8 PPC Performance Metrics You Need to Track (And What They Actually Tell You)

TL;DR: Most advertisers track clicks and conversions, then wonder why their campaigns plateau. The real story lives in the metrics most people glance at but don't truly understand. This guide breaks down the 8 PPC performance metrics you need to track—not just what they are, but what they're actually telling you about your campaigns and how to act on them. Whether you're managing your own Google Ads account or handling multiple clients, these are the numbers that separate profitable campaigns from money pits.

Here's what usually happens: You log into Google Ads, see some green arrows, maybe a few conversions, and call it a day. But beneath those surface-level numbers, your account is screaming stories you're not hearing.

The difference between a campaign that scales and one that burns through budget? It's not about tracking more metrics. It's about understanding what the right metrics are actually telling you—and what to do about it.

Let's break down the PPC performance metrics that matter, starting with the ones that reveal problems before they tank your budget.

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR): Your Ad Relevance Reality Check

The Challenge It Solves

You're getting impressions but not clicks. Your ads are showing up, but nobody cares enough to click. CTR tells you whether your ad copy actually resonates with searchers—or if you're just background noise in the search results.

In most accounts I audit, low CTR is the first sign that ad copy doesn't match search intent. You might be targeting the right keywords, but if your messaging is off, you're invisible.

The Metric Explained

CTR measures the percentage of people who see your ad and click on it. It's calculated as clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. A 5% CTR means 5 out of every 100 people who saw your ad clicked through.

What makes CTR powerful is what it reveals about relevance. Google uses CTR as a Quality Score signal because it indicates whether your ad matches what people are searching for. Low CTR tells Google your ad isn't useful, which drives up your costs and pushes you down in the auction.

CTR varies wildly by industry. Legal and finance campaigns typically see lower CTRs due to intense competition and cautious searchers. Retail and e-commerce often see higher CTRs because purchase intent is clearer. Don't compare your CTR to industry averages blindly—compare it to your own historical performance and competitive positioning.

Implementation Steps

1. Segment CTR by campaign type and match type—broad match keywords typically have lower CTR than exact match because they trigger on less relevant queries.

2. Review ads with CTR below 3% and rewrite them with stronger calls to action or more specific value propositions that match search intent.

3. Test different ad formats—responsive search ads often outperform standard text ads because Google automatically tests combinations to find what resonates.

Pro Tips

The mistake most advertisers make is chasing high CTR without considering conversion rate. A 10% CTR means nothing if those clicks don't convert. Focus on improving CTR for keywords that already convert—that's where the leverage is. Also, watch for CTR spikes on irrelevant terms. Sometimes high CTR reveals you're attracting the wrong audience.

2. Quality Score: The Cost Control Lever You're Probably Ignoring

The Challenge It Solves

Your costs per click keep climbing, even though you're not changing your bids. You're losing auctions to competitors who seem to bid less than you. Quality Score is Google's way of rewarding relevance—and punishing accounts that spam irrelevant ads.

What usually happens here is advertisers focus on bidding strategies while ignoring the fact that Quality Score can cut their costs by 50% or more without touching bid adjustments.

The Metric Explained

Quality Score operates on a 1-10 scale and reflects how well your keyword, ad, and landing page work together. It has three components: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Each component gets rated as above average, average, or below average.

Here's why it matters: Quality Score directly impacts your ad rank and cost per click. A keyword with a Quality Score of 8 will pay less per click and rank higher than a keyword with a Quality Score of 4, even if the bids are identical. Google rewards advertisers who create relevant, useful experiences.

Think of Quality Score as Google's trust rating. High scores tell Google your ads are useful to searchers. Low scores signal you're wasting people's time, so Google charges you more and shows your ads less often.

Implementation Steps

1. Pull a Quality Score report at the keyword level and identify any keywords scoring 5 or below—these are your cost drains.

2. For keywords with below-average expected CTR, rewrite your ad copy to include the exact keyword phrase and a compelling reason to click.

3. For keywords with below-average landing page experience, ensure your landing page directly addresses the keyword's search intent and loads quickly on mobile.

