Paid Search Analytics

Paid search advertising represents one of the most measurable and controllable digital marketing channels, with global spend exceeding $200 billion annually. Unlike organic channels with delayed feedback loops, paid search provides immediate performance data enabling rapid optimisation and budget reallocation.

Comprehensive paid search analytics allow marketers to understand which keywords, ads, audiences, and bidding strategies drive profitable conversions. This data-driven approach maximises return on ad spend (ROAS) while minimizing wasted budget on underperforming campaigns.

Traffic and Visibility Metrics

Impressions

Number of times your ads were shown. High impressions indicate good keyword coverage and competitive bids. Low impressions suggest limited reach due to budget constraints, low bids, or narrow targeting. Track impression share to understand potential reach.

Impression Share

Formula: (Impressions / Total Eligible Impressions) × 100

Percentage of available impressions your ads received. Target 80%+ for branded keywords, 50-70% for competitive generic terms. Low impression share indicates lost opportunities due to budget or rank. Track lost impression share due to budget versus rank to prioritise optimisation.

Clicks

Number of times users clicked your ads. Primary indicator of ad relevance and appeal. Compare clicks across campaigns, ad groups, and keywords to identify high-performing elements. Track unique clicks to understand repeat clicker behavior.

Engagement Metrics

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Formula: (Clicks / Impressions) × 100

Percentage of impressions resulting in clicks. Google Ads average CTR is 3-5% for search campaigns, though varies significantly by industry and keyword intent. High CTR indicates relevant ads and strong messaging. Low CTR suggests ad copy improvements needed or poor keyword-ad alignment.

Average Position / Absolute Top Impression Rate

Google replaced average position with absolute top impression rate (percentage of impressions showing in first position) and top impression rate (percentage showing in top positions above organic results). Higher positions generally drive more clicks but cost more. Balance visibility with cost efficiency.

Cost Metrics

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Formula: Total Cost / Total Clicks

Average amount paid per click. Varies dramatically by industry and keyword competitiveness. Legal and insurance keywords can exceed $50 CPC, while long-tail terms may cost under $1. Monitor CPC trends to identify increasing competition or quality score issues.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Formula: Total Cost / Total Conversions

Average cost to acquire a customer or lead. Most critical metric for campaign profitability. Compare CPA to customer lifetime value (LTV) to ensure sustainable economics. Target CPA should be significantly lower than LTV, typically 1:3 ratio or better.

Cost Per Mille (CPM)

Formula: (Total Cost / Impressions) × 1000

Cost per thousand impressions. Primarily used for display campaigns but relevant for understanding visibility costs in search. Lower CPM indicates efficient reach. Compare CPM across campaigns to identify cost-effective targeting strategies.

Conversion Metrics

Conversion Rate

Formula: (Conversions / Clicks) × 100

Percentage of clicks resulting in desired actions. Average search conversion rates range from 2-5% for e-commerce, 5-10% for B2B lead generation. Low conversion rates indicate landing page issues, poor keyword-intent match, or targeting problems. High conversion rates suggest strong campaign-landing page alignment.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Formula: (Revenue from Ads / Ad Spend) × 100

Revenue generated per dollar spent on ads. E-commerce typically targets 400-600% ROAS (4:1 to 6:1 ratio). SaaS and high-LTV businesses may accept lower ROAS given long-term customer value. Calculate ROAS at campaign, keyword, and audience levels to optimise budget allocation.

Conversion Value

Total revenue or assigned value from conversions. Track both total conversion value and value per conversion. Segment by campaign and keyword to identify high-value traffic sources. Use conversion value rather than conversion count for budget optimisation when transaction values vary.

Quality Score

Google's 1-10 rating of ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR. Higher quality scores reduce CPC and improve ad positions. Score of 7+ is good, 8-10 is excellent. Improve quality score through better keyword-ad-landing page alignment, improving landing page experience, and increasing historical CTR.

Ad Rank

Formula: Max Bid × Quality Score (simplified)

Determines ad position in auction. Higher ad rank wins better positions. Improve ad rank by increasing bids or improving quality score. Quality score improvements are more cost-effective than bid increases for long-term competitiveness.

Expected CTR

Google's prediction of how likely your ad is to be clicked based on historical performance. One of three quality score components. Improve through compelling ad copy, relevant keywords, and ad extensions. "Above average" rating is target.

Ad Relevance

How closely ad copy matches user search intent. Another quality score component. Ensure keywords appear in ad copy and messaging directly addresses search query. Use dynamic keyword insertion carefully to maintain relevance without sacrificing message quality.

Landing Page Experience

Quality and relevance of landing page users reach after clicking. Third quality score component. Optimize for fast load times, mobile responsiveness, clear navigation, relevant content matching ad promise, and strong calls-to-action. Poor landing page experience tanks quality score and increases costs.

