Understanding Google Ads Metrics to Track Ad Performance
This article was first published on Magic.
You don’t get a great ad campaign just by hoping for it. To reach peak ad performance, you have to measure every campaign, study your mistakes, and improve.
An important part of Google Ads best practices is measuring data. There are three main factors to track: traffic, conversion, and return on investment. The key to making sense of your ad performance successfully is knowing which metric is the most important to your Google Ads campaign type. Understanding Google Ads metrics starts with five indicators: impressions, ad clicks, click-throughs, conversions, and costs.
Impressions
The Impressions metric is the number of times your Google Search Ad has been seen based on the campaign keywords you used. Google Ads Impressions can be measured daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or within a specified date range.
It should be the first one you check in your Google Ads report, since you don’t have to dig deep to get the meaning of the numbers. If this metric is low, you don’t have searchers to convert since they’re not seeing anything.
To improve ad performance through this metric, you can increase your campaign budget since it controls how often your ad is shown. Keywords also play a big part, so optimize your keywords and ad messaging relevancy to tap into the most conversion-friendly search query. You can also raise your bid or extend your location targeting.
Ad Clicks
Ad clicks refer to how many times your Google Search Ad is clicked which also correlates to the amount of traffic your web pages get from your ad. It’s a good indicator of how interesting and valuable your ad is to the people who see it.
This metric can help you determine which keyword works best for high ad performance. Each click also represents an opportunity to convert searchers into a lead, sign up, or purchase.
To improve this metric, you should add, remove, and tweak keywords until you get the right mix. Try to match the searcher’s intent while avoiding broad keywords. Optimizing your ad landing page helps too.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is the ratio of searchers who saw your Google Search Ad compared to those who ended up clicking on it. It’s calculated by dividing the number of clicks your ad gets by the number of times your ad is shown.
Ad Rank, which is the value used to determine your ad position, is based on CTR. CTR is also a useful indicator of how relevant your ads, listings, and keywords are and which need to be improved.
To improve your CTR, optimize your headlines, descriptions, or display URL by using the right keywords. You can also use Google Ad tools such as:
Automatically updates your ads with keywords in your ad group
Allows you to show additional information, features, services, contact details, or links to make your ads more relevant and unique
Conversion Rate
The conversion rate determines how many searchers completed the desired action after clicking on your ad. This allows you to know if your ad performance helps you get more customer calls or inquiries, and generate sales.
This metric can be measured through Google’s free tool called conversion tracking. Choose the conversion action you’d like to track in a certain amount of time to see data on conversions for your campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords. This helps you understand your return on investment so you can make better-informed decisions with your ad spend.
To improve your conversion rate, you can use negative keywords so your ad won’t show up to people who use those particular search terms. This way, you can limit your ad to a more targeted audience. The conversion tracking tool also allows you to use smart bidding strategies to automatically optimize your ad campaigns based on your goals.
Costs
The amount of money you spend on Google Search Ads is divided into two categories. Each has a particular role in planning how to boost ad performance.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC is how much you spend every time a searcher clicks on your ad. This allows you to see the financial success of your ad performance. Its average is calculated by dividing the cost of your clicks by the number of clicks.
The average CPC for Google Search Ads ranges from $2.41 to $2.69 depending on the industry. There are three parameters for CPC tracking:
Establishes the position of your ad on the search engine results page (SERP)
Indicates how much you are willing to pay for every click you get on your ad
Measures the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages compared to other advertisers on a scale of 1–10
Cost Per Action (CPA)
CPA also stands for Cost Per Acquisition which measures how much money you need to convert a searcher. Therefore, you need to make the searcher click on your ad first and successfully make them perform a certain action. An action can be any goal set for Google Search Ads such as a visitor reaching out to your business or signing up.
Its average is calculated by dividing the cost of your conversions by the number of actions done. Generally, your CPA will be higher than your CPC since not everyone who clicks on your ad will complete the desired action.
The average CPA across all industries is $48.96 — the lower it is, the better your ad performance. To lower your CPA, you can decrease your bids and find more specific keywords to target. You should also look into what you’re offering (e.g. exclusive articles, whitepapers, e-books, etc.) and how they can convert different audience segments into paying customers.
Delegate Ad Performance Tracking To A Magic Assistant
Understanding Google Ads metrics doesn’t have to fall on your shoulders. Hire a marketing assistant to boost the productivity of your marketing team in a cost-effective way. Magic can help you get the right people with the skills and tools to make Google Ads worth it for your business.
Delegate marketing tasks from setting up a campaign to preparing Google Ads analytics reports so your team can do more. A Magic Digital Marketing Assistant can also provide support in other areas such as:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Social media management
- Email marketing
Talk to us about how Magic can help your business grow!