Pro Tips

Don't obsess over getting every keyword to 10/10. Focus on moving keywords from 5 to 7—that's where you'll see the biggest cost reductions. Also, Quality Score is historical, so improvements take time to reflect. Be patient and consistent with optimizations. In accounts I manage, Quality Score improvements typically show measurable cost reductions within 2-4 weeks.

3. Conversion Rate: Where Traffic Becomes Results

The Challenge It Solves

You're driving clicks, but they're not turning into leads or sales. Your traffic looks healthy, but your business results don't match. Conversion rate tells you whether your landing page and offer actually deliver on what your ad promised.

The mistake most agencies make is blaming Google Ads when conversion rate is low. Usually, it's not a targeting problem. It's a landing page or offer problem.

The Metric Explained

Conversion rate measures the percentage of clicks that complete your desired action—form submissions, purchases, phone calls, whatever you've defined as a conversion. It's calculated as conversions divided by clicks, multiplied by 100.

A 5% conversion rate means 5 out of every 100 visitors take your desired action. This metric reveals whether your entire funnel—from ad copy to landing page to offer—is aligned. Low conversion rates usually signal a disconnect somewhere in that chain.

Conversion rate varies dramatically based on what you're asking people to do. A free trial signup might convert at 10-15%, while a high-ticket purchase might convert at 1-2%. Context matters more than raw numbers.

Implementation Steps

1. Segment conversion rate by campaign and ad group to identify which targeting strategies actually drive results, not just traffic.

2. Review landing pages for campaigns with conversion rates below your account average—look for message match between ad copy and landing page headlines.

3. Test different conversion actions if your primary conversion rate is low—sometimes adding a secondary action like "Request Info" reveals that traffic quality is fine, but the ask is too big.

Pro Tips

Watch for conversion rate differences between device types. If mobile converts significantly worse than desktop, your landing page probably isn't mobile-optimized. Also, compare conversion rates across match types. Exact match keywords typically convert better than broad match because search intent is clearer. Use this insight to shift budget toward higher-converting match types.

4. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Your Actual Customer Cost

The Challenge It Solves

You know your total ad spend and total conversions, but you don't know if you're actually profitable. CPA tells you exactly how much you're paying to acquire each customer or lead, which is the only way to determine if your campaigns are sustainable.

In most accounts I audit, advertisers are shocked when they calculate true CPA. They've been celebrating conversion volume without realizing each conversion costs more than it's worth.

The Metric Explained

CPA measures your cost to acquire a single conversion. It's calculated as total ad spend divided by total conversions. If you spent $1,000 and got 20 conversions, your CPA is $50.

This metric is critical because it directly ties ad spend to business results. You can't evaluate campaign performance without knowing acquisition cost. A campaign generating 100 conversions at $200 CPA might be worse than a campaign generating 10 conversions at $20 CPA, depending on your margins.

CPA should always be evaluated against your customer lifetime value or profit per conversion. If your average customer is worth $500 and your CPA is $75, you're in good shape. If your CPA is $400, you're losing money on every sale.

Implementation Steps

1. Calculate your maximum allowable CPA based on profit margins—this becomes your bidding ceiling and campaign evaluation benchmark.

2. Identify campaigns or ad groups with CPA above your target and either pause them or reduce bids until they become profitable.

3. Shift budget from high-CPA campaigns to low-CPA campaigns—sounds obvious, but most advertisers spread budget evenly instead of concentrating it where performance is strongest.

Pro Tips

Don't panic if CPA fluctuates day-to-day. Evaluate it over weekly or monthly windows to account for natural variance. Also, segment CPA by new versus returning customers if possible. Acquiring new customers typically costs more than re-engaging existing ones. If you're treating them the same in your bidding strategy, you're leaving money on the table.

5. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The Ultimate Profitability Indicator

The Challenge It Solves

You're tracking conversions and CPA, but you still don't know if your campaigns are actually making money. ROAS tells you how much revenue you're generating for every dollar spent on ads—the clearest indicator of campaign profitability.

