Google Ads Section
What each metric in the Google Ads section means and how to interpret paid search performance.
The Google Ads section covers paid search performance for the report period, including spend efficiency, conversion performance, and top campaigns and keywords.
Summary metrics
| Metric | What it means | Good or bad? |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | Total amount spent on Google Ads | Context-dependent |
| Impressions | Total times ads were shown | Higher generally means more reach |
| Clicks | Total clicks on ads | Higher is generally better |
| CTR | Click-through rate — clicks ÷ impressions | Higher is better; typical range 2–10% depending on industry |
| CPC | Average cost per click | Lower is better for the same quality traffic |
| Conversions | Conversions tracked via Google Ads conversion tracking | Higher is better |
| ROAS | Return on ad spend — conversion value ÷ spend | Higher is better; above 3–4x is generally strong |
| Average quality score | Average quality score across active keywords | Higher is better; 7–10 is good |
Top campaigns
Shows the top 5 campaigns by spend. Useful for identifying which campaigns are consuming the most budget and how efficiently they are performing.
Top keywords
Shows the top 10 keywords by spend. High-spend keywords with low conversions may warrant bid adjustments or match-type refinement.
Common questions
ROAS is zero ROAS requires conversion values to be tracked in Google Ads. If conversion tracking is not set up, or if conversion events do not have a value assigned, ROAS will show as zero. This is accurate data — it reflects what Google Ads is reporting.
Spend went up but ROAS went down This often indicates that scaling spend exposed lower-performing segments of the campaign (broader audiences, lower-intent keywords). Review which campaigns drove the increased spend and whether their conversion rates held up.
Quality score is low (below 5) A low quality score usually means the ad, keyword, and landing page are not well aligned. Google rewards relevance — ads that closely match the keyword intent and land on a relevant page score higher.