By workseo995 
When partnering with a Google Ads agency, the success of your paid advertising campaigns hinges on more than just clicks and impressions. A professional agency should provide transparent, data-driven reporting focused on meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business objectives. The right KPIs will give you insights into ad performance, budget efficiency, and long-term ROI, helping you make informed decisions about your digital strategy. But what exactly should your Google Ads agency be reporting on?
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is a core metric that reveals how well your ads resonate with your target audience. It’s calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. A higher CTR usually indicates that your ad copy and keywords are relevant to users’ search intent. A reliable Google Ads agency will track CTR across campaigns, ad groups, and individual ads to determine which elements are performing best and which need optimization. Low CTRs can be a sign of irrelevant targeting or weak ad copy, both of which should be addressed promptly.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC measures how much you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. This is critical for budgeting and ROI analysis. Your Google Ads agency should monitor CPC closely to ensure your campaigns remain cost-effective. Ideally, you want to pay the lowest possible amount for high-quality traffic. The agency should provide insights on how CPC fluctuates based on competition, ad quality, bidding strategy, and keyword selection. Lowering CPC while maintaining conversions is often a key goal in optimization.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is one of the most important KPIs because it reflects the percentage of visitors who take a desired action after clicking your ad. This could be a purchase, form submission, phone call, or app download. A strong Google Ads agency will ensure conversion tracking is set up correctly via Google Tag Manager or similar tools and will regularly report on this KPI. Monitoring conversion rates helps assess whether your landing pages and funnel are optimized to turn visitors into customers.
Cost Per Conversion (CPA)
Cost per conversion, also known as cost per acquisition, tells you how much you’re paying for each completed goal or action. A high CPA may suggest poor targeting, ineffective landing pages, or an inefficient bidding strategy. Your Google Ads agency should aim to reduce CPA over time without sacrificing lead or sales quality. This metric is crucial when evaluating the profitability of your campaigns. Comparing CPA against customer lifetime value (CLV) also helps determine whether your paid strategy is sustainable.
Impression Share
Impression share refers to the percentage of times your ads are shown compared to the total available impressions in your market or niche. A low impression share often points to insufficient budget or low ad rank. Your Google Ads agency should track this to assess how competitive your campaigns are and if you’re missing opportunities to reach your full potential audience. Improving quality scores and increasing bids can help boost your impression share if it aligns with your goals.
Quality Score
Google assigns a quality score to each keyword based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. This score, ranging from 1 to 10, directly influences your CPC and ad positioning. A high-quality score results in better ad placement at a lower cost. A good Google Ads agency will continuously work to improve quality scores by refining ad copy, targeting, and landing page performance. Reporting on quality score trends helps clients understand the effectiveness of ongoing optimization efforts.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
ROAS is a revenue-based metric that measures the amount of revenue generated for every dollar spent on ads. It’s calculated by dividing revenue by ad spend. A ROAS of 5, for instance, means you made $5 for every $1 spent. For e-commerce businesses, ROAS is one of the most important KPIs to track. Your Google Ads agency should report ROAS at the campaign, product, and keyword level to identify what’s driving revenue. Low ROAS may require reallocation of budget or adjustments to campaign structure.
Lead Quality
For lead generation campaigns, not all leads are created equal. A high volume of form submissions or calls might seem like success, but if those leads don’t convert into paying customers, the ROI will suffer. Your Google Ads agency should measure lead quality through CRM integrations, call tracking tools, and offline conversion tracking. They should collaborate with your sales team to understand which leads are closing and refine targeting accordingly.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate shows the percentage of users who leave your landing page without interacting further. A high bounce rate can indicate a disconnect between your ad message and the landing page content, poor user experience, or slow page load times. Your agency should track this via Google Analytics and recommend landing page improvements as needed. Reducing bounce rates helps boost conversion rates and overall campaign performance.
Ad Position and Top Impression Rate
Ad position shows where your ads appear on the search engine results page, while top impression rate reveals how often your ad appears above the organic listings. These KPIs are useful for brand visibility and competitive benchmarking. If your ads consistently appear in lower positions, your agency should investigate factors like quality score and bid strategy. Position metrics help determine whether you’re investing enough to dominate critical SERP real estate.
Budget Pacing
An experienced Google Ads agency will keep a close eye on budget pacing—how your daily or monthly ad spend is tracking against your set budget. Overspending or underspending can lead to missed opportunities or wasted resources. They should also evaluate seasonality, time-of-day performance, and day-of-week trends to better allocate your ad dollars. Regular updates on budget pacing ensure campaigns stay on track financially while maximizing performance.
Search Terms Report
Understanding which actual search queries triggered your ads is essential for refining keyword targeting and filtering out irrelevant traffic. The search terms report offers visibility into user intent and allows the agency to add negative keywords to avoid wasted spend. Your Google Ads agency should frequently analyze this report and share insights on emerging trends, high-converting queries, and phrases to avoid.
Landing Page Performance
It’s not just about driving traffic—it’s about what happens after the click. Your agency should evaluate bounce rate, average time on page, and conversion rate on individual landing pages. Are visitors engaged? Are they scrolling and clicking through? Pages that underperform may need design tweaks, faster load times, or clearer calls to action. A solid Google Ads agency will use A/B testing and data-backed design changes to boost landing page effectiveness.
Mobile vs. Desktop Performance
Consumer behavior varies significantly between mobile and desktop users. Your Google Ads agency should break down performance by device to uncover insights into user behavior. Are mobile users bouncing more often? Are desktop users converting at a higher rate? By understanding device-specific trends, the agency can tailor bids, ad copy, and landing pages to each audience segment, ensuring the best results across platforms.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right KPIs is essential to evaluating your paid campaigns, and it’s the responsibility of your Google Ads agency to provide clear, consistent, and actionable reports. From CTR and CPA to ROAS and lead quality, each metric paints part of the overall performance picture. A trustworthy agency doesn’t just report numbers—they offer insights, recommendations, and a path forward. Transparency, strategy, and data are the foundation of a successful partnership that drives real business growth.