e steps to effective PPC reporting & analysis

The way you present performance reports and insights can have a significant impact on the rest of your project.

Even if your work is excellent, if a client doesn’t get what you are saying about their PPC account, it can cause confusion and frustration for everyone.

These three steps will help you build a solid PPC reporting foundation that will keep everyone on the same page and establish trust, making your job easier.

Step 1: Highlight metrics

It’s easy to start. Review the account’s metrics, include a date range for comparison and note any trends.

The “importance” of a report can vary depending on the audience.

Focus on the most important metrics and adjust your approach accordingly.

Example: A B2B client’s main objective is to generate leads.

• Your reports should begin by highlighting metrics that are conversion-oriented, such as the number of form submissions received, cost per conversion, rate of conversion, etc.

Exemple 2: Your ecommerce business’s main goal is to increase sales.

• Start all reports by highlighting metrics based on sales, such as revenue and purchases.

Other metrics that can be used for any account include the click-through rate (or search impression share), cost per click (or CPM), cost per thousand impressions, or cost per 1,000 impressions. These metrics give you an idea of your overall visibility, efficiency, and engagement.

Clicks and impressions are useful for identifying trends in search volume and traffic, but the emphasis should be on the actual results. This is especially true if you plan to present your findings to executives or people from the C-suite.

It is important to note that impressions and clicks are not always the most appropriate metrics for your analysis.

In addition to positive trends, it’s important to also highlight the negative ones.

Transparency helps build trust, protects stakeholders against being surprised by poor performance and allows you to better control your narrative and next steps.

Dig deep: 3 tips to keep track of your PPC performance

Step 2: Transform your metrics or trends into real-world data

Next, you need to determine what the metrics that you highlighted actually mean.

Most people don’t do it because they already know what the terms mean. Not everyone is as knowledgeable as you are!

This extra context helps all parties to interpret the data correctly and avoids people drawing incorrect conclusions or focusing their attention on things that may not be important in the end.

Here are some common metrics and how they translate into real-world terms:

Volume

• Impressions : The search volume or the size of your audience.
• Clicks : The amount of traffic that your website receives.

Reach / visibility

• Search Impress Share: Your coverage and visibility.
• Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) : How effectively you reach your target audience.

Efficiency

• Cost Per Click (CPC).: How efficient you are at driving traffic/engagement.
• Cost Per Conversion Action (CPA) : How efficient you can drive results.

Engaged in a variety of ways

• Click through rate (CTR).: The effectiveness/relevance of your creative and ad copy.
• Conversion Rate: The effectiveness/relevance of your landing page/targeting.
• View Rate: The effectiveness/relevance of your video.

Step 3: Determine the reasons for any performance changes

Last but not least, note down any possible causes of the trends that you have identified. Here you can show off your knowledge and expertise, and tell people what value you add to their company.

• Has the click-through increased since you launched a new ad?
• Do you see a significant increase in your conversion rate since updating your landing page?
• Has the lead quality improved since adding negative keywords and exclusions to placement in the previous months?

Highlight the changes you made in your report to give yourself credit!

This is also true for negative trends, as determining the reason behind a decline can help you decide the best next step.

You may see, for example, a decline in impression share but an increase in the average CPC.

You check the Auction Insights, and you notice that a new competitor is entering your market.

You can now strategize a strategy to deal with the problem and propose a solution, before it has a greater impact on performance.

It is important to note that there may not always be an obvious reason for a shift in performance.

It can be useful to take a step back in this case and look at the industry from a macro-level.

• You might be experiencing seasonality if you notice a sudden drop in your conversions, conversion rates, or impressions (i.e. search volume). Google Trends can be used to confirm this. You can also meet with your sales team or ask the client to meet theirs to see if other channels are experiencing a decline in performance.
• It is also important to ask about additional budget if you notice an unexpected improvement in your account’s performance. It’s also a good idea to test additional budget to take advantage of the high conversion intention.
• Check how you stack up against industry benchmarks if you’re still not sure. You may find that your performance isn’t as good as others. You can then decide what to do next (e.g. a CTR below average means that you need to test a new creative or rewrite your ad copy). You may notice a trend in your CTR that’s not too concerning if you’re higher than average.

Put it all together

Your analysis should look like this if you follow the above process.

The result is an overview that:

• What is happening on your account?
• Why is it happening?
• What are your next steps if you need to take action?

Clients and stakeholders are more likely to feel comfortable when they hear and see the numbers.

Then, they may have a better understanding and appreciation of your work. This could lead to greater trust and willingness to test further. Everyone wins!

Dig deep: Delivering PPC results for executives: Get away from the weeds

The article Three steps to effective PPC reporting first appeared on Search Engine Land.