These are the metrics that appear most often in client ad reports. Each definition is written so you can paste it into a report footnote.
| Metric | Meaning | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS (return on ad spend) | Revenue from ads divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 4 means $4 of revenue for every $1 spent. | Purchase value / spend |
| CPA (cost per acquisition) | The average cost to get one conversion, such as a purchase or sign-up. | Spend / conversions |
| CPL (cost per lead) | The average cost to get one lead. | Spend / leads |
| CPM (cost per mille) | The cost of 1,000 impressions. Used to compare how expensive it is to reach people. | Spend / impressions x 1,000 |
| CPC (cost per click) | The average cost of one click. | Spend / clicks |
| CTR (click-through rate) | The share of impressions that led to a click. | Clicks / impressions x 100 |
| Conversion rate | The share of clicks that became a conversion. | Conversions / clicks x 100 |
| Frequency | How many times, on average, each person saw an ad. High frequency often means creative fatigue. | Impressions / reach |
| Reach | The number of unique people who saw an ad at least once. | Reported by the platform |
| Impressions | The number of times ads were shown, including repeat views. | Reported by the platform |
| AOV (average order value) | The average revenue per purchase. | Purchase value / purchases |
| MER (marketing efficiency ratio) | Total revenue divided by total marketing spend across all channels. Also called blended ROAS. | Total revenue / total ad spend |
| Creative fatigue | When an ad's results fall because the same people have seen it too often. Rising frequency and falling CTR are the usual signs. | Reported by the platform |
| Budget pacing | How actual spend compares with planned spend for the period so far. | Spend to date / planned spend to date |
| Thumb-stop rate | The share of impressions where people watched the first three seconds of a video ad. | 3-second video views / impressions x 100 |
Adsorra shows these metrics for every client across Meta, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Pinterest and Snapchat, and picks the right ones for each report template.