The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio: Auditing Google Ads Account Health
Google Ads can be a cornerstone for many businesses' performance marketing success, but how do you ensure your campaigns are running at peak performance? Enter the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio (L/R Ratio).
A simple yet powerful metric designed to measure account health and help marketers assess the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.
This blog will walk you through what the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio is, why it’s valuable, how to calculate it, and how different businesses can interpret its results.
Want the automated L/R Script to run in your Google Ads account? Slide into our DM's
〰️
Want the automated L/R Script to run in your Google Ads account? Slide into our DM's 〰️
We’ll also explain how Meaningful Agency uses it as part of our comprehensive performance marketing strategies.
What Is the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio and Why Was It Created?
The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio was developed to solve a common issue in PPC advertising: how to measure the sophistication and scalability of Google Ads accounts.
Created by David Rodnitzky and Will Lin, the metric helps marketers understand the balance between high-performing, precision-targeted campaigns and broader, exploratory ones.
The concept is straightforward: not every campaign within an account performs equally well. Some campaigns will drive conversions efficiently, while others may not pull their weight.
The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio highlights this disparity, revealing whether an account is optimised for success or if there’s room for improvement.
Why It Works for Auditing and Google Ads Account Health
The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio is particularly useful for auditing accounts because it goes beyond simple metrics like cost-per-click or click-through rates.
It evaluates how much of your ad spend is being directed toward well-performing campaigns versus underperforming ones.
By tracking this ratio, you can:
Identify inefficiencies in your Google Ads account.
Uncover opportunities for optimisation.
Determine whether the account is scalable or if its success is overly reliant on a narrow group of campaigns.
Review our aggressive or conservative your keyword targeting is
At Meaningful Agency, we use the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio in our audits and ongoing internal reporting to provide a clear snapshot of account performance and health.
How to Calculate the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio
The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio evaluates the efficiency of your search campaigns by analyzing the cost per conversion (CPC) across all search terms. Follow these steps to calculate it:
Select an appropriate date range: Choose a timeframe long enough to include sufficient conversion data that accurately reflects the account’s typical performance.
Navigate to search terms: In your Google Ads account, go to Keywords > Search Terms within your Search campaigns.
Add the cost-per-conversion column: Ensure the Cost/Conv. column is included in your table.
Filter for converting search terms: Apply a filter to display only search terms that have generated more than 0 conversions.
Record two key values:
Overall Cost/Conv.: Find this in the Total row, representing the average across the entire account.
Filtered Cost/Conv.: This comes from the filtered search terms row, focusing on terms that have converted.
Divide to calculate the ratio: Divide the overall Cost/Conv. by the filtered Cost/Conv. to determine your Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio.
Here’s an example calculation:
Total account-wide Cost/Conv.: $100
Filtered search terms Cost/Conv.: $50
Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio: $100 ÷ $50 = 2.0
In this example, the ratio is within the typical target range of 1.5 to 2.5, indicating a healthy balance between efficient spend on high-performing search terms and exploratory spend.
Values above 2.5 may suggest overspending on underperforming terms, while values below 1.5 may indicate limited testing or overly narrow targeting.
Image: Meaningful Agency L/R audit example
Want an automated L/R script to run in your Google Ads account? Slide into our DM's
〰️
Want an automated L/R script to run in your Google Ads account? Slide into our DM's 〰️
How Meaningful Agency Uses the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio
At Meaningful Agency, we integrate the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio into our performance marketing workflows to ensure our clients’ Google Ads accounts are delivering meaningful results.
Weekly Checks and Reporting: We track the L/R Ratio weekly, identifying trends and flagging campaigns that fall below performance thresholds.
Account Audits: During initial account reviews, we calculate the L/R Ratio to evaluate how well the account aligns with client goals. This metric forms part of our broader health check.
Optimisations: If we identify areas where the ratio could be improved, we propose adjustments to campaign targeting, budget allocation, or ad creative.
Our commitment to transparency means clients receive reports detailing these findings and actionable recommendations.
Conclusion
The Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio is a practical and insightful tool for evaluating Google Ads account health, offering valuable guidance for scaling campaigns and achieving optimal results.
Whether you’re auditing an account or performing ongoing optimisations, this metric can help you make data-driven decisions.
At Meaningful Agency, we use a wide range of metrics like the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio in our performance marketing approach to deliver results that matter.
Learn more about our services by visiting our Performance Marketing page.
