Before you learn about the most important Google Ads metrics, remember that successful advertising is all about matching your campaign to user intent.
While the intent itself is difficult to measure, the digital advertising landscape has given marketers and advertisers the ability to leverage user data to get closer to their campaign than ever before. Perhaps no platform does this better than Google Ads.
While other platforms, for example Facebook Ads, can match Google when it comes to the amount of user data they have to monetize, Google still holds the Holy Grail – the search query.
As you can see in the chart below, the percentage of web-wide searches is not even close to Google‘s volume.
We need to agree, nothing is a more powerful indicator of intent than what a user is looking for right now.
The moral of the story? Google Ads is arguably the most powerful ad platform when it comes to matching your campaign to user intent.
Database users agree. According to Databox research, Google Ads is the most widely used advertising platform than any of the platforms – Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Twitter Ads – with which we currently integrate.
To better understand what the 7 most important Google Ads metrics are, continue reading this text:
Based on the paid search metrics that our clients are most often defining as mta at AGX, here are the 7 most important Google Ads metrics:
- Impressions
- Cost
- Clicks
- Average CPC
- Conversions
- CTR
- Cost Per Conversion
In addition to knowing the best metrics, it is important to know how to measure and track them. To do this, you can click here and count on our support to get a fully customized dashboard where you can track all metrics, results, and amounts invested.
But let’s get down to business, learning more about the 7 most important metrics in Google Ads:
Impressions
Whenever your ad is shown on a search results page through Google or the Google Network, this counts as an “impression” on Google Ads.
Essentially, it is the number of times your ad is “seen,” although this is a term that should be used loosely – just because your ad is shown on a search results page does not mean that the user has actually seen it.
Cost
The “cost” in Google ads is a general metric that tells you how much money you spent on your ad campaign in the selected period.
Cost is something that is important to have in a GUI. We also track and view cost data on account, campaign, ad group, and keyword groups, as well as to calculate cost per acquisition (CPA).
Clicks
Clicks on Google ads are recorded whenever someone clicks on any blue, linked text in your ad.
It is important to note that if someone clicks on your ad and cannot get to your website (404 error, wifi issues, etc.) their conversion will still be recorded as a click.
Average cost per click (CPC)
This metric represents the average you were charged for clicks on your ad campaign.
Your average CPC is calculated by dividing the cost of your clicks (or the amount you have spent on the campaign so far) by the total number of clicks.
Conversions
“Conversions” on Google ads are counted whenever a user clicks on your ad and then takes an action that you have defined as important (i.e. a visit to a specific web page, a signup, etc.).
CTR
The “CTR” in Google Ads is the overall ratio of how often people who see your ad actually click on your ad. It is calculated by dividing the total number of clicks your ad receives by the total number of impressions.
Cost Per Conversion
“Cost per conversion” in Google Ads is the average you were charged for a conversion from your ad campaign. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of conversions by the total number of conversions.
Remember, conversions are activities you establish in your Google Ads campaign that record important business activity such as purchases, sign-ups, etc.
Extra tip: All metrics need to be recorded
Monitor all metrics that your performance team can track, and we recommend that all metrics be tagged (learn more about Google ad tagging here).