Posted by: Shannon Denny, Senior Marketing Coordinator

You’ve implemented your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign and are thrilled to see users are clicking on your ads, but it is important to evaluate the metrics below to ensure you’re getting the most qualified users to your site and are seeing conversions from them too.

Clicks
When implementing a PPC campaign, one of your goals is to drive traffic to your site. If a user clicks on your ad, it means it stands out among your competitors and is relevant enough for the user to check it out, potentially driving a conversion. If your campaign isn’t seeing many clicks, you should evaluate the keywords you are bidding on and the messaging of your ad to make sure they are relevant.

Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the price you’re paying per click as a way to determine the campaign’s ROI. A high CPC indicates a competitive environment or a poor quality score (meaning your ad may not be relevant). By adjusting your ad text or landing page, and evaluating the terms you are bidding on, you may be able to increase your quality score and decrease your CPC.

Click-through Rate (CTR)
CTR is one of the most important metrics in determining the success of your PPC campaign as it indicates how your ad is performing compared to others in the same search environment. A high CTR means users are finding your ad most relevant and appealing to their interests. A low CTR may indicate poor positioning, irrelevant content or un-interesting ad text.

Conversion Rates and Cost-Per-Conversion
The main goal of most PPC campaigns is to drive relevant traffic to your site and convert them into sales or leads. While you may be receiving a high number of clicks, if your conversion rate is low, this may indicate your ads are not pulling in qualified users. If this is the case, you should re-visit your messaging, destination URL and terms you are bidding on to make sure you are reaching the right audience and sending them to the most relevant page on your site. You may also consider geo-targeting your campaign, if appropriate, to ensure your ads are only being shown to users in a defined geographic area.

Bounce Rate 
If you have the proper Google Analytics tracking code on your site, you will be able to examine the bounce rate of each keyword in your campaign. Bounce rate can help you see if users are getting to your site and leaving because the content is not relevant to their interests or the page is taking too long to load. A high bounce rate can greatly reduce the number of conversions you see come from your PPC campaign.

By keeping an eye on these performance metrics, you can make the appropriate adjustments to your campaign or landing page to ensure you’re paying the lowest cost for the most relevant clicks that will ultimately lead to conversions on your site.