In 2014, 72% of marketers using Google AdWords said they planned to increase their pay per click (PPC) budgets. With increasing budgets, marketers have a greater responsibility to show results and prove that the ROI justifies the budget. This “proving” of your work is most commonly done through reporting.
Often times, though, marketers have a tough time determining what data to include in their PPC reports. You want to share overall statistics, while also providing more in-depth analysis on the information that your boss or client needs to make informed business decisions. How do you provide the right information, without overwhelming the reader with data they may not understand? Here, we take a look at a few key metrics from Google AdWords that you’ll want to include in a report to best support your PPC efforts.
Knowing that our audience is already overloaded, it is important, when we create a report, that our data tell a story. That it provides not only the hard facts, but also the context and the insight our readers need to take action based on the data. This is especially true when compiling web analytics reports that are intended to inform a business’ digital strategy.
However, over time, as your website begins to grow, problems can arise that lead to inaccurate measurements. Without careful consideration from the get-go, your analytics account could be tracking sessions from the wrong source or irrelevant visits that ultimately skew data. Even if your data is accurate, it may be incomplete. You might not be capturing critical information like AdWords campaign details and goal conversions that are easy to track with a proper setup.
The most important aspect of web analytics is being able to utilize the information you collect to create strategic and actionable next steps for your company. As your firm’s analytics expert, the best way you can help do that is by creating specific reports for the various departments throughout your organization that focus on their key goals.