When it comes to Google Ads all the data and stats can be quite an intimidating prospect, and then having to break down and interpret that data can be equally difficult. It’s hard to know which numbers to focus on, and how to identify what’s working and what’s not.
At Blue Bee we are experts in PPC marketing with years of experience. We know how to build your account, campaigns and ads to deliver the best results for you. We will breakdown the results for you in your regular marketing reports, to help you better understand.
However, for the meantime, let us take you through the key metrics you need to be looking out for, what they mean and how they can be improved.
Impressions and Clicks
These two are the easiest to understand and will most likely be the ones that you look at first. The number of impressions is essentially the number of times your ad has been seen, or a search has given your ad as a result.
Clicks, is simply that. The number of times someone has clicked on one of your ads.
These two metrics are a really quick and easy way to assess how your Google Ads are performing. If the number of impressions is high you know that people are searching for the terms you are bidding on, and if the clicks are high, you know the wording and appearance of your ad is spot. If both or one of these stats are low, it may be time for a rethink.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
Click Through Rate is a really useful metric in Google Ads. It basically combines the two figures detailed above to tell you how efficient your ad is working. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks your ad receives by the number of times your ad is shown.
It’s a useful figure as you can quickly assess your ads performance. If you have a good CTR you know that;
- Your ad is reaching the right amount of people
- The content of your ad is attracting the attention of those searching
However, if your CTR is low, this means thar your ad is being seen regularly, but people aren’t clicking on it. Therefore, you need to decide whether it’s the ad itself that needs to be changed, or whether the people seeing are the right audience for you. In which case you may need to look at your keywords and campaign settings.
Conversions
These next two metrics are probably the most important metrics to truly assess the success of your PPC campaigns. Conversions, demonstrate the number of times someone has completed an action after clicking on your ad. This could be an email, phone call, form submission or a purchase, whatever has been previously set up to be tracked.
Your number of conversions doesn’t just demonstrate whether your ads are working well or not but also sheds light on your website. When people arrive on the landing page after clicking your advert, is there the relevant information, and are there clear enough calls to action for them to complete the next step?
Conversion Rate (CR)
Just like the Click-Through-Rate this is a combination of two other metrics, Conversions and Clicks. It’s the number Conversions divided by the number of clicks your ad has had.
If you have a low conversion rate, this shows that despite your ad reaching a good number of people and receiving a good number of clicks, there is something at the final stage on the process that isn’t quite right.
Your ad is maybe sending the wrong message and attracting the wrong audience. So, once they reach your webpage, they realise that what they thought they were interacting with is something not relevant.
The other thing a low conversion rate can demonstrate is that the landing page needs some work. If someone lands on your page and can’t find the information they are looking for, a clear call to action, or the product/service they are interested in, they are likely to quickly leave the site. So, you are paying for lots of clicks, but it’s essentially wasted budget if nothing further happens once on your site.
This brings us on to the last of our key metrics, Average Cost-per-Click.
Average Cost-per-Click (Avg. CPC)
As you know, PPC means Pay-Per-Click. Basically, you pay Google every time someone clicks on your ad. The Average Cost-per-Click is the amount that you’ve paid for your ad divided by its total clicks.
Your budget in Google Ads is allocated based on your CPC. If your Avg. CPC is high, your budget will be exhausted more quickly, potentially limiting the number of clicks your ads receive. On the other hand, a lower CPC means you can generate more clicks within the same budget, increasing your chances of conversions.
If your CPC is high, it could mean that there is a lot of competition for the keywords you are bidding on, or that you have chosen terms with a high keyword difficulty.
If your CPC is too high, you may struggle to get enough clicks within your budget, reducing your campaign’s overall reach and effectiveness. Equally, a CPC that is too low might mean you’re not bidding competitively enough to appear in top positions, which could impact impressions and click-through rates.
Summing Up
When reviewing the performance of your Google Ads campaign it is important to consider your priorities. If you are using PPC to simply drive traffic to the website or boost brand awareness, then the Click-Through-Rate and Average Cost-Per-Click are probably the key stats for you to be concerned with. You need to make sure that your ad is doing its job of attracting people to visit the website.
If your aim is to increase enquiries, leads or sales then Conversions and Conversion Rates are going to be more telling. This will demonstrate not only if your ads are working, but also that they’re reaching the right audience and whether your landing page is optimised to trigger a conversion.
At Blue Bee we are here to ensure that your ads are set up for maximum visibility and conversions. Whether you’re looking to boost traffic, increase sales, or enhance brand awareness, our Google Ads strategies are tailored to meet your goals and drive success from day one.
Get in touch with our expert team to start your PPC journey today.
