Metrics Glossary
A quick reference to our GhostReach metrics and how to use them to optimize your ad spend
📊 Essentials
Core metrics you need to monitor daily - your advertising command center
Total amount spent across all advertising platforms during the selected time period. This is your combined investment across Facebook, Google,
TikTok, and all other channels.
This is your baseline. You need to know how much you're investing before you can evaluate return. The percentage change shows if you're scaling
up or down compared to previous periods.
Use this to track spending trends. If spend is up 135% but revenue is up 200%, you're scaling efficiently. If spend is up but revenue is flat, you have
a problem.
Revenue generated from initial subscriptions or first purchases. For SaaS, this is MRR from new subscribers. For eCommerce, this is AOV from
first-time buyers.
This tells you the immediate return on your ad spend, excluding upsells or repeat purchases. Critical for calculating payback period and CAC:LTV
ratios.
Compare this to Total Spend. If you spent $73k and generated $98k in first-time revenue, you're profitable immediately (rare and good). If not, you
need LTV to justify the spend.
Number of advertising platforms currently connected and tracking in GhostReach. Includes Facebook, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Bing,
Spotify, X-Ads, etc.
More platforms means more diversification (good) but also more complexity to manage. The 75% increase suggests you're testing new channels
aggressively.
Use this to ensure you're not over-diversified. Most SMBs should focus on 3-5 strong channels before expanding. If you have 7+ platforms, make
sure each is generating meaningful ROI.
The ratio of revenue generated to advertising dollars spent. A ROAS of 1 means you're breaking even (for every $1 spent, you get $1 back). See
"True ROAS" below for why this matters.
This is the most important efficiency metric. ROAS of 1 = break-even. Below 1 = losing money. Above 3 = scaling profitably. Most platforms report
inflated ROAS; GhostReach shows true ROAS.
Target ROAS depends on your business model. SaaS needs 3-5x ROAS (LTV covers it). eCommerce needs 4-6x ROAS (lower margins). Use
GhostReach's platform-by-platform ROAS to reallocate budget to winners.
Proprietary score showing how optimized your current spend allocation is compared to GhostReach's AI recommendations. 100% means perfect
allocation; 0% means significant waste.
This is your "how much money am I leaving on the table" score. At 58.76%, you could improve results by 41% with better budget allocation—without
spending more.
Your north star metric. Follow the "Recommended Actions" to increase this score. Each 10% improvement typically translates to thousands in
additional revenue or saved spend.
Number of specific, actionable recommendations GhostReach has identified to improve your ad performance. Each action includes exact dollar
amounts to shift between platforms.
These aren't vague suggestions—they're specific instructions like "Move $122 from Bing to Facebook." Following them increases your GhostReach
Optimization score.
Review these weekly. Implement the highest-impact actions first (usually shown at the top). Track improvement in ROAS and revenue after making
changes.
🌱 Growth Overview Metrics
Understanding your growth composition - paid vs. organic vs. viral
The baseline growth rate your business would achieve without any paid advertising—through SEO, word-of-mouth, referrals, content marketing,
and brand strength.
This is your "ghost" baseline. If you turned off all ads tomorrow, you'd still grow at this rate. Understanding this prevents over-attributing success to
paid ads when organic momentum is strong.
If organic growth is strong (>0.5), you might be over-spending on ads. If weak (<0.2), you're dependent on paid channels and vulnerable to platform
changes or cost increases.
The multiplier effect of your paid advertising on top of organic growth. Shows how much paid ads accelerate growth beyond the baseline.
This isolates the TRUE impact of your ad spend. Platform dashboards claim all credit, but Paid Amplification shows the incremental value above
what would've happened organically.
Target >1.5x. If below 1.0x, your paid ads aren't adding value above organic. If above 3.0x, paid is driving most growth—scale aggressively but
watch for saturation.
Combined growth multiplier from all sources—organic baseline, paid advertising impact, and viral word-of-mouth effects. Your complete growth
engine.
This is your true "growth coefficient." A 4x multiplier means every dollar of baseline growth becomes $4 through paid amplification and viral effects.
Benchmark against industry. SaaS should target 3-6x. eCommerce 2-4x. DTC 3-5x. If below target, focus on improving the weakest component
(organic, paid, or viral).
Measures viral/referral growth—how many new users each existing user brings in through sharing, referrals, and word-of-mouth. Also called "k-
factor."
A coefficient >1.0 means exponential growth (each user brings more than 1 new user). <1.0 means you need paid ads to sustain growth. At 1.0, you
achieve sustainable viral growth.
If high (>0.8), reduce paid spend and let viral growth carry you. If low (<0.3), invest in referral programs, improve product stickiness, and create
shareable moments.
Percentage of conversions that GhostReach successfully attributes to the correct marketing source (vs. falling into "direct" or "unknown" buckets).
