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As Google Ads evolves and new metrics and data points are tracked, understanding what each means can be challenging for beginners. Below, our paid search consultants have compiled a list of the words you’ll need to know to get the most from your paid search campaign.
Performance Metrics
These metrics provide a detailed view of your campaign’s performance, helping you measure visibility, engagement, efficiency, and ROI.
1. Impressions: The number of times your ad was shown on the Google network, regardless of whether it was clicked. It measures your ad’s visibility.
2. Clicks: The total number of times users clicked on your ad. Clicks indicate user interest and engagement with your ad.
3. CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks. It is calculated as: CTR = (Clicks / Impressions) x 100. CTR measures the effectiveness of your ad in attracting user attention.
4. Average CPC (Cost Per Click): The average amount you pay for each click on your ad. It is calculated as: Average CPC = Total Cost / Total Clicks
5. Cost: The total amount spent on your ads over a given period. It’s the sum of all CPCs during the reporting period.
6. Conversions: The number of specific actions users took after interacting with your ad, such as purchases, sign-ups, or downloads. Conversions are configured in your account’s conversion tracking.
7. Conversion Rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in a conversion. It is calculated as: Conversion Rate = (Conversions / Clicks ) × 100
8. Cost to Conversion: The average cost incurred for each conversion. It is calculated as: Cost to Conversion = Total Cost / Conversions
9. Conversion Value: The monetary value assigned to conversions, based on the actions users take (e.g., revenue from a purchase). It’s configured in conversion settings.
10. Conversion Value/Cost: The return on investment (ROI) from your ad spend. It is calculated as: Conversion Value to Cost = Conversion Value / Total Cost
11. All Conversions: The total number of conversions, including cross-device and view-through conversions (when available). This provides a broader view of user actions influenced by your ads.
12. All Conversion Value: The total value of all conversions, including cross-device and view-through conversions. This metric expands on Conversion Value by including additional conversion types.
13. View-Through Conversions: The number of conversions that occurred after a user saw your ad but didn’t click on it. It’s common for display or video campaigns.
14. Interactions: The number of user engagements with your ad type, such as clicks on text ads or views for video ads.
15. Interaction Rate: The percentage of interactions (clicks, views, etc.) relative to impressions. It’s calculated as: Interaction Rate = (Interactions / Impressions) x 100
16. Average Cost: The average cost per interaction, calculated as: Average Cost = Total Cost / Total Interactions
17. Video Views: The total number of times your video ad was watched. A “view” typically occurs when the video plays for at least 30 seconds (or the entire duration if shorter) or when there’s user interaction.
18. Video View Rate: The percentage of impressions that resulted in video views. It is calculated as: Video View Rate = (Video Views / Impressions) x 100
19. Average CPV (Cost Per View): The average cost you pay each time a user views your video ad. It’s calculated as: Average CPV = Total Cost / Video Views
Campaign & Ad Group Details
These details help structure your campaigns and ad groups while providing insights into their configurations, targeting, and statuses for effective management and optimization.
1. Campaign Name: The name you assigned to a specific campaign in Google Ads. It helps organize and identify campaigns for reporting and analysis.
2. Campaign Type: The type of campaign you are running, such as Search, Display, Shopping, Video, Performance Max, or Discovery. Each type determines where and how your ads are shown.
3. Campaign Status: The current status of your campaign, indicating whether it is Active, Paused, Ended, Removed, or Limited by Budget.
4. Ad Group Name: The name you assigned to a specific ad group within a campaign. Ad groups contain a set of related ads and keywords.
5. Ad Group Type: The type of ad group you are using, such as Standard, Shopping, or Responsive. This reflects the structure and functionality of the ad group within the campaign.
6. Ad Group Status: The current status of the ad group, showing whether it is Enabled, Paused, or Removed.
7. Targeting Type: The method used to target users in the campaign, such as keyword targeting, audience targeting, or placement targeting.
8. Labels: Custom tags you can assign to campaigns, ad groups, ads, or keywords to help categorize and filter them for easier management and reporting.
9. Budget: The daily or campaign-level amount you’re willing to spend on the campaign. This determines how much you allocate for ad spend each day or over a set period.
10. Bid Strategy Type: The bidding method used in the campaign, such as Manual CPC, Enhanced CPC, Target ROAS, Target CPA, Maximize Conversions, or Maximize Clicks. It defines how Google adjusts bids to meet your goals.
11. Bid Adjustment: A percentage-based increase or decrease applied to your bids based on specific conditions, such as device type, location, or audience.
