Our services include an automated monthly report sent to every client on the first of the month so you can keep track of your Google Grant performance. Based on feedback and conversations with our partners, we implemented a few changes starting last month. This outline is intended for both our established clients who likely noticed the changes and could use a quick refresher and for any prospective readers curious about what’s covered in our reports.
To start:
If you’re ever unsure of what a term means, the report’s second page is an appendix containing a definition of every term.
The report starts with a header including a date range picker - in the monthly automated emails, this date is automatically selected (ex: a monthly report sent on Dec 1 has a date range of Nov 1-30). This dynamic field can be updated to see data specific to your conditions. (Note that not all report fields are dynamic.)
The report starts with a header including a date range picker - in the monthly automated emails, this date is automatically selected (ex: a monthly report sent on Dec 1 has a date range of Nov 1-30). This dynamic field can be updated to see data specific to your conditions. (Note that not all report fields are dynamic.
The first section of the report is an account overview:
A gauge of the month’s ad spend (formerly labeled “cost”), a measure of your free ads from Google. Like many more of the boxes in the rest of this report, the number is compared to the previous month/time period.
The cumulative ad spend (year-to-date) is represented in the adjacent box.
Still located in the same box, ROI (this month) calculates the return on your Pathfinder Search Ads fee based on the amount of free Google ads received.
A new chart displays ad spend over the course of the month. By hovering over the chart you can view ad spend on a specific day.
The middle section includes a lot of data, but it’s easy to parse once you know what you’re looking at.
First, focus on the left-hand column of data about this month.
Data is grouped with similar fields.
The first section is based on clicks, specifically clicks on your ads.
Clicks on your ads that result in a visit to your website.
Avg. CPC, cost-per-click, is a breakdown of how much Google paid for each of those clicks, on average. This is one of the metrics Pathfinder uses to monitor account health. In general, we like to see this number above $5, and Google typically limits this to the low teens.
Skipping ahead, a related category is impressions. This is the number of times your ad was shown, regardless of whether or not it was clicked on. Ads that are not clicked on are not charged, so impressions technically are not charged.
One of the important measures of success of your Google ads is the clickthrough rate, CTR. This is the percentage of people who click on your ad, measured by clicks ÷ impressions.
The next section is based on conversions, an action predetermined to be valuable on your site.
There is a conversion count.
Cost/conv. stands for cost per conversion. Calculated similarly to CPC, note that a lower cost/conv. is ideal.
Conv. rate, unlike CTR, is determined not by conversions to impressions but by conversions to clicks. Since some conversions are more or less obtainable, the conversion rate could be within a significant range depending on the goals of your conversions. Any changes in the structure of your conversion actions could have a significant change in your monthly conversion rate numbers.
The next chart is new to this report, listing all individual conversion actions with counts (these should add up to the monthly total count). When a client onboards with Pathfinder, we discuss what conversion actions on your site are most important that we should track.
The final section has two tables with a significant amount of data, much of which we’ve already taught you how to read.
The first table shows the performance of all of the campaigns on your account.
We manage all campaigns on your account for the best of your organization. We update old campaigns, continue them if they’re successful, and pause them if they aren’t. This table shows all campaigns on your account, including the ones on pause, so there is no concern for a campaign with a $0 spend.
For both tables, note that you can scroll through multiple pages in the bottom right corner to see more, and you can sort by column by clicking on the headers.
Now you know exactly what to expect when your January report comes in! If you have any further questions about your report or would like to schedule a time to discuss it in further detail, feel free to reach out to Melissa or Todd to set up a call.
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