Are Your Google Ads Working? (Learn How to Tell)

Google Ads uses a pay-per-action pricing model, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. The pricing is determined by an auction based on the keywords you select and how much you bid.

Use negative keywords to exclude search terms you don’t want your ads showing up for. For example, if your company is a cat clinic, exclude searches for dog clinics.

1. Impressions

There are a lot of metrics to consider when evaluating your Google Ads campaigns. While it’s important to keep track of as many as possible, the most essential metrics are those that will help you understand and monitor your campaign performance. Whether you’re creating your monthly agency report for clients or just looking to give yourself a quick overview of how well your ads are performing, knowing which core metrics to focus on is key.

Impressions are the number of times your ad has been shown to users on Google and the Google Network. This includes search results pages, other websites, and apps. This metric is important because it allows you to measure how widely your ad is reaching and can give you clues into other metrics like clicks and conversions, according to this great LinkedIn article on modern SEO.

A high number of impressions can indicate that your ad is appearing in relevant searches and is being displayed to the right audience. However, a low number of impressions can also indicate that your ads aren’t being seen by people who are interested in them. To improve your reach, you may need to refine your targeting, adjust your bidding strategy, or change the content of your ad.

Another important metric to consider is your ad’s average reach, which shows how many unique users have seen your ad over a certain period of time. This metric can be useful because it gives you a more accurate picture of the reach of your campaigns and helps you identify any potential problems.

You can also use your reach data to calculate other key metrics like ad performance and ad engagement rate, which is the number of clicks on your ad divided by the number of impressions. Keep in mind, however, that ad engagements can include actions other than clicks (like scrolling or viewing video ads).

Another important metric is your quality score, which takes into account factors like your ad’s relevance, quality, and how well it’s optimized. A higher quality score will increase your ad’s position in search results, lower the cost of your ads, and help you get more clicks and conversions.

2. Clicks

If your ads aren’t getting clicked, you won’t get any click-throughs (CTR). CTR is one of the most critical metrics in Google Ads, and it’s a good idea to monitor it on a daily basis. The higher the CTR, the better your ad is performing.

You’ll also want to keep an eye on your ad’s cost-per-click (CPC). This metric measures how much you’re spending on each click, and it’s important because you’re likely accountable to a budget or performance goals. By monitoring your CPC, you can make sure your campaigns are profitable and prioritize the ones that are performing well.

Conversions are another key metric to watch on your Google Ads account. A conversion is when an ad prompts a valuable activity, such as a product purchase, phone call, app download or newsletter sign-up. Conversion tracking allows you to see how effectively your ads are driving action, and it’s easy to set up in Google Ads.

When you set up conversion tracking, you can track the number of conversions your ads receive on a daily basis. You can then use this data to optimize your ads by turning off the ones that aren’t working, adding new keywords and making changes to your ad copy.

Aside from evaluating your own campaigns, you’ll also want to check out the competition. A quick Google search of your target keyword will give you an idea who’s bidding on it, and how competitive the landscape is. By keeping an eye on competitors, you can ensure that your bids are the lowest possible and still allow you to win ad placements.

Lastly, you’ll want to evaluate your ROI on Google Ads. This is based on your specific advertising goals and shows you how much of a profit your ads are actually making. To calculate your ROI, simply divide your total revenue by your advertising costs.

Google Ads is a powerful marketing tool that can be used to attract more customers and grow your business. But like any type of marketing, it takes time and effort to succeed. By consistently analyzing your Google Ads reports and optimizing your ads, you can improve their performance over time.

3. Conversions

Google’s algorithm works to ensure that users see ads and content that best match their interests and needs. This is great for businesses that advertise on the platform because their ads send high-quality traffic to their websites, e-commerce storefronts or opt-in forms that help them get leads and sales. The people that Google shows your ad to are much more likely to become customers or complete your desired action than those who would see it on other channels like social media.

In order to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your pay-per-click (PPC) efforts, you need to measure how well your campaigns are working. This is why conversion tracking is so important – it helps you understand how your ad creative, website and keywords are driving valuable customer activity.

Conversions are any meaningful actions a user takes after seeing your ad that align with your business goals. This could mean anything from a purchase to signing up for your email newsletter. Google Ads allows you to track and measure conversions in a variety of ways, including through the use of call extensions (which will record any new calls made as conversions inside your account, showing you which campaigns or even individual ads are delivering these actions) and the search and sitelinks reports within Campaign Manager.

Once you’ve set up your conversion tracking, the next step is to regularly review and analyze your results. This will allow you to identify any areas that need improvement or aren’t performing well and make necessary changes.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by using a Google Ads Grader, which will provide you with a detailed report that compares your account to similar advertisers in your industry and provides recommendations for improving your performance.

The most important thing to remember is that it will take time to get results from your Google Ads account, so be patient and keep working on it. By following these tips, you should be able to build a solid foundation for your Google Ads success that will drive the results you want for your business.

4. ROI

When it comes to measuring the success of Google Ads campaigns, ROI is a key metric. Unlike other metrics, such as impressions and clicks, ROI tells you how much profit your ads are earning compared to how much they cost. This allows you to understand your marketing goals and how your Google Ads campaign contributes to achieving them.

To measure ROI, you need to set up conversion tracking in your Google Ads account. This will allow you to track the number of valuable actions that result from each ad, such as purchases, app downloads, newsletter sign-ups, or phone calls. Once you have the data, you can calculate your ROI by dividing your revenue by your costs. This figure is typically expressed as a percentage.

Measuring ROI on your Google ads helps you make informed decisions about how to allocate your marketing budget. For example, you can increase your ad spend on campaigns that are performing well and cut back on those that are not performing well. By regularly monitoring and analyzing your Google Ads performance, you can improve your ROI and boost your business growth.

Many marketers get distracted by other metrics, like CTR and conversion rates, when evaluating the success of their Google Ads campaign. While these metrics are important, they don’t give you a complete picture of your Google ads’ performance. In addition to clicks, you need to also consider your profit margin and conversion values.

It’s also important to remember that not all conversions are sales. You can also count on conversions to drive other valuable business activities, such as new leads or customers. To maximize the value of your Google Ads, you need to focus on converting users into paying customers.

To do this, you need to provide a strong user experience that makes it easy for them to buy your product or service. You can do this by making your website and landing pages clear, concise, and engaging. For example, you can use video to demonstrate how your product works and show the benefits it offers. You can also promote customer reviews and testimonials in your ads to boost credibility.