  Google Ads allows you to choose the similarity level of your lookalike audience:

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  1% (most similar)

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  2.5%

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  5%

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  10% (least similar)

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  Start with a 1-2% similarity for a more targeted approach, and gradually expand to higher percentages if needed.

Step 4: Optimize and monitor

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  Add your lookalike audience to relevant ad groups or campaigns.

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  Monitor the performance of your lookalike audience campaigns and make adjustments based on metrics like click-through rate, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition.

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  Consider creating multiple lookalike audiences with different similarity levels to test and optimize your targeting.

You can also set up lookalike audiences on Facebook Ads by following these 4 steps:

Step 1: Create a source audience

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  Choose a source audience that represents your best customers, such as a custom audience of website visitors, app users, or email subscribers.

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  The source audience should have at least 100 members.

Step 2: Create a lookalike audience

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  In your Facebook Ads Manager, go to the "Audiences" section.

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  Click on "Create Audience" and select "Lookalike Audience."

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  Choose the source audience you want to base your lookalike on.

Step 3: Select location and audience size

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  Select the country where you want to target your lookalike audience.

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  Choose the audience size, ranging from 1% (most similar) to 10% (least similar) of the total population in the selected country.

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  Start with a 1% similarity for a more targeted approach, and gradually expand to higher percentages if needed.

Step 4: Optimize and monitor

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  Add your lookalike audience to relevant ad sets or campaigns.

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  Monitor the performance of your lookalike audience campaigns and make adjustments based on metrics like relevance score, click-through rate, and cost per acquisition.

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  Consider creating multiple lookalike audiences with different similarity levels and locations to test and optimize your targeting.

2. Creative optimization

Your ad creatives—whether they’re images, videos, or copy—play a crucial role in capturing attention and driving engagement. Creative optimization involves continuously testing and refining your ads to ensure they resonate with your target audience.

Start by creating multiple variations of your ads, each with different headlines, visuals, and calls to action (CTAs). Then, use A/B testing to determine which versions perform best. Focus on key metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per acquisition (CPA) to identify the most effective creatives.

Quick wins for creative tweaks

Want to tweak a creative without calling your designer? Here’s a quick win to make your ads pop with Bestever’s AI ad assistant:

1. •

   Sign up on Bestever: After signing up, on the Home page, click New Campaign. Input your website URL and click Continue. Review your brand voice and assets Bestever found and click "Generate Creatives".

1. •

   Open the Campaign and Creative: Start by opening the campaign and creative you want to edit.

1. •

   Click on Any Element: Click on any element you want to change, such as text, image, or logo.

1. •

   Adjust the creative: Use the right-side panel to adjust fonts, colors, and other details.

Pro tip: If you need a fresh perspective, consider asking Bestever’s AI chatbot to rewrite the copy, add a gradient, or crop an image. Changes will automatically apply across all aspect ratios, saving you and your designers hours of tedious editing.

3. A/B testing

A/B testing is a powerful tool that allows you to compare two versions of an ad to see which one performs better. This method can be applied to various elements of your campaign, including ad copy, visuals, landing pages, and CTAs.

The key to successful A/B testing is to test one variable at a time while keeping all other elements constant. For example, you might test two different headlines to see which one drives more clicks. Once you’ve identified the winning headline, you can then test other elements, such as the CTA or visual.

You can improve the click-through rates of your Google Ads by incorporating targeted keywords and emotional triggers into your headlines using Bestever’s Google Ads Headline Generator. It suggests headlines that are more likely to attract clicks and drive high-quality traffic to your website. Start generating the best Google Ads headlines today and improve your ad’s effectiveness!

4. Budget allocation

Consider using automated bidding strategies offered by platforms like Google Ads, which adjust your bids in real-time to maximize conversions and ROI. Google Ads analyzes various factors, including user behavior, device type, location, and time of day, to determine the optimal bid for each auction.

Here’s how you can set up automated bidding:

Step 1: Choose your campaign

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  Log in to your Google Ads account.

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  Select the campaign you want to optimize.

Step 2: Navigate to bidding settings

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  Click on "Settings" in the left menu.

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  Scroll down to the "Bidding" section.

Step 3: Select an automated bidding strategy

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  Click on the "Change bid strategy" option.

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  Choose one of the automated bidding strategies listed above.

Step 4: Set your goals

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  Define your campaign goals, such as target CPA or target ROAS, based on the selected strategy.

Step 5: Save changes

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  Review your settings and click "Save" to apply the automated bidding strategy.

