If you work in marketing, advertising, or anything related to PPC, chances are you dislike math. With all of the data we have to crunch, it’s crazy, I know. However, with so many variables, even the most astute mathematician may find their head spinning as soon as they log into the platform.
Fortunately, the metrics displayed in our reports do a lot of the heavy lifting for us. All we need to do is understand what they mean.
That’s why I’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to PPC metrics. This includes the following:
- Definitions for 28 PPC metrics that are simple to understand.
- Specific suggestions for how to improve each one.
- You’ll need this context to figure out which metrics are most important to you.
- Consider this post your one-stop shop for tackling PPC data like a pro by knowing every metric you’ll ever need.
Table of Contents for PPC Metrics
Click to jump to each metric in this post.
Metrics for all PPC campaigns
Not all metrics in PPC advertising are created equal, as with anything else. Some metrics are significant enough to be recognized across all campaign types. Consider the following “bread and butter” PPC metrics:
First Impressions
When it comes to understanding PPC metrics, impressions are the perfect starting point. When someone views your ad, regardless of whether or not they click on it, an impression is recorded.
Assume your ad appears in a lower position on the SERP. You won’t get an impression unless the searcher scrolls down to physically see your ad.
Unless you choose to pay by impressions rather than clicks, impressions are usually free. It is also possible to have multiple impressions from the same person.
How significant are first impressions?
In any PPC situation, first impressions can be telling. For example, if you have a high number of impressions but a low number of clicks or conversions, this indicates that people are not interested in clicking on your ads and that you may need to improve your ad copy, targeting, or something else.
The highlight of impressions is that you are getting at least eyeballs on your ad and increasing brand awareness.
How to Improve Impression
Here’s what you can do if you want to increase impressions:
- Increase your budget: The larger your budget, the more you’ll be able to bid in Google Ads auctions. If you have a small budget, your clicks will consume it too quickly in a day, and you won’t be able to continue bidding (and showing) for more impressions. Adding budget when you can allows you to balance out your bids on a daily basis for a healthy impression share.
- Make use of broad match keywords: For search campaigns, try changing your keyword match types to phrase match (or even broad match) to get more impressions. Because broad and phrase match types can match up to more searches, you’ll be able to show to more people on the SERP.
- Broaden your targeting: This applies to all campaign types, but broadening your location, audience, or other forms of targeting is a must if you want to get more impressions.
