In this article, you will learn all about calculating and analyzing Facebook ROI with examples. You will learn to calculate the ROI on your Facebook ads.

In order to calculate the Facebook ROI follow the steps below:

Step-1: Login to your Google Analytics account and then navigate to your main GA view.

Step-2: Navigate to ‘Acquisition’ > ‘All Traffic’ > ‘Source / Medium’ report:

Step-3: Change the data range of the ‘Source/Medium’ report to the last month.

Step-4: Filter out all the Facebook and Instagram referrers by using the following regular expression in the advanced reporting filter: facebook|instagram

Step-4: Note down the direct sales (last click sales) from Facebook:

So, Direct Sales from Facebook: $25,545.92

Step-5: Navigate to ‘Conversions’ > ‘Multi Channel Funnels’ > ‘Assisted Conversions’ report:

Step-6: Click on the ‘Source’ tab:

Step-7: Filter out all the Facebook and Instagram referrers by using the regular expression facebook|instagram in the advanced reporting filter and then note down the ‘Assisted Conversion Value’ metric:

So, Assisted Sales from Facebook: $10,857.89

Report on the assisted conversion value because Facebook does not always directly close a sale.

Sometimes it may only assist a sale which is then closed by other marketing channels.

It is important to note that the assisted conversion value for Facebook, as reported by Google Analytics does not take Facebook view-through conversions into account.

There are no impression assisted conversions reported for Facebook by GA.

You see only click assisted conversions.

A view-through conversion is the conversion attributed to the last Facebook ad a person saw (but not clicked) before completing a conversion on your website.

Step-8: Navigate to your Facebook Ad Manager account and set the date range to the last month.

Step-9: Note down the total amount spent from all FB campaigns in the last one month:

So the Facebook Ad Spend in the last one month: $26,081.98

Step-10: Within the Facebook Ad Manager, click on Columns > Customize Columns:

Step-11: Click on the ‘Comparing Windows’ link:

Step-12: Select the‘ 1-day view’ attribution window (provided you are heavily involved in multi-channel marketing) and then click on the ‘Apply’ button:

Select the ‘1-day view’ attribution window because it is the narrowest window you can get among all available ‘view-through attribution windows’ on Facebook. 

The wider you make your attribution window, the more credit Facebook is likely to take, for all the conversions that occurred on your website.

For more details read: Wide and narrow attribution windows and their impact on conversion attribution

Note: If all you do in terms of online marketing is Facebook, then select the ’28-days view’ attribution window.

Step-13: Note down the total website purchases conversion value for ‘1-day view’ attribution:

So, the sales through the view-through conversion (based on ‘1-day view’ attribution window) is: $193,478.37

Report on Facebook view-through conversion sales because they are not reported by Google Analytics.

Google Analytics can not report on ‘view-through conversions’, as they do not result in a visit that can be attributed to Facebook. All such visits are either reported as direct traffic or branded organic search traffic or traffic from some other marketing channel.

Remember that Facebook advertising is also creating a ‘demand’ for your product/service. And this demand can result in a lot more direct and branded organic search traffic and sales on your website.

The only way to measure such an impact is to take ‘view-through conversions’ into account while calculating ROI.

We can not discount them completely and assume they do not exist and have zero impact on sales and other conversions.

It is important to note that the assisted conversion value for Facebook, as reported by Google Analytics does not take Facebook view-through conversions into account.

Google Analytics does not report on impression assisted conversions (conversions assisted by Facebook ad impressions) for Facebook.

It only takes Facebook click-assisted conversions (Conversions assisted by Facebook ad clicks) into account, where people clicked on one of your Facebook ads in their conversion path.

Facebook calculates view-through conversions for different attribution windows like ‘1-day view’, ‘7-day view’, and ’28-days view’.

The wider the attribution window, the more conversions Facebook will claim.

The 1-day view attribution window is the narrowest window you can get among all available ‘view-through attribution windows’ on Facebook.

‘1 day view’ attribution window means, Facebook attribute all conversions that occurred on your website to the last Facebook ad which a person saw (but not clicked), provided the conversion(s) occurred within 1 day from the last ad impression and no other Facebook ad was clicked in the last 28 days.

Step-14: Calculate the ‘Return on Ad Spend’ from Facebook

Return on Ad Spend from Facebook =

(Direct Sales from Facebook as reported by ‘Google Analytics’ +

Assisted Sales from Facebook as reported by ‘Google Analytics’ +

View-Through Conversion Sales from Facebook as reported by ‘Facebook Ad Manager’)  

/

(Total Facebook Ad Spend as reported by ‘Facebook Ad Manager’ + Cost of managing the Facebook marketing campaigns)

= ($25,545.92 + $10,857.89 + $193,478.37) / ($26,081.98 + $3500)

= $229,882.18 / $29,581.98

= 7.77

So for every dollar that we spent on Facebook, we got $7.77 back.

That’s how we can calculate the ROI of Facebook marketing campaigns.

Note: If the majority of your website traffic and sales come from Facebook then make sure to use the ‘28 days view’ attribution window (not ‘1-day view’ attribution) for calculating the view-through conversion sales from Facebook.

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