Industry benchmarks say 3-5x. Here's what we actually returned across every Google Ads account we manage in H1 2026, month by month, and what moved the number.
By Jack Goldsmith — Founder & Performance Marketer, Social Surge · 9 July 2026
What is a good ROAS for Google Ads?
For most UK e-commerce accounts, 3-4x is roughly breakeven-to-adequate once margin is factored in, 5x and above is strong, and well-run specialist accounts can go much higher. Across every Google Ads account we manage, H1 2026 blended ROAS was 18.29x, £4,308,639 of revenue from £235,579 of spend.
"What's a good ROAS?" is the most common question we get on audit calls, and most answers you'll find online are useless because they're unanchored, no spend figures, no timeframe, no margin context. So here's the anchored version: the honest industry benchmarks, our own H1 2026 numbers across every account we manage, and the specific work that separates a 4x account from an 18x one.
Published benchmarks vary by source and vertical, but the broad consensus for e-commerce is fairly consistent, and in our experience auditing UK accounts it holds up:
One caveat before you benchmark yourself against anything: a "good" ROAS is a function of your margin and your repeat-purchase economics, not someone else's average. Benchmarks tell you what's normal, not what's right for your business.
This is the full picture across every Google Ads account we manage, January to June 2026. No cherry-picked account, no cherry-picked month:
| Month | Spend | Revenue | ROAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | £45,874 | £471,800 | 10.28x |
| February | £42,567 | £698,618 | 16.41x |
| March | £43,211 | £828,898 | 19.18x |
| April | £38,395 | £791,748 | 20.62x |
| May | £36,212 | £733,190 | 20.24x |
| June | £29,320 | £784,385 | 26.75x |
| H1 total | £235,579 | £4,308,639 | 18.29x |
The pattern worth studying isn't the headline number, it's the direction of travel. Monthly revenue rose 66% from January to June while monthly spend fell 36%. ROAS climbed every quarter. That growth came from efficiency, not budget: product-level exclusions, negative keyword mining and tROAS discipline did the work, not bigger cheques to Google. Most agencies grow revenue by growing spend, then present the revenue line and hope you don't look at the cost line. The case studies show the same pattern at individual account level.
Breakeven ROAS is simple arithmetic: 1 divided by your gross margin. That one formula reframes every benchmark:
This is why a 3x target on a 30% margin is far thinner than it looks, before you've paid for management, and it's why we ask about margins on every audit call before we say a single word about targets. It's also why chasing the highest possible ROAS isn't always right: past a certain point, tightening the target starves the account of profitable volume. The goal is maximum profit contribution, and ROAS is the dial, not the destination.
The gap between a 4x account and an 18x one is rarely one clever trick. It's the compounding effect of a few unglamorous disciplines:
None of this is secret. It's just labour-intensive, which is why so few accounts get it. It's the core of our Google Ads management service, and it's what we look for first in every free audit.
Because we specialise in enthusiast e-commerce, we publish the minimum standards we hold ourselves to, by niche:
These are only possible because enthusiast buyers are high-intent and the accounts are run tightly, we're not claiming every business can hit 13x. But if you're in one of these niches and sitting at 4x, the gap is the opportunity. Our fees are flat and published on the pricing page, so you can do the maths on what closing that gap is worth before you ever speak to us.
Most UK e-commerce accounts sit between 3x and 5x. Anything above 5x is strong, and specialist accounts in enthusiast niches can run far higher. Across every account we manage, H1 2026 blended ROAS was 18.29x on £235,579 of spend.
Breakeven ROAS is 1 divided by your gross margin. On a 30% margin, breakeven is 3.33x, so a 3x ROAS is actually losing money. On a 50% margin, breakeven is 2x. Always work out your own breakeven before setting a target.
Usually, yes, because incremental budget buys progressively weaker auctions. But the inverse is powerful: cutting waste can raise both efficiency and revenue. Across our accounts, monthly revenue rose 66% from January to June 2026 while monthly spend fell 36%.
The biggest levers are product-level exclusions in Shopping and Performance Max, systematic negative keyword mining, separating brand from non-brand traffic, feed quality, and disciplined tROAS targets that are raised gradually rather than all at once.
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