Top 3 Metrics to Optimize Google Ads

The advent of Google Ads has permanently altered the digital marketing world. This advertising platform allows thousands of brands across the globe to target their audiences more effectively while utilizing valuable data from Google Analytics 4 to further enhance marketing activities.

December 2, 2022 - The advent of Google Ads has permanently altered the digital marketing world. This advertising platform allows thousands of brands across the globe to target their audiences more effectively while utilizing valuable data from Google Analytics 4 to further enhance marketing activities.

    Anyone who has used Google Ads understands that the platform collects a wide range of metrics through GA4. Attempting to focus your attention on every single one of these is next to impossible. However, you can still enhance your marketing campaigns by zooming in on a few key metrics that offer the most value.

    Let’s look at three key metrics to optimize Google Ads.

    Top 3 Metrics to Optimize Google Ads

    1. Event Count

    Universal Analytics used to track a metric known as “Total Events” and pageviews separately. This tracked the total number of times a particular event occurred independent of the pageviews. However, Google Analytics 4 doesn’t do this. 

    Instead, GA4 treats events differently. While UA would associate actions with each event, GA4 treats all actions as events.

    With this in mind, “Event Count” essentially tracks the number of times an action has been performed. So if a user has clicked on a specific Google Ad 3 times, GA4 would report an Event Count of 3.

    WHERE TO FIND IT: You can find this metric by navigating to the Report section of GA4, selecting Engagement, and then Events.

     

     

    It is possible to utilize the Event Count metric in numerous ways depending on your exact goal. However, you should generally focus your efforts on tracking things with a high Event Count as this will tell you what users are engaging with the most. You can then formulate your Google Ads strategy around this.

    For example, you might notice that lots of users are clicking on a presentation near the middle of the web page. In this scenario, you can move a “Find Out More” button that is located near the button of the page closer to this presentation’s position. The “Find Out More Page” can then lead to a sign-up or purchasing page.

    1. Active Users

    Google defines the “Active Users” metric in three different ways depending on the browser or app the user is using.

    • If the user is visiting from a website, it logs the first_visit event or engagement_time metric.
    • If the user is visiting through an Android app, it logs the first_open event or engagement_time_msec metric.Lastly, if the user is visiting from an iOS app, it will log the first_open event or the user_engagement event.

    Tip: Don’t confuse “Active Users” with “Total Users”. Total Users is the total number of users that are identified by their unique identifier as, for example, cookies or user id.

    You might be wondering what the term “engagement” refers to. An engaged session is one where the user has been on for more than 10 seconds or has performed a conversion event. Similarly, it also encompasses when the user has engaged in 2 or more page or screen views.

    This “engagement” aspect is why this metric is called “Active Users” rather than Total Users. Universal Analytics did not include any metric similar to “Active Users”. Therefore, its inclusion in GA4 gives marketers and web designers access to some very useful information.

    WHERE TO FIND IT: You can find the Active Users metric in GA4 by navigating to Reports, selecting Acquisition, and then Traffic Acquisition.

     

     

     

    There are many different ways to use the Active Users metric. However, one of the best strategies to utilize it is to create a specific audience made up of Active Users. This will give you an idea of the users who are likely to come back to your app or website in the future. You can then create remarketing strategies to target them and boost your conversions.

    1. Cost Per Click

    Cost Per Click (CPC) is another important GA4 metric needed to optimize your Google Ads. This refers to the amount of money you must pay Google each time a user clicks an ad. Tracking this metric is important because it is possible to reduce your CPC with a well-optimized ad campaign. 

    So how is CPC calculated? The formula is simply the total amount you have spent divided by the number of clicks. So if you have spent $150 and received 750 clicks, you average CPC will be $0.20.

    If you discover your CPC is higher than it should be, you can try different strategies to bring it down. One method is to use long-tail keywords in your ads. This refers to keywords that consist of long phrases of four words or more.

    Similarly, you can try reducing your keyword bids. This will make it easier to reach the second or third position in Google search results without spending a large amount of funds.

    Getting the hang of using CPC effectively can take some time, but marketers can help save their brand lots of money once they find the right balance.

     

    Learning How to Utilize Metrics to Optimize Google Ads

    As you can see, the aforementioned metrics can go a long way in helping you optimize Google Ads for marketing purposes. Every digital marketing professional who utilizes Google Ads should study these metrics to unlock the ad platform’s full potential.

    If you need assistance with Google Ads, please reach out to the experts at Napkyn. We understand this platform’s capabilities and can tailor your Google Ads campaigns to align with your brand’s marketing needs.

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