Free tool

ROI calculator.

Measure the real return of every marketing investment. Enter spend, revenue and margin to get ROI, ROAS and net profit in seconds — and stop confusing growth with profitability.

Investment & results
ROI
Return on investment
140.0%
Net profit
Revenue − costs − investment
$7,000
Cost per customer
Acquisition cost
$125

What marketing ROI is and why most teams calculate it wrong

Return on Investment measures how much profit you get back for every dollar you put in. It's a profitability metric, not a revenue metric. The most common mistake in marketing is using gross revenue in the numerator: that inflates the number and hides the fact that thin margins can wipe out apparent winners.

ROI formula
ROI = (Net profit − Investment) ÷ Investment × 100

ROI vs ROAS — when to use each

Use ROAS at the campaign level to compare creatives, audiences and bids in paid media. Use ROI at the channel or program level to compare paid vs SEO vs email vs PR on a fair, profit-based basis. Reporting ROAS to a CFO and calling it ROI is one of the fastest ways to lose budget credibility.

The compounding ROI of SEO

Paid ROI tends to flatten or fall over time as competition rises and audiences fatigue. SEO behaves the opposite way: an article published today still drives qualified traffic two years from now at zero marginal cost. The ROI curve compounds. After 18–24 months of disciplined execution, SEO is typically the highest-ROI channel in any mix.

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about marketing ROI

What's the difference between ROI and ROAS?

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ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures revenue per dollar of ad spend. ROI (Return on Investment) measures profit per dollar invested. ROAS can look great while ROI is negative if margins are thin. ROI is the metric that tells you whether you're actually making money.

How do I include cost of goods in ROI?

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Always work ROI on gross profit, not revenue. Revenue minus COGS equals contribution margin, and that's what should feed the ROI formula. Otherwise high-volume, low-margin businesses look more profitable than they are.

What's a healthy ROI for marketing?

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It depends on channel and maturity. Established brand search may show 10x+ ROI. Top-of-funnel display or PR campaigns can break even short-term and still be worth it if they lift LTV and reduce future CAC. There's no universal number — there's a target for each channel.

How often should I measure ROI?

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Monthly for performance channels (paid, email). Quarterly for SEO and content. Annually for brand and PR. The mistake is reading SEO ROI on a 30-day window — its returns compound over 12–24 months.

Why is my ROAS positive but my ROI negative?

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Because ROAS ignores everything except ad spend. Salaries, agencies, tools, refunds, shipping and product cost aren't in the formula. Many e-commerce brands run 4x ROAS campaigns that lose money once you add COGS and operating cost.

How does SEO compare to paid on long-term ROI?

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SEO has slower payback but a fundamentally better long-term ROI curve. After 12–24 months, content keeps producing customers at zero marginal cost. Paid ROI plateaus or declines as competition raises costs. The smart mix is paid for speed, SEO for compounding.

Enterprise SEO consultancy

Every paid click has an organic equivalent waiting to be earned.

We design end-to-end SEO programs for brands that want to lower their paid dependency, scale predictable organic traffic and dominate Google plus the new AI search surfaces.

+1B
Organic visits generated
+280%
Average lead growth
-73%
CAC reduction
+2,500%
AI search visibility
What we do

SEO strategy, technical SEO, content, authority and AI visibility (GEO) under one senior team. SEO tied to pipeline and revenue, not vanity metrics.

How we do it

Squad embedded in Slack, Notion and Linear. Weekly sprints, a 12–24 month roadmap and executive reporting that connects every organic move with CAC, leads and revenue.

What you get

Compounding organic growth, lower paid dependency, growing share of voice in LLMs and an acquisition channel that keeps working when you stop paying for clicks.

Methodology
/01
Diagnosis

Technical, content, authority and LLM visibility audit. Benchmark vs. competitors and opportunity quantified in traffic and revenue.

/02
Strategy

Topic universe prioritised by intent, 12–24 month traffic projection and a measurement model wired to business outcomes.

/03
Execution

Technical fixes, briefs, content, on-page, authority and GEO shipped every week. Embedded operation, not deliverables that sit in a PDF.

/04
Measurement

Organic KPIs tied to pipeline and CAC. Monthly iteration on what is actually moving the business, not on what climbs in Search Console.

SEO consultancy

Is your CPC high and your margin eroding?

We will send you a free SEO diagnostic with the real organic opportunities for your domain and a projection of how much you could cut paid spend while keeping the same lead volume.