CTR & ROAS Are Lying to You — Meet the Metric That Tells the Truth

If you’ve been in marketing for more than five minutes, you’ve probably been told to obsess over metrics like click-through rate (CTR) or return on ad spend (ROAS).

Don’t get me wrong, those numbers have their place. They can tell you if your ad is getting attention (CTR) or if your ad dollars are bringing in more revenue than they’re costing you (ROAS).

But here’s the problem:

You can have a high CTR & great ROAS… & still fail.

Why? Because you might be winning the wrong game.

The Problem with CTR & ROAS

CTR is like getting high-fives from strangers — it feels good, but it doesn’t mean you’ve achieved your real goal. People can click without converting, or worse, click because your ad promised something it didn’t deliver.

ROAS tells you how much you made compared to what you spent, but it’s a short-term, revenue-first lens. It doesn’t consider bigger goals like brand equity, market share, or customer lifetime value.

If your campaign’s true purpose is brand awareness, loyalty, or market penetration, then CTR & ROAS are only showing you part of the picture.

Enter ROMO: Return on Marketing Objectives

Return on Marketing Objectives asks a different, more important question:

“Did our marketing actually achieve what we set out to do?”

Instead of measuring only how much money came back, ROMO measures how well the campaign delivered on its core goal: whether that’s growing your email list, improving brand recall, increasing engagement from a target audience, or driving qualified leads.

Think of it like training for a marathon:

If your objective is to run 26.2 miles, tracking your fastest 100m sprint (CTR) or calories burned (ROAS) won’t tell you if you’re marathon ready. ROMO measures progress against the actual race you’re running.

Making It Relatable

Imagine you’re running a campaign for a new sports drink.

• CTR tells you: People are clicking the ad.

• ROAS tells you: You made $3 for every $1 spent.

• ROMO tells you: You increased your brand’s recognition among athletes aged 18–25 by 40%, & 25% of them tried your product within a month.

CTR & ROAS are about the ad.

ROMO is about the mission.

Why ROMO Matters for the Long Game

• Keeps your team aligned. Everyone knows what the real win looks like, not just what gets clicks.

• Prevents vanity metrics. You won’t get distracted by numbers that look good but mean nothing.

• Measures impact, not activity. You know if your campaign actually moved the needle toward your business goal.

The Takeaway

CTR & ROAS are like the dashboard lights in your car: useful for quick checks.

But ROMO? That’s your GPS. It tells you if you’re actually heading toward your destination.

So next time you’re setting up a campaign, don’t just ask, “How many clicks can we get?”

Ask, “What’s our real objective, & how will we know we’ve achieved it?”

That’s the mindset shift that takes marketing from “running ads” to driving real business results.

-Malorie Ragsdale, MBA.

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