True ROAS
True ROAS is a synonym for Incremental ROAS (iROAS). It represents the actual revenue generated by a channel that would not have occurred otherwise, divided by ad spend. Unlike platform-reported ROAS, which claims credit for existing demand, True ROAS audits the causality of every dollar spent.
The Short Version
The real return on your ad spend, stripped of attribution lies.
Visual Explanation
What Is Incremental ROAS?
Your ROAS might look great. That doesn’t mean it worked.
Prerequisites
The Vanity Metric Trap
Your dashboard says 8.0 ROAS. But your bank account isn't growing relative to spend.
You are looking at 'Attributed ROAS', which includes organic sales that touched an ad. True ROAS filters this outs to show the actual economic contribution.
How it works
Calculate Incremental Revenue (Total Lift)
Divide by Ad Spend
Result is True ROAS (usually 40-60% lower than dashboard ROAS, but accurate)
Common Misconceptions
Thinking True ROAS will match GA4 (It never will)
Ignoring it because it's 'lower' (It's not lower, it's honest)
Calculating it manually without a counterfactual
Frequently Asked Questions
QIs True ROAS always lower?
Usually yes, especially for Retargeting and Brand Search. However, for Prospecting on new channels, True ROAS can sometimes exceed attributed ROAS if there are tracking loss issues.
QWhy do we call it 'True'?
Because it reflects the true cash-on-cash return of the investment, unlike attribution which reflects a claim of credit.