Google Ads Report Metrics

Definition

The number of times your ad was shown, regardless of whether anyone clicked.

Formula

Counted directly by Google Ads — no calculation needed.

How to read it

Impressions alone tell you reach, not performance. Use it as the denominator for CTR. A sudden drop in impressions usually means a budget cap, a Quality Score drop, or a shift in search volume.

Benchmark

Varies widely by industry and match type. Track the trend rather than the absolute number.

Definition

The number of times someone clicked your ad.

Formula

Counted directly.

How to read it

Clicks measure demand for your ad. Compare clicks to conversions to understand how well your landing page is working. A high click count with low conversions points to a landing page problem, not an ad problem.

Benchmark

No universal benchmark. Compare week over week and against your own historical average.

Definition

The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click.

Formula

CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100

How to read it

CTR measures how relevant your ad is to the searches triggering it. Low CTR means the ad copy isn't matching search intent, or you're showing up for broad terms that don't fit your offer. Search campaigns typically outperform display here — don't compare the two directly.

Benchmark

Search: 3–5% is reasonable across most industries. Display: 0.1–0.5% is normal.

Definition

The average amount you paid per click.

Formula

Avg. CPC = Total cost ÷ Total clicks

How to read it

CPC tells you cost efficiency, not quality. A low CPC from irrelevant clicks is worse than a high CPC from buyers. Compare CPC across campaigns and keywords — high CPC on high-converting terms is usually fine; high CPC on low-converting terms is waste.

Benchmark

Highly industry-dependent. Legal and finance keywords can exceed $50 CPC. E-commerce often runs $0.50–$3.

Definition

The number of times someone completed a tracked action after clicking your ad — purchase, form fill, call, download, etc.

Formula

Counted by Google Ads conversion tracking.

How to read it

The most important outcome metric. Verify your conversion tracking is set up correctly before reporting — misconfigured tracking is a common source of inflated or missing conversion data.

Benchmark

Depends entirely on what you're counting as a conversion.

Definition

The percentage of clicks that resulted in a conversion.

Formula

Conv. rate = Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100

How to read it

Conversion rate measures your landing page and offer, not your ads. If CTR is high but conversion rate is low, the problem is post-click — the page doesn't match the ad's promise, the form is too long, or the offer isn't strong enough.

Benchmark

Search campaigns: 2–5% is a reasonable baseline. E-commerce tends lower (1–3%), lead gen higher (5–15%) depending on friction.

Definition

How much you spent on average to get one conversion.

Formula

Cost per conversion = Total cost ÷ Conversions

How to read it

The unit economics metric. Compare it against what a conversion is worth to your business (your target CPA). If cost per conversion is rising over time without a change in bids or budgets, it usually means auction competitiveness has increased or conversion rate has dropped.

Benchmark

Target CPA varies by business model — set a threshold based on your margin, not industry averages.

Definition

Revenue generated per dollar spent on ads.

Formula

ROAS = Conversion value ÷ Cost

How to read it

ROAS is the clearest way to connect ad spend to business outcomes for e-commerce. A ROAS of 4 means $4 in revenue for every $1 spent. It requires conversion value to be tracked — if you're tracking leads (not purchases), ROAS is less meaningful unless you assign a value to each lead.

Benchmark

A break-even ROAS depends on your margins. A 2–3× ROAS might be fine for high-margin products; thin-margin businesses may need 8–10×.

Definition

Google's 1–10 rating of the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages.

Formula

Composite score — not directly calculable. Based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.

How to read it

Quality Score affects your CPC and ad rank. A low Quality Score means you're paying more for the same position than a competitor with better relevance. Include it in internal or agency reports; leave it out for executive stakeholders who don't control ad copy or landing pages.

Benchmark

7–10 is good. Below 5 warrants investigation — check which component (CTR, relevance, or landing page) is dragging it down.