KPI (key performance indicator)

A KPI turns the account into a yes or no: is the advertising doing its job? Choosing the wrong one, such as clicks for a lead business, makes the account look good while the business does not grow.

The right KPI depends on the business: cost per lead or call for services, ROAS or profit for shops, cost per new customer for subscriptions.

1. Choose the KPI before reading reports, not after.
2. Add the matching columns: Cost / conv., Conv. value / cost, or your own calculated metrics.
3. Split brand and non-brand before judging.
4. Use custom columns to show the KPI directly in Google Ads.

A cleaning company judges its account on cost per booked job, not on clicks or leads. It imports bookings from its CRM, so the KPI sits in Google Ads and bidding can aim at it.

• Reporting many numbers and deciding on none.
• Blending calls, forms and sales into one cost per conversion.
• Judging a KPI on too little data.

The audit checks Oppy runs on this, each with its own page.

• Different results added into one number
• How much of the budget buys the account's own name
• Too little has happened here to judge performance

• Cost per acquisition (CPA): Cost divided by conversions: what one result costs.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Conversion value divided by cost, often shown as a percentage: €400 of sales from €100 of ads is a 400% ROAS.
• Conversion rate: Conversions divided by clicks.