The formula
ROI = (revenue − cost) / cost × 100%
Revenue is what the offer paid you. Cost is what you spent on traffic. The difference is profit.
Example. You spend $200 on clicks and approved conversions pay $260. Profit is $60, so ROI = 60 / 200 × 100% = 30%. If conversions pay only $150, profit is −$50 and ROI is −25%.
ROI vs ROMI vs ROAS
| Metric | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ROI | (revenue − cost) / cost | Profit relative to spend. 0% is break-even |
| ROMI | (revenue − marketing cost) / marketing cost | The same idea limited to marketing spend. Often used as a synonym for ROI |
| ROAS | revenue / ad spend | A ratio, not a percentage of profit. 1.0 is break-even |
So ROAS 1.3 equals ROI 30%: ROI = (ROAS − 1) × 100%.
What goes into cost
For a fair ROI, count everything you paid for the traffic you measure: the ad spend, and if you want the full picture, also the domain, server and tool costs spread across the period. In the TDS.SO tracker, cost is the price of all clicks, bots included, and revenue is approved conversions only. Bots you did not filter therefore lower ROI, which is one reason to filter bot traffic.
How to measure it in TDS.SO
- Create an offer with
{click_id}in its URL and attach it, with a traffic source, to a link. - Set the click cost, either from the source parameter or as a fallback price on the link.
- Set up the postback on the affiliate network.
- Open Reports or Conversions to see revenue, cost, profit and ROI by date, country, device, offer or source.
ROI cannot be calculated without a click cost. The tracker is in beta; see analytics for the reports.
Questions
What is a good ROI in affiliate marketing?
Any ROI above 0% is profit, but how much you need depends on your margins, volume and risk. Judge ROI only after enough conversions that the number is not random.
Is ROI the same as ROAS?
No. ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend; ROI subtracts the cost first. They convert into each other: ROI = (ROAS − 1) × 100%.
Why can ROI look worse in the tracker than in the ad account?
Because the tracker counts the price of every click, bots included, and revenue only from approved conversions. Pending conversions raise ROI once they are approved.