Blog/Google Ads
Google Ads reporting — the metrics that matter and the ones to ignore.
80% of decisions in Google Ads should come from 20% of available metrics. For lead gen that means CPL, CVR, and Impression Share. For eCommerce: ROAS, CPA, and Revenue. For brand: Impression Share and Brand Search volume. Everything else — Average Position (deprecated), CTR in isolation, Quality Score watched daily — is noise that creates busy work without driving better outcomes. This guide covers what to measure, at what cadence, and what to do when numbers move.
Ahmed Ashraf
Founder, Traffiy · April 2026 · Google Premier Partner
“CTR without conversion rate is the most dangerous metric in paid media. High clicks, no leads means you're paying for traffic that was never going to convert.”
— Ahmed Ashraf · $100M+ in budgets managed
Metrics by goal
The only metrics that matter — by campaign objective.
Lead Generation
Primary
CPL, CVR
Supporting
Impression Share, Quality Score by keyword
Ignore
CTR in isolation, Average CPC without CVR context
eCommerce
Primary
ROAS, CPA, Revenue
Supporting
Conv. Value/Cost, Shopping IS
Ignore
CTR, Clicks without revenue attribution
Brand Awareness
Primary
Impression Share, Brand Search volume (GA4)
Supporting
Search Outranking Share, Reach
Ignore
CPL from brand campaigns — wrong success metric
Most underused diagnostic metric
Impression Share and why you are losing it.
IS Lost to Budget means your ads stopped showing because you ran out of money. Fix: increase budget or tighten targeting to reduce eligible impressions while keeping spend on what converts. IS Lost to Rank means your Ad Rank is too low — improve Quality Score or increase bids. Both numbers are in Campaigns → Columns → Competitive Metrics.
IS > 70%
Strong position — defend it
IS 40–70%
Room to grow — identify the loss reason
IS < 40%
Significant missed opportunity
80%
of decisions should come from 20% of available metrics — the rest is noise
Weekly
Search Terms review cadence — wasted spend accumulates daily between reviews
>10%
IS loss to budget = increase budget or narrow targeting — you are missing qualified traffic
Metric reference
What each metric tells you — and when to act.
| Metric | What it tells you | When to act | What "good" looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPL (Cost Per Lead) | Efficiency of lead generation | CPL exceeds target by 20%+ | Varies by industry — benchmark vs historical |
| CVR (Conversion Rate) | Quality of traffic and landing page | CVR drops 15%+ week-on-week | Search: 3–8% for most lead gen |
| ROAS | Revenue generated per £ spent | ROAS below break-even threshold | Minimum 300% for most eCommerce |
| Impression Share | How much eligible traffic you are capturing | IS <50% with budget left to spend | >70% for brand, >40% non-brand |
| Search Terms | What queries are actually triggering your ads | Irrelevant queries spending >target CPA | Zero wasted spend on high-cost irrelevant terms |
| Auction Insights | Who you are competing against and where | Competitor IS rising above yours | Outranking share >50% on brand |
Attribution & vanity metrics
Why Last Click lies — and what to stop obsessing over.
Last Click attribution
Gives 100% of conversion credit to the final click. This systematically undervalues upper-funnel keywords that introduce prospects. Brand terms get all the credit; non-brand discovery terms get none. This makes non-brand look inefficient and brand look like a magic converter.
Data-Driven attribution
Uses ML to distribute credit across all touchpoints proportionally based on their actual contribution to conversion. Requires 300+ monthly conversions to activate. Gives Smart Bidding better signals — and gives you a more honest picture of which keywords are actually driving growth.
Vanity metrics to stop obsessing over
Average Position
Deprecated in 2019. Replaced by Absolute Top IS and Top IS, which are more useful. Remove it from your columns.
CTR alone
High CTR is not inherently good. A 15% CTR with a 0.5% CVR means 99.5% of people who clicked did not convert. Pair CTR with CVR always.
Quality Score daily
QS is an input metric, not an outcome metric. Check it monthly per keyword to catch outliers — not daily as a primary dashboard KPI.
Impressions alone
Impressions without CTR or CVR context are meaningless. One million impressions with no clicks is not reach — it is ignored inventory.
FAQ
Common questions about Google Ads reporting.
What is a good CTR for Google Ads?+
3–5% is average for Search across most industries; brand campaigns often hit 10–15%. But CTR alone means nothing without conversion rate next to it. A 10% CTR with a 0.5% CVR is worse than a 3% CTR with a 5% CVR. Always read CTR alongside CVR and CPL or CPA — never in isolation.
What is Impression Share in Google Ads and why does it matter?+
Impression Share (IS) is the percentage of eligible impressions your ads actually received. If IS is 40%, you are missing 60% of eligible traffic. The IS report tells you exactly why: Lost to Budget (increase budget or narrow targeting) or Lost to Rank (improve Quality Score or raise bids). This is the most actionable diagnostic metric in the platform — it tells you what to do, not just what happened.
How often should I review the Search Terms report?+
Weekly at minimum. The Search Terms report shows every actual query that triggered your ads. Sort by cost descending. Any query spending more than your target CPA with zero conversions is wasted spend — add it as a negative immediately. In new campaigns or after broad match keywords are added, check it daily for the first two weeks.
What is Data-Driven attribution in Google Ads?+
Data-Driven Attribution uses machine learning to distribute conversion credit across all touchpoints in the path — not just the last click. Requires 300+ monthly conversions to activate. Once active, it gives Smart Bidding a more accurate signal and stops systematically undervaluing the keywords that introduce prospects. Switch to it as soon as your account qualifies.
What metrics should I send to clients in reporting?+
Focus on business outcomes: conversions, CPL or CPA, ROAS, and total spend. Include Impression Share to show competitive positioning, and a Search Terms summary to show active optimisation work. Raw data is not a report — transform it into insight and recommended actions. Keep QS, IS breakdown, and auction insights for internal use; clients do not need that level of detail.
Ahmed Ashraf — Founder, Traffiy
10+ years in paid media. $100M+ in budgets managed across Meta, Google, and TikTok. Google Premier Partner — top 3% globally. Every article on this blog is written from direct experience managing real campaigns.
Want clearer reporting on your Google Ads?
Traffiy builds reporting that drives decisions — not dashboards that look busy. Free strategy call to review your current setup.