Facebook ad targeting options

Facebook offers a wide range of advanced targeting options to help you reach your desired audience. Here are some of the key targeting options and how to use them:

1. Demographic targeting

You can target users based on their age, gender, location, language, education level, relationship status, and more. For example, to target women aged 25-35 who live in New York City:

1. •

   Click "Create Ad" in Ads Manager

2. •

   Select your campaign objective

3. •

   In the ad set settings, go to "Audience"

4. •

   Under "Location", type in "New York City, NY, United States" and select it

5. •

   For "Age", enter 25-35

6. •

   For "Gender", select "Female"

2. Interest targeting

Target users based on their interests, hobbies, and behaviors. Facebook has a vast database of user interests, from sports and entertainment to technology and travel. For example, to target people interested in "Photography":

1. •

   In the "Detailed Targeting" section, start typing "Photography"

2. •

   Select "Photography" from the suggestions

3. •

   You can further refine the interest by selecting sub-interests like "Product Photography", etc.

3. Behavior targeting

Target users based on their purchase behaviors, device usage, travel preferences, and more. For example, to target people who are "Frequent Travelers":

1. •

   In "Detailed Targeting", search for "Frequent Travelers"

2. •

   Select the "Frequent Travelers" behavior

3. •

   You can further refine by selecting sub-categories like "Domestic Travelers", "International Travelers", etc.

4. Connections targeting

Target users based on their connections to your Facebook page, app, or event. For example, to target people who like your Facebook page:

1. •

   In the "Audience" section, expand "More Categories"

2. •

   Select "Connections"

3. •

   Choose "People who like your Page"

4. •

   Select your Facebook page from the list

5. Custom audiences

Create audiences from your own data, such as email lists, website visitors, app users, or offline data. For example, to target people who have visited your website:

1. •

   Install the Facebook Pixel on your website

2. •

   In the "Audience" section, select "Custom Audience"

3. •

   Choose "Website Traffic" as the source

4. •

   Select the website events you want to target, such as "All Website Visitors" or specific page views

6. Lookalike audiences

Create audiences that are similar to your existing customers or high-value audiences. For example, to create a lookalike audience based on your best customers:

1. •

   Create a custom audience from your customer list or high-value website visitors

2. •

   In the "Audience" section, select "Lookalike Audience"

3. •

   Choose the source audience you created in step 1

4. •

   Select the country you want to target and the audience size (1-10%)

By combining these targeting options, you can create highly targeted audiences to maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook ad campaigns. Test different targeting combinations and refine your approach based on performance.

Key targeting options in Google Ads

Google Ads targeting can significantly enhance the performance of ad campaigns by ensuring that ads are shown to the right people at the right time. Below is a detailed overview of the various targeting options available:

1. Location targeting

Location targeting enables advertisers to specify geographic areas where their ads will appear. This can range from countries to specific cities or even a radius around a location.

How to set up location targeting:

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  Go to your Google Ads campaign settings.

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  Click on the "Locations" section.

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  Enter the desired locations (e.g., cities or regions) where you want your ads to show.

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  Choose whether to include or exclude these locations.

2. Audience targeting

Audience targeting allows advertisers to reach specific groups of people based on their interests, demographics, and behaviors. Google categorizes audiences into several segments:

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  Affinity Audiences: Target users based on their interests (e.g., sports fans).

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  In-Market Audiences: Reach users actively considering a purchase.

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  Remarketing Audiences: Re-engage users who have previously interacted with your business.

How to set up audience targeting:

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  In your campaign settings, navigate to the "Audiences" section.

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  Select "Browse" to view available audience segments.

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  Choose the segments that align with your target market and add them to your campaign.

3. Keyword targeting

Keyword targeting focuses on specific words or phrases that potential customers might use in their search queries. This is crucial for search campaigns.

How to set up keyword targeting:

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  Go to the "Keywords" section of your campaign.

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  Enter relevant keywords that relate to your products or services.

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  Use keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact) to control how closely the search query must match your keywords.

4. Device targeting

Device targeting allows you to specify which devices your ads will appear on, such as desktops, tablets, or mobile devices.

How to set up device targeting:

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  In your campaign settings, find the "Devices" section.

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  Choose to target or exclude specific devices based on performance data.

5. Time targeting 

Time targeting enables you to schedule your ads to run during specific times of the day or days of the week, optimizing your ad spend.

How to set up time targeting:

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  Go to the "Ad Schedule" section in your campaign settings.

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  Select the days and times you want your ads to appear.

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  Analyze the ad performance data to determine the best times for your audience.

Achieve 2x Return on Ad Spend with Bestever

The key takeaways from these success stories are clear: Targeted audience segmentation, continuous optimization, and strategic budget allocation are essential to doubling your ROI. By applying these strategies with your trusty ad assistant, Bestever, you can transform your ad campaigns and see substantial improvements in your returns. Start using Bestever today to double your ROAS and win at marketing.