360 marketing terms, translated into money.
The 360° Digital Marketing Glossary explains the words agencies use, from ROAS to incrementality, in plain English, with what each one means for your profit and what to check in your own ad account.
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Not a dictionary. A decoder for your ad reports.
Every term gets a clear definition, a practical example and a note on how to use it. Linked cross-references take you from one idea to the next in a tap.
- Performance advertising: Google Ads, Performance Max, Meta, bidding, Quality Score, search terms.
- Measurement that tells the truth: attribution, incrementality, lift tests, marketing mix modeling.
- The money side: break-even ROAS, POAS, LTV:CAC, MER, margins.
- What’s new for 2026: AI Overviews, AI Max for Search, GEO, Consent Mode, server-side tracking and more.
- Built for screens: clickable index, bookmarks and links, readable on a phone.
Break-Even ROAS
Break-even ROAS is the return on ad spend at which advertising neither makes nor loses money on a sale. It is calculated as 1 divided by your margin, ideally contribution margin, otherwise gross margin. For example, with a 40% margin, break-even ROAS is 1 / 0.4 = 2.5, meaning every euro of ad spend must generate 2.50 in revenue just to cover costs. Any ROAS above this line is profit, below it is loss, unless repeat purchases justify it.
Hi, I’m Vanesa.
10+ years in Google Ads and performance marketing, working with clients internationally. I have managed up to 25 ad accounts at once, with monthly budgets from $1,500 to $150,000.
Plimsoll is named after the line on a ship’s hull that shows how much load it can safely carry. Every ad budget has a line like that: the point where more spend stops making money. Finding it is what I do.
Follow @byplimsoll for a new term every week.