12. Delivery Method: Specifies how your budget is spent throughout the day:
- Standard Delivery: Spreads your budget evenly throughout the day.
- Accelerated Delivery: Spends your budget more quickly, showing ads as often as possible (no longer available in most campaign types).
Keyword & Search Metrics
These metrics help analyze keyword performance, optimize targeting, and refine campaigns to ensure your ads are reaching the right audience efficiently and effectively.
1. Search Terms: The actual queries users typed into Google that triggered your ad. These provide insights into user intent and help refine keyword targeting by identifying new opportunities or irrelevant queries.
2. Keyword: The specific word or phrase you’ve added to your campaign to target ads. Keywords determine when your ads are eligible to appear based on user searches.
3. Match Type: Indicates the type of keyword match you’ve set:
- Exact Match: Ads show for searches that are an exact match or close variation of the keyword.
- Phrase Match: Ads show for searches containing the keyword phrase or close variations with additional words before or after.
- Broad Match: Ads show for searches related to the keyword, including synonyms and related terms.
- Negative Keywords: Terms excluded to prevent your ad from showing for irrelevant searches.
4. Quality Score: A 1–10 metric Google assigns to each keyword based on three components: Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR), Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience. A higher Quality Score can reduce costs and improve ad rank.
5. Expected CTR: A predictive metric that estimates the likelihood of users clicking on your ad when it’s shown for a specific keyword. It’s based on historical data and ad performance.
6. Ad Relevance: Measures how closely your ad copy aligns with the keyword and user’s intent. A high Ad Relevance ensures the ad is useful to the searcher.
7. Landing Page Experience: Evaluates the relevance, usability, and quality of the landing page users are directed to after clicking your ad. A better experience improves Quality Score and conversion rates.
8. Search Impression Share: The percentage of times your ad was shown out of the total number of times it was eligible to appear. It is calculated as: Search Impression Share = Impressions / Total Eligible Impressions
9. Search Top Impression Share: The percentage of impressions your ad received in the top section of search results compared to the total eligible impressions in that position.
10. Search Absolute Top Impression Share: The percentage of impressions your ad received in the very top position of search results compared to the total eligible impressions in that position.
Ad Metrics
These metrics help monitor the performance and status of your ads, providing insights into how users interact with them and whether they’re optimized for success.
1. Ad Type: The format of the ad, such as Text Ad, Responsive Search Ad, Responsive Display Ad, Shopping Ad, or Video Ad. Ad type determines how the ad appears to users across various placements.
2. Headline: The main text or titles displayed in your ad. Headlines are typically the most prominent and clickable part of the ad, designed to grab user attention and communicate key messages.
3. Description: The body text of the ad, providing additional details about your product or service. This complements the headline and encourages users to take action.
4. Final URL: The destination URL where users are directed after clicking your ad. This should match the landing page that aligns with the ad’s message.
5. Path 1 / Path 2: Optional fields in the ad that allow you to display additional text in the URL (e.g., “example.com/product/category”). These paths are not actual URLs but provide context to users about where the link leads.
6. Ad Status: The current status of the ad, showing whether it is Enabled, Paused, Under Review, Disapproved, or Removed. This indicates whether the ad is active and eligible to run.
7. Ad Strength (for Responsive Ads): A qualitative score that evaluates how effectively your ad assets (headlines and descriptions) are likely to perform. It provides suggestions for improving the ad’s diversity, relevance, and appeal.
8. Responsive Search Ad Performance: A measure of how well your Responsive Search Ads are performing, based on metrics like impressions, CTR, and conversions. It helps assess whether the dynamic combinations generated are engaging users effectively.
Audience & Demographics Metrics
These metrics provide valuable insights into the characteristics and behaviors of your target audience, enabling you to tailor your campaigns to the right segments and maximize ROI.
1. Age: The age range of users who interacted with your ads. Common categories include:
- 18–24
- 25–34
- 35–44
- 45–54
- 55–64
- 65+
It helps identify which age groups are most engaged with your campaign and optimize targeting accordingly.
2. Gender: The gender of users who interacted with your ads, categorized as Male, Female, or Unknown. It allows you to understand which gender segments are driving engagement and conversions.
3. Household Income: The income bracket of users who interacted with your ads, typically segmented into ranges like:
- Top 10%
- 11–20%
- 21–30%
- 31–40%
- Lower 50%
This metric is useful for campaigns targeting specific income demographics.
4. Parental Status: Indicates whether users are parents, categorized as Parent, Not a Parent, or Unknown. It’s valuable for targeting products or services related to parenting.
