5 Google Ads PPC Metrics to Track

Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) is the biggest?PPC (pay-per-click) advertising?platform in the world. With such a vastly-improving and expanding service,?Google Ads PPC campaigns?can often feel a bit like a minefield; it can be a struggle to know the correct thing to be tracking in your paid advertising campaigns. It may not always seem like it, but there are countless marketing KPIs that you need to keep track of if you want to run?successful Google Ads campaigns. The trouble is that many digital marketers aren’t aware of what these specific KPIs are.?

This is why the experienced PPC marketing team at Ginger Digital have created this short guide. We’ll explain five key metrics you should consider and how they can help your business?succeed with Google Ads?marketing campaigns.

5 Google Ads Targeting Metrics to Track

1. Impressions

This is the number of times a user sees your ad.?

Users will see your ad before they click on it, once they search a particular keyword or term. If they see your ad in the SERP, that counts as an impression.

With all of these impressions, you get the opportunity to reach a new audience of potential customers.

2. Clicks

The number of clicks you receive is significant as it shows your ad is getting noticed.

However, looking at clicks out of context might not indicate a 100% effective Google Ads campaign. You want clicks to be relevant and ensure you have relevant ad copy that benefits the users who’ve searched particular relevant keywords. If your ad is seen to be relevant, it’ll help your clicks.

You’ll want to know your average Google Ads click-through rate (CTR) (more on this below) and how your goal conversions are coming in.?

3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

If there’s any metric that will help you, it’s CTR, which shows how often users click on your ads. You should be aware of this metric to determine how?successful?and?relevant?your PPC ads are to the keyword that’s been searched.

Calculating your CTR is straightforward: divide the number of clicks by the number of impressions and multiply that by 100.

If you want to learn how to increase your CTR in Google Ads, one of the most effective ways is to reflect on the visibility and quality of your ad copy. Adding in negative keywords can help improve CTR by removing any irrelevant traffic.

It’s going to be much easier for people to click on an ad with clear, concise text with a compelling offer than one that is messy or confusing.

4. Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-Action (CPA)

As with PPC advertising, every time a user clicks on your ad, you pay Google a fee.?

This is what’s commonly known as CPC, and thus, well-optimised and effective Google PPC campaigns should see a constantly-decreasing CPC over time.?

You can calculate your average Google Ads cost-per-click by dividing the total spend by the number of clicks.

Remember that average CPC changes depending on location and industry competitiveness. Therefore, you should consider the following parameters to define your ad CPC: your?ad rank,?maximum bid,?landing page experience?and?quality score.

Cost-per-action is a slightly different metric, which measures how much budget you need to spend for a user to convert. We’ll explain more on conversions later.

Your Google Ads CPA can be calculated by dividing the total spend by the number of?actions?a user takes. You can decide what constitutes an action by equating it to any goal you set. For example, goals could be purchases on your online store (B2C) or email newsletter subscriptions (B2B).?

5. Conversions

What is a conversion in Google Ads? It’s not a fixed metric but something you determine as?relevant to your business.?

Google Ads conversions are?usually?signals where prospective customers become purchasing ones when a financial transaction is involved. However, they don’t explicitly have to be monetary conversions.

For more information on conversions in PPC ad campaigns, we’d recommend looking at the built-in Conversion Tracking function, or consulting with PPC experts like Ginger Digital.

Get Help from a PPC Marketing Agency

If you’re having trouble managing your Google PPC campaigns, it may be time to consider outsourcing your paid advertising to an experienced agency like?Ginger Digital.

We can provide detailed insight into your campaigns that you might struggle to get on your own. We can help you understand market audiences, ad groups, ad placements, how your ads are converting visitors into leads, and ways you can improve your landing pages. Ultimately, we want to make your online advertising outgoings cost-effective and generate a return on your investment.

We don’t want time-consuming Google Ads to get in the way of growing your business, so if you’d like a free review of your current performance, or to find out how PPC campaigns can drive your business sales forward,?please let us know.