What usually happens here is advertisers set arbitrary ROAS targets without considering their profit margins. A 3:1 ROAS might be excellent for high-margin products but unsustainable for low-margin ones.

The Metric Explained

ROAS measures revenue generated per dollar spent on ads. It's calculated as revenue divided by ad spend. A 4:1 ROAS means you're generating $4 in revenue for every $1 spent on ads.

This metric is essential for e-commerce and any business tracking revenue per conversion. Unlike CPA, which only tells you acquisition cost, ROAS tells you whether you're actually profitable. It accounts for the fact that not all conversions are worth the same amount.

ROAS targets should be based on your profit margins and business model. If your margins are 40%, you need at least a 2.5:1 ROAS just to break even. Understanding this relationship prevents you from celebrating a 3:1 ROAS when you're actually losing money.

Implementation Steps

1. Set up conversion value tracking in Google Ads so revenue data flows into your reports—without this, you're flying blind on profitability.

2. Calculate your break-even ROAS based on profit margins and use it as your minimum acceptable performance threshold.

3. Segment ROAS by product category or service type to identify which offerings are most profitable to advertise—then shift budget accordingly.

Pro Tips

Watch for ROAS differences between new and returning customers. Returning customers typically have higher ROAS because they already trust you. Use this insight to create separate campaigns with different bidding strategies for each audience. Also, don't chase infinite ROAS increases. There's usually a point where scaling budget lowers ROAS but still increases total profit. Find that sweet spot.

6. Search Impression Share: Your Competitive Visibility Gauge

The Challenge It Solves

You're getting conversions, but you have no idea how much opportunity you're missing. Your competitors are showing up more often than you, and you don't even realize it. Search impression share reveals how often your ads appear compared to how often they could appear.

The mistake most advertisers make is assuming their campaigns are maxed out because they're getting clicks. Meanwhile, they're losing 60% of possible impressions to competitors.

The Metric Explained

Search impression share measures how often your ads appear compared to total eligible impressions. A 40% impression share means your ads showed up for 40% of searches where they could have appeared. The remaining 60% went to competitors or weren't filled.

This metric tells you about competitive positioning and budget constraints. Low impression share usually means either your bids are too low or your budget is capping out before the day ends. Google also reports impression share lost to rank and impression share lost to budget, which tells you exactly why you're missing impressions.

Search impression share is often overlooked, but it reveals scaling opportunities. If you're profitable at 30% impression share, imagine what happens when you capture 60%.

Implementation Steps

1. Review impression share metrics at the campaign level and identify campaigns below 50%—these are your scaling opportunities.

2. For campaigns losing impression share to budget, increase daily budgets gradually and monitor whether the additional spend maintains profitability.

3. For campaigns losing impression share to rank, increase bids or improve Quality Score to become more competitive in the auction.

Pro Tips

Don't chase 100% impression share. It's usually too expensive and captures low-intent searches that don't convert. Aim for 60-80% on your best-performing campaigns. Also, watch impression share on branded campaigns. If it's below 90%, competitors are bidding on your brand terms and stealing traffic you should own. Increase bids on branded keywords immediately.

7. Search Terms Report Metrics: What People Are Actually Searching

The Challenge It Solves

Your keywords look good, but you have no idea what search queries are actually triggering your ads. You're paying for clicks that have nothing to do with your business because broad match is showing your ads for irrelevant searches. The search terms report reveals true search intent.

In most accounts I audit, the search terms report is where I find the biggest opportunities. It shows the gap between what you think you're targeting and what you're actually paying for.

The Metric Explained

The search terms report in Google Ads shows actual queries triggering your ads. Unlike your keyword list, which shows what you're targeting, this report shows what Google's matching algorithm decided was relevant. The difference is often substantial, especially with broad match keywords.

This report is critical for optimization because it reveals both problems and opportunities. You'll find irrelevant queries wasting budget and high-intent queries you should be targeting directly. It's the most actionable report in Google Ads if you know how to use it.

