How to Measure Digital Marketing Results: Leads, Cost per Lead and ROAS in Plain English
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Leads: the number that matters first
A lead is someone who has filled out an online form, called you, messaged you on WhatsApp, or booked a consultation. It's not likes, followers or page views. They might lead to leads, but you can't pay salaries with them.
The first thing to check is whether leads are being tracked properly at all. In Google Analytics 4, Google describes a key event as one "that measures an action that's particularly important to the success of your business". Your form submissions, calls and WhatsApp clicks should each be set up as one. If they aren't, every other number in the report is guesswork. Our article on why Looker Studio reports often misleadshows how easily this goes wrong.
Cost per lead: what each enquiry costs you
Cost per lead (CPL) is the simplest efficiency measure there is:
- Cost per lead = total spend ÷ number of leads
Spend AED 6,000 on ads in a month, get 60 enquiries, and your CPL is AED 100.
What is considered a "good" CPL changes on how much a customer can be worth for you. It's a lot for a café and a steal for a real estate developer. For a general idea, WordStream's 2025 User Benchmarks, based on results from US campaigns, suggest a CPLead of approximately US$70 on Google Ads and approximately US$28 via Facebook. Treat these as they should be taken.
One warning: cheap leads aren't always good leads. A campaign with a low CPL that fills your inbox with people who never buy is worse than one with a higher CPL and real customers. Always look at how many leads became sales.
ROAS: what you get back for every dirham
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue generated by your ads divided by how much you spent:
• ROAS = (revenue from ads ÷ ads spent)
If your ads cost AED 5,000 and generate sales of AED 20,000, you have an ROAS of 4 (written as 4:1 or 400%) whether or not this is good depends on your margins. A business with 25% margins needs a ROAS of at least 4 just to break even on the ad cost. One with 70% margins can be very profitable at 2.
ROAS is not the same as ROI
ROAS only considers the amount spent on advertisement. ROI takes into consideration agency fees, creative content, software costs, and the time you put into the work. An advertising campaign may illustrate a healthy ROAS but still lose money in reality when everything else is taken into account. Ask for both.
Putting it together
Here's how the same AED 10,000 budget can look in two very different ways:
Campaign A looks better on CPL. Campaign B is clearly the better business decision. That's why judging marketing on one number is risky.
What makes a good report
leads, cost per lead, conversion into sales and ROAS to put name to initial clicks and impression. What changed since last month, and why. If you report in reach and never speak to revenue, ask why. If yours opens with reach and never mentions revenue, ask why. A good digital marketing company will happily walk you through the numbers that matter.
That's also a good test when you're comparing marketing agencies near me or browsing profiles of marketers near me. Ask to see a sample report. If it's all vanity metrics, keep looking. Strong digital marketing services in Dubaishould be able to tie their work to enquiries and sales, whether that's Google Ads management, paid social or SEO.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cost per lead in Dubai?
It depends on your industry and customer value. Work backwards: if a customer is worth AED 5,000 and one in ten leads buys, you can afford a CPL well above AED 100.
What is a good ROAS?
Many businesses aim for 3 to 4 or higher, but the real answer depends on your profit margin. Calculate your break-even ROAS first.
Why don't my ad platform and Google Analytics numbers match?
They use different attribution rules and time windows. Pick one source as your reference and use it consistently.
How often should I review results?
Check leads weekly and review CPL and ROAS monthly. If you'd like a digital marketing company that reports on revenue rather than reach, read our guide to what digital marketing costs in Dubai or speak to our team.
About The Author: Lovetto Nazareth
Lovetto Nazareth is the Founder & CEO of Prism Digital, a Dubai-based digital marketing and advertising agency he started nearly two decades ago from a laptop and a vision, as he puts it, to one of the region's established full-service agencies spanning SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and PR.
Over more than 19 years in advertising and digital marketing, Lovetto has guided thousands of campaigns across the UAE and GCC, working across sectors from real estate to hospitality to fintech. He writes and speaks on digital transformation and marketing strategy, and has contributed opinion pieces to Campaign Middle East, one of the region's leading marketing trade publications.
He takes a data-first approach to growth testing, measuring, and iterating rather than relying on guesswork and outside of work he's an adventure sports enthusiast and a singer-songwriter.
