Demand Gen limited by budget: ROAS 1.63 on $183k
Commentary byROASArchiveOur analysis, not theirs@runtraffic reported Google Demand Gen campaigns returning a combined ROAS of 1.63 on $183k of spend over one month for an ecommerce brand.
Every campaign shown was limited by budget, meaning Google could have spent more.
It's a single account's result with no comparison.
- ROAS: 1.63 on Google's reported conversion value.
- Spend: $183k in total across the Demand Gen campaigns over one month.
- Limited by budget: the campaigns could not spend all the traffic Google found for them, so they may have had room to grow.
- Not shared: conversions, CPA or whether 1.63 is above the brand's break-even.
The change
Before
No earlier period or control is shared.
After
Demand Gen campaigns spent $183k in total at a reported ROAS of 1.63, each held back by its budget setting.
Our reading: why it likely worked
Our interpretation, not the advertiser's claim.
- A capped budget keeps the campaign buying only its cheapest results, which can make ROAS look better than it would at full spend.
- Demand Gen reaches people before they search, so 1.63 in-platform may undercount its effect on other channels.
- Whether to lift the budget depends on margin, which is not shared here.
Caveats: This is one account's result with no control. The conversion count is not shared, and ROAS is Google's own attribution.
How to run this in your account
- Hypothesis
- If we raise the budget on a Demand Gen campaign that is limited by budget, then total sales will grow because Google already sees more traffic it can buy, though ROAS may drop.
- Primary metric
- ROAS
- Guardrails
- Marginal ROAS on the extra spend
- CPA
- Blended revenue
- Who should try it
- Ecommerce brands with a Demand Gen campaign showing 'limited by budget' and ROAS above break-even. It won't help if the campaign is already near break-even.
Questions
What does 'limited by budget' mean in Google Ads?
It means the campaign could have spent more on the traffic it found, but the daily budget stopped it.
These Demand Gen campaigns were all in that state at a combined ROAS of 1.63.
What is a good ROAS for Google Demand Gen?
It depends on margin. This ecommerce account reported 1.63 on $183k, which only counts as good if 1.63 is above the brand's break-even ROAS.