Every campaign needs numbers tied to it that can tell you exactly how the campaign is doing. These are often referred to as Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs. Think of it like this, if you are on vacation and you need to look at one set of metrics that are going to tell you whether things are on track or off track, what are those numbers going to be. For some campaigns it might be clicks, for others it might be total conversions.
Why would KPIs be different?
Not every campaign is out to achieve the same thing. Some Google Ads campaigns may be built to generate awareness, so a key metric might be total impressions regardless of intent. In real estate investing, the goal is to get the highest quality leads to fill out a form or make a phone call. This would make conversions something to really pay close attention to.
How to Determine KPIs
This shouldn’t be something that 5 minutes is spent on. Seriously think out what you want a PPC campaign to do for you. Then think of what metrics influence that inside of Google Ads. Things to consider would be:
What action do I want customers to take?
What numbers reflect those actions in Google Ads?
What supporting metrics can be manipulated based on the results?
Those three points should get you headed in the right direction if you’re looking to establish your own KPIs for a PPC campaign.
Which KPIs do I use?
I’ve found that when it comes to generating leads with high motivation and intent behind them that there is a pretty lengthy list of numbers to pay attention to. However, regardless of the industry I’ve found that there are 3 that are always a part of my campaign KPIs. CTR, Conversion Rate, and Impression Share. I always want to know that my ads are doing their jobs, the page is performing well, and what the overall market share for my keywords looks like. I’ll dive into these in other posts, but these are always a great place to start with any campaign.