Essential Google Ads Metrics: Complete Column Setup for Account Analysis

Primary vs. Diagnostic Metrics

Primary Metrics

Primary metrics directly measure business outcomes:

• How much is being spent
• How many conversions are generated
• What return is achieved on that spend

Diagnostic Metrics

Diagnostic metrics help identify problems and opportunities:

• Why is performance good or bad
• Where are inefficiencies occurring
• What needs attention

Key Principle: Primary metrics guide strategic decisions; diagnostic metrics guide tactical optimizations.

Core Campaign Information

Column	Purpose
Campaign	Campaign name (locked by default)
Budget	Daily budget setting
Status	Campaign health indicators
Bid Strategy Type	Current bidding approach

Status Indicators to Watch:

• Eligible: Healthy
• Limited by budget: Potential growth opportunity
• Bid strategy limited: Needs adjustment
• Learning: Insufficient data

Traffic Metrics

Metric	What It Shows	Use Case
Clicks	Total clicks received	Volume indicator
Impressions	Times ads shown	Reach indicator
CTR (Click-Through Rate)	Clicks ÷ Impressions	Ad relevance indicator
Avg. CPC	Average cost per click	Auction competitiveness
Cost	Total spend	Budget consumption

Conversion Metrics (E-Commerce)

Metric	What It Shows	Use Case
Conversions	Number of conversion actions	Volume outcome
Cost/Conv.	Cost ÷ Conversions	Efficiency metric
Conv. Rate	Conversions ÷ Clicks	Landing page effectiveness
Conv. Value	Total revenue generated	Revenue outcome
Conv. Value/Cost	ROAS	Primary efficiency metric
Value/Conv.	Average order value	Revenue per conversion

Conversion Metrics (Lead Generation)

Metric	What It Shows	Use Case
Conversions	Number of leads	Volume outcome
Cost/Conv.	Cost per lead	Primary efficiency metric
Conv. Rate	Leads ÷ Clicks	Landing page effectiveness

The Attribution Timing Problem

Standard conversion metrics attribute conversions to the click date, not the conversion date.

Example:

• User clicks ad on Day 1
• User converts on Day 7
• Standard metrics: Conversion counted on Day 1
• By Time metrics: Conversion counted on Day 7

When to Use By Time Metrics

Timeframe Analyzed	Recommended Approach
Last 7 days	Use By Time metrics
Last 14 days	Use By Time metrics
Last 30 days	Use By Time metrics
90+ days	Standard metrics acceptable

Why By Time Matters

When analyzing recent performance, standard metrics underreport because conversions from recent clicks haven't occurred yet. By Time metrics show what actually converted in that period.

Essential By Time Columns:

• Conversions by conversion time
• Conversion value by conversion time
• Value/Conv. by conversion time

The Problem

Google Ads doesn't provide "Cost per Conversion by Time" or "ROAS by Time" as preset columns. These must be created manually.

How to Create Custom Columns

1. Navigate to Columns → Modify Columns
2. Scroll to "Custom Columns"
3. Click "Create Custom Column"

ROAS by Time Formula

• Column Name: Conv. Value/Cost by Time (or ROAS by Time)
• Formula: Conversion value by conversion time ÷ Cost

CPA by Time Formula

• Column Name: Cost/Conv. by Time (or CPA by Time)
• Formula: Cost ÷ Conversions by conversion time

Why Impression Share Matters

Impression share reveals competitive position and growth potential. A campaign generating excellent returns but with low impression share has significant scaling opportunity.

Essential Impression Share Columns

Metric	What It Shows
Search Impression Share	% of eligible impressions captured
Search Top IS	% of impressions in top positions
Search Abs. Top IS	% of impressions in position #1
Search Lost IS (Budget)	% lost due to budget constraints
Search Lost IS (Rank)	% lost due to ad rank

Interpreting Impression Share Data

• High ROAS + Low Impression Share: Campaign is profitable but not maximizing opportunity. Consider budget increases.
• High Lost IS (Budget): Budget is the limiting factor. Profitable campaigns losing impressions to budget should receive more budget.
• High Lost IS (Rank): Bid or quality factors are limiting impressions. Review bid strategy, ad relevance, and landing page experience.

CTR Diagnostic Thresholds

Campaign Type	Healthy CTR	Warning Zone	Red Flag
Search (Branded)	8%+	4-8%	Below 4%
Search (Non-brand)	3%+	2-3%	Below 2%
Shopping	1%+	0.5-1%	Below 0.5%

Low CTR Indicates:

• Ad copy not resonating with searchers
• Keywords too broad or irrelevant
• Ad position issues
• Asset/extension problems

Conversion Rate Diagnostic

Low Conversion Rate + High CTR:

• Landing page issues
• Price/offer misalignment
• Site experience problems
• Audience mismatch

Low Conversion Rate + Low CTR:

• Fundamental targeting issues
• Keyword relevance problems
• Complete campaign restructure may be needed

CPC Diagnostic

Rising CPC Over Time:

• Increased competition
• Quality Score decline
• Bid strategy aggression

CPC Higher Than Industry Average:

• Quality Score issues
• Poor ad relevance
• Suboptimal bidding strategy

When ROAS is Below Target

Check in order:

1. Conversion rate (landing page issues?)
2. CPC (bidding too aggressively?)
3. CTR (ad relevance issues?)
4. Search terms (targeting issues?)

When Limited by Budget

If ROAS is Strong:

• Increase budget
• Reallocate from underperforming campaigns

If ROAS is Weak:

• Optimize before adding budget
• Identify what's driving poor performance

When Impression Share is Low

If Profitable:

• Budget increase opportunity
• Bid strategy adjustment

If Unprofitable:

• Focus on efficiency before growth
• Fix fundamentals first

Complete Recommended Column Order

1. Campaign (locked)
2. Budget (locked)
3. Status (locked)
4. Bid Strategy Type
5. Clicks
6. Impressions
7. CTR
8. Avg. CPC
9. Cost
10. Conversions
11. Cost/Conv.
12. Conv. Rate
13. Conv. Value (e-commerce)
14. Conv. Value/Cost (e-commerce)
15. Conv. by Time
16. Cost/Conv. by Time (custom)
17. Search Impr. Share
18. Search Lost IS (Budget)