AdWords reports can be generated in different ways depending on the individual user and what is important to them. The AdWords interface has it’s own built-in reporting functionality. If you have an existing account and wish to see your data in report form, there’s a reports tab in the navigation bar which you can use to create a predefined report or a custom report. Reports created in the AdWords interface are capable of delivering information about your account at a campaign level, an ad group level, and a keyword level.
Reports generated in the AdWords interface are especially useful if you’re managing your own account and find it challenging to interpret your own results. Most business owners find it easier to look at the charts included in reports, which display data in a visual form, rather than looking at a bunch of numbers. AdWords’ predefined reports include the most common and most popular types of reports. Alternatively, if the type of report you’d like to create is not available as predefined, you can create a custom report. For example, if all you want to see is your keyword performance you can create a report just for that.
AdWords reports will help you understand what’s converting, what’s not, and then point you in the right direction towards improving your account. Within your account there are two tiers of data. The first tier consists of everyday metrics such as keywords, ads, negatives, and bids. The second tier is more for expert users, which contains advanced metrics that regular users would not normally know how to access.
If you find yourself hitting a plateau when measuring the first tier of data, that’s when it can be beneficial to dig deeper into the second tier. In the second tier of data you’ll find advanced metrics such as day parting, geographic segmentation, and device optimization.
Advanced Metrics in Google AdWords Reports
Here are more details about the advanced metrics available in Google Adwords reports:
- Day parting: Narrow down which days of the week are consistently receiving the most conversions. With this data you can bid more money on the days that drive the most conversions. You can also narrow this down even further with a 24-hour report detailing the hours of the day that are receiving the most conversions.
- Geographic segmentation: Depending on the area in which you’re running your campaign, you can look at the specific locations that are converting best. For example, if you’re running a nationwide campaign across USA, you can see which specific states are generating the most leads.
- Device optimization: Simply, this metric shows you which types of devices are generating the most conversions for your campaign (ie, desktop vs. mobile vs. tablet)
When creating a custom report, you can drag and drop the specific metrics you care most about. Google will then visualize the data and display your performance over a period of time. Using custom reports to isolate the exact pieces of data you want to see is recommended if there’s only a few specific metrics that matter to you. For example, big brands might only care about the amount of display impressions they’re receiving. E-commerce stores might only want information about the amount of sales they’re generating from AdWords — and so on.
If you find it difficult to interpret raw data, or you want a snapshot view of a specific time period, we recommend using AdWords reports. If you run reports consistently you can then compare those against each other to evaluate the health of your campaign over an extended period of time. With enough data collected you can eventually compare your performance month-over-month or year-over-year.
At Pam Ann Marketing, we do not use the reports generated in AdWords itself. Instead, we measure the actual hard data. This is typically not recommended unless you have the expertise that comes with being Google AdWords certified. However, knowing how to interpret raw data is by far and away the most accurate method of measuring a campaign’s performance. That’s the added value you get from having an AdWords certified agency managing and maintaining your account.
Special Offer: Free Google AdWords Audit
We are one of the few marketing agencies that offers a completely free campaign assessment, which is conducted by measuring the raw data in your account. For some professional insight into how your campaign is performing, and where there is room for improvement, we invite you to contact us today for a complimentary Google AdWords audit.
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