Whether you’ve already started your first marketing campaign or you’re still learning SEO, you’ll quickly learn that with Google Ads, data is king. There’s a lot of information coming in, and although Google does try to present it in a clear and coherent way, for the uninitiated, it can seem overwhelming.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to analyse your Google Ad performance and the reports it gives you.
Monitoring Conversion Tracking
Every time a user takes an action you want them to take, whether it’s a purchase, signing up for your mailing list, downloading your app or even calling you, it’s considered a conversion. Google Ads tracks these actions but getting started with the process will depend on what, exactly you want it to track. For example:
Website
A conversion on your website can be nearly anything, from subscribing to your email list to simply clicking a button.
Phone
Google Ads can also track calls that come as a result of your ad, a call from your phone number on your website, or clicks to a phone listing from the mobile version of your site.
App
Google Ads also allows you to track when users install your app or complete an action within the app (like making a purchase).
What Happens if a User Doesn’t Convert the First Time?
It’s rare that a conversion happens on a user’s first visit to your website. In fact, a user may conduct several searches and click on several different ads from the same or different websites. With an Attribution Model, you choose how much “weight” each click gets as it nudges the user toward a conversion. For example, you can give more weight to the first click, the last click, or any click in between.
There is no one size fits all approach to which clicks are worth more or how best to handle attribution. Every campaign, and every ad group will have different goals and objectives, which is where working with a trusted SEO company can be invaluable.
How Do You Determine Your Return on Investment?
One of the biggest questions any marketer has about working with Google Ads is their ROI or return on investment. This is one metric where it pays to monitor it often since your budget determines where and how your ads will be placed. You want to be sure you’re making a profit despite the costs of your ads.
How you’ll go about calculating your ROI will depend on your campaign goals, but knowing how to calculate conversions will help with this. Simply put, the amount you get per sale (a conversion) should be more than it cost you to get the click from that client. This goes for any type of conversion, not just sales.
Understanding Search Terms
In the course of analysing your Google Ads, you’ll also come across the search terms report. This includes a list of the keywords or phrases that people have used which led to your ad being shown to them, and clicked. In some cases, the exact search term the user entered might be different than the keyword or phrase that you wanted to rank for.
You can tweak this information through refining different match types for each keyword so that you can make your ad show when the search is more accurate. This is a great way to save money on your ads and reach those users who are at a stage in the funnel where they’re looking to buy! The search terms report can also be used to help you better adjust your keywords to the actual searches users are conducting related to your chosen niche or field.
Understanding the Quality Score
The Quality Score estimates how relevant your ads, your chosen keywords and your landing page are to the person conducting the search. The higher your Quality Score, the less you pay, however it takes time for your Quality Score to improve overall. In order to improve your quality score, use keywords and phrases that your target customer would search for. You should also ensure that your creative and the design of your landing page is also relevant to the user’s search and that there’s no friction between what a user expects when they click your ad, and where they end up.
The most important thing to know about Quality Score is that little tweaks made over time will continue to improve the number of clicks you receive while lowering the amount you pay. Done consistently over time, this will help to improve your ranking overall while helping you reach more targeted customers.
Getting Familiar with Google Ad Metrics
Now that you better understand the basics of the information you get from Google Ads, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into action. These are just a few of the many different metrics available through Google Ads. One of the biggest hurdles for any business owner to overcome when it comes to working with Google Ads is the consistent monitoring and adaptation of everything from budget to bid prices to keyword research and more. There are so many tools and resources available that even something as simple as a Google Ads analysis can feel overwhelming.
That’s where we can help.
If you’re ready to take your ads to the next level, or you want to trust your company’s SEO to an experienced, knowledgeable group of Google Ads professionals, there’s no better time than now to connect with CLIQ MC. Our expertise in Google Ads management and SEO has made us one of the fastest growing SEO companies in Australia, trusted by brands large and small to develop and manage their SEO strategy.
Contact us today to learn more and let’s work together to create your personalised SEO strategy!
