Imagine trying to cook a meal without knowing how or without a recipe. You might end up eating something that can still be eaten, but it won’t be as likely to taste as good as you would have imagined. The same goes for Google ads and running a campaign. If you don’t set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), then your efforts may generate some results, but if you don’t have the proper guidance, then everything is going to be a guessing game.
Setting KPIs isn’t just about following a few metrics here and there. It’s about understanding how to give the campaign you have direction so that every pound of your budget is working hard toward a particular goal.
Understanding Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the compass that keeps you en route toward your destination. Whether you’re running ads for lead generation, driving website traffic, or boosting sales, KPIs provide the guidelines to measure your success.
For example, a campaign without KPIs might aim to increase brand awareness. But at some point, you will need to ask yourself, how will you measure success? Will it be by the impressions? Will it be by the clicks? If you don’t have any metrics regarding how you’ll measure the progress, your results will be vague, and you will have no insights from which to take action.
Smart KPIs
People have different approaches, but an option many marketers take is the SMART approach:
- Specific: Define exactly what you want as an outcome. For instance, instead of being as vague as “increase traffic,” try to make the goal more specific, such as “increase website visits by 20%.”
- Measurable: Ensure that there’s a clear metric you can use to track the campaign’s progress, such as CTR, impressions, etc.
- Achievable: Ambition is amazing, but the goals must be realistic based on your budget and current circumstances. If your current CTR is 2%, targeting 5% is a reasonable prediction, but 15% or more is a stretch.
- Relevant: Are your KPIs in line with your campaign objectives? If you have a sales-driven campaign, tracking conversion matters more than impressions.
- Time-Bound: Do you have a timeline in mind for this project? Do you want a 10% increase? If so, for how long? Within three months or less?
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
There are always going to be mistakes that even seasoned marketers will fall into every once in a while. Here are a few of the common ones:
- Focusing on Vanity Metrics: Impressions and clicks are amazing, but if you’re not prioritising ROI, CPA, or conversion rate to gain a deeper understanding of your campaign’s performance, then you’re not understanding the full story.
- Setting Unrealistic Goals: An overambitious KPI can often lead to disappointment. Make sure that you start with more realistic goals and increase them incrementally as time goes on and your campaign improves.
- Ignoring Business Alignment: Your KPIs need to reflect the bigger objectives your business or brand has. If the goal is lead generation, don’t be swayed and end up sidetracked because other metrics are doing better.
Tailor the KPIs to Your Goals
The metrics you track in your campaign should depend on the specific objectives that you have:
- Brand Awareness: Focusing on metrics like impressions and reach.
- Lead Generation: Tracking metrics like the conversion rate, cost per lead and CTR.
- Sales: Monitoring metrics like the cost per acquisition (CPA), the return on ad spend (ROAS) and total conversions.
For extra control over results, a lot of businesses work with a specialist PPC agency in London because they can help brands refine their KPIs to suit their specific needs. They ensure that the metrics included aren’t just reasonable and focused on achieving actual results.
Tools and Resources
Tracking KPIs isn’t a manual task the way it used to be, thanks to the advanced tools and technologies we have in today’s day and age. Platforms like Google Ads Manager and Google Analytics are an essential for monitoring campaign performance. Tools like SEMRush and HubSpot offer additional insights and information.
Go the extra mile by setting up tracking parameters, such as UTM codes, to gather data and custom dashboards for performance reviews. These tools allow you to make tracking KPIs a lot more easier and seamless and make it easier to optimise campaigns.
Conclusion
Setting reasonable KPIs for your Google Ads campaign isn’t all about picking