GA4 often labels 30-50% of conversions as "direct" when they actually came from ads. GhostReach's first-party tracking recovers this "dark
attribution" using Stripe/Shopify data.
Higher recovery = more accurate optimization. If you see platforms underperforming in GA4 but GhostReach shows 90%+ attribution recovery, trust
GhostReach's data.
👻 Ghost Lift Metrics
Revealing the hidden "ghost" lift - what's really incremental vs. what would've happened anyway
The "ghost" revenue that appears invisible in platform dashboards—isolating true incremental revenue generated by ads vs. revenue that
would've happened organically anyway.
Platform dashboards lie. Facebook claims credit for a sale even if the customer was already going to buy. Ghost Lift reveals TRUE incremental
impact—the revenue that ONLY exists because you ran ads.
Use this to stop wasting money on "vanity metrics." If a platform shows high ROAS but low Ghost Lift, it's stealing credit from organic growth.
Reallocate budget to channels with genuine incrementality.
ROAS calculated using ONLY incremental revenue (Ghost Lift) rather than total revenue. Shows the real return on ad spend, not inflated platform-
reported numbers.
Facebook might report 5x ROAS, but True ROAS of 1.3x means you're barely profitable. The 5x includes organic sales that would've happened
anyway. True ROAS reveals reality.
Use True ROAS for optimization decisions. Cut platforms below 1.0x True ROAS (losing money). Scale platforms above 3.0x True ROAS (genuine
efficiency). Ignore platform-reported ROAS.
Attribution breakdown showing exact revenue/conversions from paid sources (520) vs. organic sources (195) after Ghost Lift analysis removes
double-counting.
This is the money shot. 520 conversions are truly incremental from ads. 195 would've happened anyway. Platform dashboards would claim all 715,
inflating ROAS by 2.7x.
Use this ratio to set realistic CAC targets. If 73% is incremental paid (520/715), only 73% of attributed revenue should count toward ROAS
calculations.
🎯 Platform Optimization Metrics
Actionable recommendations for reallocating budget across advertising platforms
Predicted percentage change in conversions if you implement GhostReach's budget reallocation recommendation for a specific platform.
Tells you which platforms have "headroom" to grow. TikTok at 1% means you can invest more and see returns. Reddit at 0% is maxed out—don't
increase spend there.
Prioritize budget shifts to platforms with highest Response Lift %. Start with platforms showing 5%+ lift potential. Avoid platforms at 0% or negative
lift (saturated or declining).
Dollar amount to shift (positive = increase, negative = decrease) for each platform. Shows exact action to take this week.
This is your action item. No math required—just make these changes in each platform's ad manager. These shifts increase overall efficiency by 10-
40% typically.
Start with the largest absolute value shifts first (biggest impact). Track True ROAS for 7-14 days after making changes. If ROAS improves, continue.
If not, revert and investigate why.
🔮 Forecasting Metrics
Predicting future performance and understanding budget scenarios
AI-generated prediction of revenue for upcoming periods based on current spend levels, seasonality patterns, and historical performance trends.
Helps with cash flow planning and goal setting. If forecasted revenue is below targets, you know you need to either increase budget or improve
efficiency NOW, not after the month ends.
Compare to revenue goals. If forecast shows you'll miss targets, use GhostReach's budget optimization to close the gap or adjust expectations
early.
Predicted percentage increase in revenue if you implement GhostReach's recommended budget reallocations.
This is your potential upside. A 17.57% lift on $81k forecasted = ~$14k additional revenue without increasing total spend. Pure efficiency gain.
High Projected Lift (>15%) = implement changes immediately. Low lift (<5%) = current allocation is already good, focus on creative testing instead.
💪 Long-Term Health Metrics
Monitoring sustainable growth and channel health over time
Percentage breakdown showing how much each platform contributes to total incremental revenue (after Ghost Lift adjustment).
Reveals concentration risk. If Google is 60%+ of impact, you're vulnerable to policy changes or cost increases. Healthy businesses have diversified
channel mix.
Track monthly. If one channel dominates (>50%), actively test and scale alternatives. If channels are balanced, focus on growing total pie.
Why Choose Ghostreach?
Multi-Channel Attribution Track performance across all paid channels—including CTV, social, search, and offline—with accurate, data-driven attribution that shows how each channel contributes to your results.
Budget Optimization Get AI-powered recommendations to allocate your spend where it delivers the highest returns. Reduce wasted ad spend and increase marketing efficiency by up to 40%.
Real-Time Insights Monitor campaign performance as it happens with live dashboards and automated alerts. Make faster, more informed decisions with up-to-the-minute data.
Let’s talk marketing performance
Contact us for platform info or support.contact@ghostreach.com
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