To know if your campaign is doing poorly, okay, good or excellent, you need to know which Google Ads metrics you should track and how to do that.
We are giving you the most important Google Ads metrics you should consider.
But, you already know that Google Ads has different campaign type options, and some metrics are more critical to some campaigns.
So let’s get to it.
1. Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)
Return on advertising spend is just what it sounds like: how much money are you getting back?
ROAS is the ultimate metric of any ad campaign.
ROAS = $ spent on ads / $ received from ads
To find the ROAS number, you need to keep track of your deals and sales and track where these customers/leads came from.
What is considered reasonable?
Positive is good. The best benchmark would be to compare your return on ads to the return you see on other channels.
If it’s much lower, it either means your account needs some help or is not the best channel for you. Alternatively, if you see much higher returns on ads, keep investing!
2. Click through Rate – CTR
Probably the most important one for a lot of advertisers. CTR or click-through-rate is the
the ratio of users who click on your ad to the number of users who’ve seen it.
CTR applies to everything: ads, keywords, targeting options, whatever… If one of those is getting many impressions, low CTR usually means that those impressions are being wasted.
What is considered low?
Well, it depends on the industry really, and the competition you have. But for Search, experience tells us that everything below 10% is not worth spending money on.
Of course, that doesn’t apply to all industries. For example, if you’re trying to reach tourists from countries far away to come to your hotel, you’re dealing with some tough competition.
In that situation (and some others), 7.5% CTR is acceptable, even though that can go up with some creativity and compelling ads.
For Google Ads Display, however, the average is from 0.1% to 0.3%. We should all strive for at least
0.5% and everything below 0.2% is not considered a success. Just like it is with Search, we
can do better with Display if we want to.
3. Youtube View Rate
Something like CTR, but not quite. When creating Youtube Video campaigns, you want
and expect people to watch your video and not click on ‘Skip Ad.’ View rate is the ratio
of users who stay with your ad to the total number of users.
This also depends on the industry and the people you’re targeting. There are many statistics across the Internet, check them out, and when you see the average you should be looking at, be bold and say: ‘I want at least 20% more!’
4. Cost per Click – CPC
CPC is the price you pay for each click you receive on your ads. You set a maximum cost per click within your campaign, and Google will make sure you never go over it.
This is essentially just the largest amount you would pay to get someone to click on your ad. You want this cost to be as low as possible.
5. Avg. CPC
The client’s favourite. How much are they paying for a single click? This could tell you a lot about your bidding. Suppose you bid way above the Avg. CPC you pay, consider lowering your bid.
But, if you’re not getting as many clicks and impressions as you’d like, raise the bids. Also, when talking about Youtube/Video campaigns, take Avg. CPV (cost-per-view) into consideration.
6. Quality score
How good you are to your customers.
Let’s put it that way. Google rates you based on how reliable you are to your potential customers. If customers click on your ad looking for something, they better get it.
Because, if they don’t, Google will rate your ad or keyword as poor, and you’ll pay more for those clicks.
On the other hand, if your Quality score is above average (5/10), you’ll pay less. If you’re a perfect 10, you’ll pay 50% less.
So it’s pretty obvious that ad quality score it’s a Google ad metric you should work on, right?
7. Avg. Pos
Where are you in the search results? The higher, the better but also more expensive. See which average works best for you when you’re taking your marketing budget into consideration.
But first, work hard to make your ads compelling and improve your Quality score. That’ll do you good for this metric.
8. Avg. Impr. Freq. / Cookie | Avg. Impr. Freq. / User | Avg. View Freq. / Cookie
How many times did the Users see or watch your ad, whether it’s Display or Youtube ads? Don’t let this be too high! Don’t smother people.
Of course, it depends on the product or service, but you don’t want it to be flying high! Difference between cookies and users? Well, we’re sure you can find that one by yourself!
9. Conversions, Cost per conversion
And finally, how much are your ads being helpful with people converting, doing something valuable to your business? Clicks always tell just one part of the story.
What if people are clicking and not converting? Think about it. Can something be done on
your landing page? Is there a problem? Is it slow? We can help. Check our Conversion Rate Optimization service.
Conclusion on Google Ads Metrics
Ultimately, you need to look at your unique business, audience, and objectives to find the top Google Ads essential metrics to monitor your success.
As your business evolves, so will your goals and the KPIs you will put on top of your must-watch, must-optimize list.
Relevant case studies of Todays.Agency
- We reached CPAs under 1 Eur in Google and Facebook campaigns
- Advanced Google Ads – dynamic search ads for Domo
- A small change to the website increased the conversion rate by 133%
Have questions on which Google Ads metrics and KPIs you should monitor for campaign success?
Post them in the comments below!
