This post is about the metrics that you should look at in Google Ads in order to run successful campaigns. Using a test campaign, we’ll show you how to change column settings to reflect relevant metrics as well as explain why these metrics should be included. There are different types of information available at the campaign level, the ad group level, and the keyword level. We’re going to start with the campaign level.

When you first set up a campaign, the columns (metrics) are preconfigured.  We’re going to adjust columns to get a better picture of the key metrics we like to include in our campaigns.

Go over to columns and click on modify the columns.

When talking about columns, we’re referring to the rows highlighted in red above. These show the set of data you’re able to look at.  There are different types of information available at the campaign level, the ad group level, and the keyword level. For each of these different levels, we will create standard columns that we will look at to see if our ads are working. For us over here at Elevated Marketing Solutions, this is what we look at.

To begin, x out all the default settings.

The first set of information that we’ll look at is competitive metrics. Here we’ll pull over; impression share, search loss, and search rank. These metrics allow us to see how often our ad is showing for the given keywords chosen as well as geographical targeting. For impression share, we’d like to get around 80%.

Pulling in search loss and search ranks tells me if we’re not getting the impression share because of budget or because of rank. Are we getting everything we possibly can out of this campaign? If not, are we not getting it because of budget or rank? This information allows us to take steps to improve impression share.

The next set of data is going to come from performance. Choose impressions (how much is our ad being seen), clicks (how often do we get clicked on), and the click-through rate (based on the impressions). We’re going to pull over average CPC (what’s our average cost per click) and average position. Average position goes hand-in-hand with impressions – together they tell us how often our ad is showing and what position that we are falling in. If our ad is showing in the fourth, fifth, sixth and so forth, it can kind of give us a clue as to why our impressions are potentially not as high. Now cost is something else we do like to look at, but we don’t look at it yet.

Pull in all conversions. We’re not just going to pull in conversions because we don’t want to look at just certain information. We want to look at all of it. We’re going to pull in all, cost all conversions, and all conversion rates. We would pull in cross-device conversions, and we would also pull in view-through conversions, keeping in mind though that these two data sets are actually pulled into all conversions. We include change history, call details (for call-only ads).  From here, sometimes we might pull in the change history. Sometimes we might pull in call details if I had a call-only ad. Underneath the attribution, we’ll rarely pull in any of that.

Remember when I talked about cost? It’s here that we’ll pull cost in. Select message details, if enacting the ability to send a message. There are also custom columns. Not something that we use a whole lot. Definitely takes knowledge of how to code some additional columns

On the bottom left-hand corner above the apply button, select save your set. We’re just going to name this standard and then we’re going to make sure that we indicate that this is at the standard and campaign, and then save and apply.

Keep in mind that the modified column sets you have created are saved underneath your individual Google login. If I log in underneath a different account, that information is not going to be there. It is saved by the Google account and by the account that you are working within.

It doesn’t save it across the board. Let’s say you have an MCC account with several different Google ads accounts within it. It’s not going to save it on there. It is something you have to do at the beginning of the setup of a campaign.

Next, we move into the columns in keywords. Here we’re going to have a completely different set of data to configure. Let’s remove all the defaults. Let’s get into competitive metrics first.

You’ll notice that we lost one, so we don’t see the budget, but we do see the rank and we do see search impression share, but we don’t see the budget because the budget’s not controlled at the keyword level. Then we’re going to up to performance and impression, clicks, click-through rate, CPC, average position.  We’re going to go conversions, all conversions, cost all conversion, all conversion rate. Now if I have an eCommerce, I’m going to add all conversion value, but I don’t in this instance.

Add labels. A label is a way for me to add additional information about the changes that I have added. Pull in first position bid. Add quality score which will only be seen at the keyword level.

The reason we set up the defaults the way we do is that we’re building a marketing funnel through Google Ads for a successful campaign. Here’s what we look for:

Search impression shares will tell us if our campaign is showing. The average position shows how high up our ad is showing. Impressions are going to show me how often it’s showing. If it is showing, then clicks is going to tell me if it’s actually getting clicked on. Then once we know it’s being clicked on, then we need to see if we’re actually converting. Then from there, we’re going to see individual keywords on which ones are converting, which ones are not, what are their quality scores, what’s perhaps affecting that.

Furthermore, if we go into tools and go to linked accounts and make sure we have an account linked to my Google Analytics, we could then see even more information about what happens once somebody got to that landing age. Then I will have additional information available to add to my columns.

That’s it for setting up columns. As you can see, there are several choices when setting up which metrics should be visible.