5. Device Type: The type of device users used to interact with your ad, such as:
- Mobile
- Desktop
- Tablet This helps analyze and optimize campaigns for the most effective device platforms.
6. Geographic Location: The physical or intended location of users when they interacted with your ad. This can be specified at country, state, city, or even postal code levels for geographic targeting.
7. Day of the Week: The specific days when users interacted with your ads. It provides insights into which days generate the highest engagement and conversions, allowing for better budget allocation.
8. Hour of the Day: The specific hours when users interacted with your ads, helping identify peak performance times and optimize ad scheduling for maximum impact.
Impression Metrics
These metrics help measure the visibility of your ads in search results and provide insights into how well your campaign is performing in terms of competitiveness, budget allocation, and placement quality.
1. Impressions: The number of times your ad was shown to users on the Google network. This measures visibility, but not necessarily engagement, as users may not have interacted with the ad.
2. Impression Share: The percentage of total available impressions your ad received compared to the total eligible impressions. It is calculated as: Impression Share = Impressions / Eligible Impressions. This metric indicates your ad’s visibility in the competitive landscape.
3. Lost IS (Budget): The percentage of impressions you lost due to insufficient budget. It highlights opportunities for increasing visibility by adjusting your budget.
4. Lost IS (Rank): The percentage of impressions you lost because your ad’s rank (based on Quality Score and bid) was too low. It signals a need to improve ad quality, bids, or both.
5. Absolute Top Impression %: The percentage of your impressions that appeared in the very top position of search results. It reflects the most prominent placement and is calculated as: Absolute Top Impression % = Absolute Top Impressions \ Impressions
6. Top Impression %: The percentage of your impressions that appeared anywhere in the top section of search results (above organic results). It is calculated as: Top Impression % = Top Impressions / Impressions
Conversion Tracking Metrics
These metrics help you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns in driving meaningful user actions, whether online or offline, and provide insights into the customer journey to optimize performance.
1. Conversion Action: The specific action you’re tracking as a conversion, such as a purchase, sign-up, call, or app download. It helps measure the success of your campaign objectives.
2. Conversion Category: The type of conversion based on its purpose, such as:
- Purchase/Sale
- Lead
- Sign-up
- Page View
- Phone Call
- App Install This categorization provides a clear view of what actions are driving campaign success.
3. Conversion Source: The origin of the conversion, such as:
- Website: Conversions on your site.
- Call Tracking: Phone calls from call extensions or call ads.
- App: Conversions from app installs or in-app actions.
- Offline: Conversions imported from offline systems.
4. Cross-Device Conversions: The number of conversions that began on one device but were completed on another. This metric highlights how users interact with your brand across multiple devices before converting.
5. Assisted Conversions: The number of times an ad interaction contributed to a conversion but wasn’t the final interaction before the conversion. This helps identify how ads assist in the customer journey.
6. Phone Call Conversions: Conversions tracked when users make calls directly from your ads or call extensions. Google tracks the duration of calls to determine if they qualify as conversions.
7. App Install Conversions: The number of app installations attributed to your ads. This is particularly relevant for app promotion campaigns.
8. Store Visit Conversions: The estimated number of physical store visits resulting from users who clicked or interacted with your ad. This metric uses location data and is relevant for campaigns with offline goals.
Bidding & Budget Metrics
These metrics and strategies allow you to control spending, optimize performance, and align bidding with your campaign goals, ensuring cost efficiency and maximizing results.
1. Max CPC (Maximum Cost Per Click): The highest amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad. This sets a limit on the bid Google can place on your behalf in the auction.
2. Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): A bidding strategy where you set a target return on your ad spend. Google optimizes your bids to achieve your desired ROAS by prioritizing clicks that are likely to generate higher-value conversions.
3. Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): A bidding strategy where you set a target cost for each conversion. Google adjusts your bids to generate as many conversions as possible within your target CPA.
4. Target Impression Share: A bidding strategy designed to achieve a specific impression share, such as appearing in the top search positions or anywhere on the results page. It ensures your ads are highly visible.
5. Enhanced CPC (Cost Per Click): A semi-automated bidding strategy where Google adjusts your manual bids up or down based on the likelihood of a conversion, aiming to maximize results without exceeding your set maximum CPC.
6. Manual CPC: A bidding strategy where you manually set bids for individual keywords or ad groups, giving you full control over how much you’re willing to pay per click.
7. Campaign Budget: The amount of money allocated to a campaign for a specific period, typically daily. It limits the total ad spend and determines how frequently your ads are shown.
