Platform ROAS: useful inside the silo
Platform ROAS is the return an ad account reports on its own spend, using conversions that account credits to itself. Meta ROAS belongs in Meta. Google ROAS belongs in Google.
Use it to compare creative, campaigns, or ad sets within the same account. Do not use two siloed multiples as though they were one shared cross-channel truth.
Blended ROAS: one numerator, counted once
When Meta and Google run together, blended ROAS uses total real revenue divided by total ad spend across those channels. The revenue numerator comes from the store, Stripe, or another processor, not from adding platform claims.
One sale in the bank means one count in the numerator. That is why the blended figure holds when the silos disagree.
MER: efficiency language, same honesty
MER is a business-level efficiency view: revenue against marketing spend, counted once. If a MER sheet still adds Meta claimed dollars to Google claimed dollars, it has renamed the problem rather than fixed it.
There is no universal good MER. Margins, fit, and channel mix decide what healthy looks like for a client.
A practical revenue hierarchy
Trust platform ROAS for what to change inside that ad account. Trust payment or store revenue for how much money arrived. Use blended ROAS or MER when you need one program-level efficiency figure built from payment truth.
Payment-verified ROAS is not a claim about multi-touch model depth. It is a reporting rule: do not present summed platform claims as the revenue line.
When a Sheet is enough
For a small book with a trusted weekly blended tab, a careful Sheet can be enough. The need for a new tool is not automatic.
The workflow starts to wobble when QBRs keep turning into “why does this not match Stripe?”, or the client needs the same live number you use. That is the agency reporting job: a live, payment-verified number both sides can open.
What is blended ROAS?
Blended ROAS is the program-level return figure for when Meta and Google (or other paid channels you are comparing) run together: total real revenue ÷ total ad spend across those channels.
Real revenue means what the store, Stripe, or another processor recorded. It does not mean Meta's claimed revenue plus Google's claimed revenue. One sale in the bank means one count in the numerator. That is the same rule already covered under "Blended ROAS: one numerator, counted once" on this page.
FAQ
What is blended ROAS?
Blended ROAS is total real revenue divided by total ad spend across the paid channels you are comparing. The numerator comes from payment or store truth counted once, not from adding each platform's claimed conversions.
What is the difference between blended ROAS and platform ROAS?
Platform ROAS is the return one ad account reports on its own spend, using conversions that account credits to itself. Use it inside Meta or inside Google to compare creative, campaigns, or ad sets. Blended ROAS sits above those silos: one revenue numerator, one combined spend denominator. Do not treat two platform ROAS multiples as one shared cross-channel truth.
How does MER relate to blended ROAS?
MER (marketing efficiency ratio) is efficiency language for a similar business-level view: revenue against marketing spend, counted once. If a MER sheet still adds Meta claimed dollars to Google claimed dollars, it has renamed the problem rather than fixed it. There is no universal "good MER"; margins, fit, and channel mix decide what healthy looks like for a client.
When should I use platform ROAS vs blended ROAS or MER?
Use platform ROAS for what to change inside that ad account. Use payment or store revenue when the question is how much money arrived. Use blended ROAS or MER when you need one program-level efficiency figure built from payment truth, not from summed platform claims.
Can I build blended ROAS in a spreadsheet?
Yes, for a small book with a trusted weekly blended tab, a careful Sheet can be enough. It starts to wobble when QBRs keep turning into "why does this not match Stripe?", or the client needs the same live number you use. That gap is the agency reporting job: a live, payment-verified number both sides can open.
Further reading
- Why Meta and Google totals can exceed payment revenue: Why Meta and Google both claim the same sale
- Platform columns and client checklists inside Ads Manager: Facebook Ads reporting
- Combined Meta and Google client pack: PPC reporting for agencies: spend to revenue
How to calculate ROAS (and the MER formula, honestly)
“Calculate ROAS” usually means one of two jobs. Inside an ad account, ROAS is attributed conversion value ÷ spend for that platform’s credit rules. Across Meta and Google together, the honest program figure is blended ROAS: real revenue counted once ÷ total ad spend across those channels.
The blended ROAS formula is simple arithmetic:
Blended ROAS = payment (or store) revenue ÷ total ad spend across the channels you are comparing
The numerator is what cleared (or what the store recorded), not Meta claimed revenue plus Google claimed revenue. One sale in the bank is one count. That is the same honesty already on this page under blended ROAS and MER. We are extending the math, not renaming the definition.
MER (marketing efficiency ratio) is efficiency language for a similar business-level view. A common MER formula is:
MER = revenue ÷ marketing spend
(sometimes written the other way as spend ÷ revenue; pick one and stay consistent on the client deck). If the revenue line still adds platform claims, the MER sheet has renamed the problem rather than fixed it.
There is no universal “good MER.” Margins, offer, and channel mix decide what healthy looks like for that client. A spreadsheet can hold the formula. A calculator product is not required to do the math honestly, and this page does not sell one.
FAQ
How do you calculate ROAS?
For one platform: attributed conversion value ÷ ad spend in that account, under that account’s attribution settings. For the program across paid channels: use blended ROAS (payment or store revenue ÷ combined ad spend). Do not calculate “total ROAS” by averaging two platform ROAS multiples or by adding two claimed revenue columns first.
What is the blended ROAS formula?
Blended ROAS = real revenue (payment or store, counted once) ÷ total ad spend across the paid channels you are comparing. Keep Meta claimed value and Google claimed value as optional side columns. They are not the numerator.
How do you calculate marketing efficiency ratio (MER)?
MER = revenue ÷ marketing spend for the window you agreed with the client (or the inverse, if your sheet is built that way). Use one revenue source counted once. If Meta claimed dollars and Google claimed dollars still feed the revenue cell, you are not calculating MER. You are summing platform claims under a new label.
What is a good marketing efficiency ratio?
There is no universal good MER. A healthy ratio depends on margins, contribution after ads, seasonality, and how much non-paid demand the brand already has. Use the client’s own history and unit economics. Borrowed “good MER” benchmarks from the internet are a weak QBR defense.
How do you calculate blended ROAS in a Sheet without inventing money?
Put processor or store revenue in one cell. Put Meta spend and Google spend in their own cells and sum spend only. Divide revenue by that spend sum. Optionally show each platform’s claimed value beside the true revenue line so the double-count gap is visible. When the Sheet fight becomes weekly, the agency reporting gap is a live, payment-verified number both sides can open, not a prettier formula cell.
Further reading
- Why platform claims can exceed payment revenue: Why Meta and Google both claim the same sale
- Meta silo reporting: Meta Ads reporting
- Google silo reporting: Google Ads reporting