Attribution Modeling

Understand paid search's role in multi-touch customer journeys. Last-click attribution over-credits paid search for conversions influenced by other channels. Use data-driven attribution or position-based models to credit paid search appropriately. Track assisted conversions to capture full value.

Audience Segmentation

Analyze performance by demographic, geographic, device, and behavioral segments. Identify high-value audiences for bid adjustments or separate campaigns. Use in-market audiences, affinity audiences, and remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) to refine targeting and improve efficiency.

Competitive Analysis

Monitor auction insights to understand competitor presence, overlap rate, and position above rate. Track competitors' ad copy, landing pages, and offers using tools like SEMrush or SpyFu. Identify gaps in competitor keyword coverage for expansion opportunities.

Search Query Analysis

Review actual search queries triggering ads to find new keyword opportunities and negative keywords. Identify high-performing queries to add as exact match keywords. Find irrelevant queries wasting budget to add as negatives. Regular query analysis is essential for campaign refinement.

Time-Based Analysis

Analyze performance by hour of day, day of week, and seasonality. Implement dayparting bid adjustments to increase bids during high-converting periods and decrease during low-performing times. Plan budget allocation around seasonal trends and promotional periods.

Google Ads

Dominant search advertising platform with 90%+ market share in many regions. Offers search, display, shopping, video, and app campaigns. Provides robust analytics through Google Ads interface and Google Analytics integration. Use Google Ads API for custom reporting and automation.

Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)

Powers search ads on Bing, Yahoo, and partner sites. Typically 20-30% lower CPC than Google with similar conversion rates. Reaches older, higher-income demographics. Often overlooked opportunity for incremental reach. Easy to import Google Ads campaigns for quick expansion.

Amazon Advertising

Sponsored product and brand ads on Amazon. Critical for e-commerce brands selling on Amazon. High purchase intent traffic. Unique metrics like Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) and Total Advertising Cost of Sales (TACoS). Requires different strategy than traditional search due to product-focused nature.

Other Platforms

Apple Search Ads for iOS app promotion, Pinterest Ads for visual search, and emerging platforms in specific markets. Evaluate based on audience presence and campaign objectives. Test with small budgets before scaling.

Keyword Optimisation

Organize keywords into tightly themed ad groups (5-20 keywords per group). Use mix of match types: exact match for high-intent terms, phrase match for variations, broad match modified for discovery. Regularly add negative keywords to prevent wasted spend. Pause low-performing keywords and scale winners.

Ad Copy Testing

Run at least 3 ad variations per ad group. Test headlines, descriptions, display URLs, and calls-to-action. Use responsive search ads to let Google optimise combinations. Implement expanded text ads for more control. Rotate ads evenly initially, then optimise for conversions. Refresh ad copy quarterly to prevent ad fatigue.

Bid Strategy Optimisation

Start with manual CPC for control and learning. Graduate to automated strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions) once sufficient conversion data exists (30+ conversions per month). Use portfolio bid strategies to optimise across campaigns. Monitor automated strategy performance and adjust targets based on business goals.

Landing Page Optimisation

Create dedicated landing pages for major campaigns. Match landing page headline to ad copy for message continuity. Optimize for speed (target under 3 seconds load time). Use clear, prominent CTAs. Remove navigation to reduce distractions. A/B test layouts, copy, images, and forms. Mobile optimisation is critical as 50%+ traffic comes from mobile.

Ad Extensions

Implement all relevant extensions: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call extensions, location extensions, price extensions, and promotion extensions. Extensions improve CTR by 10-15% on average and increase ad rank at no additional cost. Customize extensions by campaign for maximum relevance.

Poor Campaign Structure

Problem: Mixing unrelated keywords in ad groups leads to irrelevant ads and low quality scores. Solution: Organize campaigns by theme, ad groups by tightly related keywords. Separate branded and non-branded campaigns. Create dedicated campaigns for high-priority products or services.

Insufficient Negative Keywords

Problem: Wasting budget on irrelevant searches. Solution: Build comprehensive negative keyword lists at campaign and account levels. Review search query reports weekly to add negatives. Use negative keyword lists for common exclusions (jobs, free, cheap, etc.).

Ignoring Mobile Performance

Problem: Mobile traffic converts differently than desktop but receives same bids. Solution: Analyze performance by device. Set mobile bid adjustments (increase or decrease) based on conversion rates. Create mobile-preferred ads with shorter copy. Ensure mobile landing pages load quickly and forms are easy to complete.

Not Tracking Conversions Properly

Problem: Optimizing for clicks instead of business outcomes. Solution: Implement conversion tracking for all valuable actions (purchases, leads, sign-ups, calls). Use Google Tag Manager for easier implementation. Track multiple conversion types with different values. Verify tracking accuracy regularly.