Many advertisers focus heavily on conversion metrics while ignoring upstream indicators like search term quality. But if your search terms are junk, no amount of landing page optimization will save your campaigns.

Implementation Steps

1. Review your search terms report weekly and filter by cost to identify expensive irrelevant queries—add these as negative keywords immediately.

2. Look for high-performing search terms that aren't in your keyword list—add them as exact or phrase match keywords to gain more control and lower costs.

3. Segment search terms by conversion rate to identify patterns in what language converts best—use this insight to refine ad copy and keyword targeting.

Pro Tips

Build a robust negative keyword list from day one. Most wasted spend comes from irrelevant search terms you could have blocked. Also, don't just add negative keywords reactively. Look for patterns. If you're getting lots of "free" or "DIY" searches, add those as negative keywords across all campaigns. The search terms report is where optimization actually happens.

8. Wasted Spend Percentage: The Hidden Profit Killer

The Challenge It Solves

You're tracking conversions and celebrating wins, but a significant portion of your budget is going to clicks that will never convert. Wasted spend from irrelevant search terms is a common issue, particularly in accounts using broad match without robust negative keyword lists. This metric reveals how much money you're throwing away.

What usually happens here is advertisers see their conversion rate and think everything's fine. They don't realize that 30-40% of their spend is going to searches that have zero chance of converting.

The Metric Explained

Wasted spend percentage measures budget lost to irrelevant clicks that don't align with your business goals. It's calculated by identifying spend on search terms that clearly won't convert—informational queries, job seekers, competitors researching you, people looking for free alternatives.

This metric isn't reported directly in Google Ads. You have to calculate it manually by reviewing your search terms report and flagging irrelevant spend. But it's worth the effort because reducing wasted spend is the fastest way to improve profitability without changing anything else.

In accounts with loose targeting and minimal negative keywords, wasted spend can easily reach 40% of total budget. That means nearly half your ad spend is subsidizing Google's revenue instead of driving business results.

Implementation Steps

1. Export your search terms report for the past 30 days and manually flag queries that are clearly irrelevant to your business—calculate total spend on these terms.

2. Add all flagged irrelevant terms as negative keywords, then monitor whether wasted spend decreases over the next two weeks.

3. Review wasted spend monthly and set a target to keep it below 10% of total spend—this becomes a key performance indicator for account health.

Pro Tips

The fastest way to reduce wasted spend is to tighten match types. If you're using broad match extensively, test shifting to phrase or exact match on your core keywords. You'll lose some volume, but the quality improvement usually more than compensates. Also, build negative keyword lists at the account level so they apply across all campaigns automatically. This prevents the same junk terms from appearing in multiple campaigns.

Putting These Metrics to Work

Here's the implementation priority that delivers the fastest ROI: Start with wasted spend and search terms. Review your search terms report this week and eliminate the most expensive irrelevant queries. This immediately improves profitability without requiring complex changes.

Next, layer in Quality Score improvements. Focus on keywords scoring 5 or below and rewrite ad copy to improve relevance. This reduces costs and increases impression share simultaneously.

Then optimize for conversion rate and CPA. Once you've cleaned up wasted spend and improved Quality Score, you'll have better data to evaluate what's actually working. Test landing pages, refine targeting, and shift budget toward campaigns with the lowest CPA.

Finally, track ROAS and impression share to identify scaling opportunities. These metrics tell you where you can invest more budget profitably and where you're leaving money on the table by not competing aggressively enough.

Here's the thing: Tracking metrics without acting on them is just expensive data collection. The accounts that win are the ones that build a weekly metrics review habit and make incremental improvements consistently.

Most advertisers log in, glance at the dashboard, and move on. If you commit to reviewing these eight metrics every week and making one optimization based on what you find, you'll outperform 90% of accounts within three months.

Ready to optimize your Google Ads campaigns faster? Start your free 7-day trial of Keywordme and eliminate junk search terms, build high-intent keyword lists, and apply match types instantly—right inside Google Ads. No spreadsheets, no switching tabs, just quick, seamless optimization at $12/month after your trial.