Video Metrics
These video metrics provide valuable insights into user engagement, cost efficiency, and the overall performance of your video ad campaigns, helping you optimize for better results.
1. Video Views: The total number of times your video ad was watched. A view is typically counted when the ad is watched for at least 30 seconds (or the full duration if shorter) or when there is a meaningful interaction, such as a click.
2. View Rate: The percentage of impressions that resulted in video views. It measures the engagement level of your video ad and is calculated as: View Rate= (Video Views / Impressions) x 100
3. Average CPV (Cost Per View): The average cost you pay for each video view. It is calculated as: Average CPV = Total Cost / Video Views. This metric helps you assess the cost efficiency of your video ad campaigns.
4. Earned Views: The additional video views (beyond the original ad) that occur after a user watches or interacts with your video ad. For example, if someone clicks your ad and then watches another video on your YouTube channel, that counts as an earned view.
5. Video Quartile Performance (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%): Metrics that show how far viewers progressed in watching your video:
- 25%: The percentage of viewers who watched 25% of the video.
- 50%: The percentage of viewers who watched half the video.
- 75%: The percentage of viewers who watched three-quarters of the video.
- 100%: The percentage of viewers who watched the entire video. These metrics help analyze video content effectiveness and identify where viewers lose interest.
Shopping Campaign Metrics
These metrics provide valuable insights into the performance of your Shopping campaigns, helping you analyze visibility, competition, and product-level effectiveness to optimize for better results.
1. Product Title: The title of the product shown in your ad. This is pulled directly from the product feed and plays a critical role in ad relevance and performance.
2. Product ID: A unique identifier for the product in your product feed. It helps distinguish specific products in your Shopping campaigns and reporting.
3. Item ID: The specific ID for each product variant (e.g., different sizes or colors). It helps track the performance of individual product variations.
4. Custom Labels: Labels you define in your product feed to group products based on custom attributes, such as “Seasonal,” “Best Sellers,” or “High Margin.” These labels help segment and optimize your campaigns.
5. Product Type: A category you assign to a product in your feed to organize and track performance. Unlike Google’s product category, this is defined by you and can reflect your business structure.
6. Brand: The brand name associated with the product in your feed. This helps track performance by brand and analyze user preferences.
7. Google Product Category: The predefined category from Google’s taxonomy that best describes the product. This is required for some product types and affects ad placement and relevance.
8. Benchmark CTR: The average click-through rate for products similar to yours in Google Shopping campaigns. It helps compare your performance against industry benchmarks.
9. Benchmark CPC: The average cost-per-click for similar products in Google Shopping campaigns. It provides insight into competitive bidding and market trends.
10. Impression Share: The percentage of times your Shopping ad was shown compared to the total eligible impressions. It reflects your visibility in Shopping results.
11. Click Share: The percentage of clicks your Shopping ad received compared to the total clicks available for similar ads. This shows how competitive your ad is in driving traffic.
12. Search Impression Share: The percentage of Shopping ad impressions you received for relevant searches compared to the total available impressions.
13. Search Lost IS (Budget): The percentage of impressions lost due to insufficient budget. This highlights opportunities to increase visibility by raising your budget.
14. Search Lost IS (Rank): The percentage of impressions lost due to a low ad rank, which is influenced by bid amount and product feed quality.
Other Columns
1. Click Share: The percentage of clicks your ad received out of the total clicks available for ads in the same auctions. It reflects your competitiveness in driving traffic compared to competitors.
2. Impression Share: The percentage of total eligible impressions your ad received. It provides insight into how often your ads are showing compared to the total available opportunities.
3. Historical Quality Score: The Quality Score of your keywords at a specific point in time, based on Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience. It helps track improvements or declines over time.
4. Landing Page URL: The specific URL where users land after clicking on your ad. This metric helps ensure that your ads are directing traffic to the correct destination.
5. Page Speed Score: A metric that evaluates the load speed of your landing page, which affects user experience and conversion rates. Faster pages generally lead to better performance and Quality Scores.
6. Audience Segments: Specific user groups targeted or analyzed in your campaign, such as in-market audiences, affinity audiences, or remarketing lists. This helps measure how different audience segments respond to your ads.
7. Top vs. Other (Impressions, Clicks): Metrics that compare the performance of your ads when they appear in the top positions of search results versus other positions (lower on the page or in other placements). This shows how placement affects performance.
8. Auction Insights: A report that provides data about your competitors in the same ad auctions, including overlap rates, impression share, and position above rate. It helps analyze competitiveness and optimize bidding strategies.