Google Ads quarterly report template. The last quarter against the one before: results, goal and campaigns.
The quarterly report is for the budget conversation: did the last three months meet the goal, and where should next quarter's money go? It opens on the last calendar quarter against the one before, with seven cards and the account's main goal.
- Last quarter vs the one before
- 7 cards
- Needs a main goal
What is in the quarterly report template? Seven cards, in this order.
How do you read a quarterly report?
Pick the right comparison
Quarter against quarter misleads any business with seasons. A retailer's fourth quarter beats its third every year. Each key figure can carry its own comparison, so you can set ROAS against the same days last year and keep spend against the quarter before.
Read the chart by week
Thirteen weekly points smooth out the noise of single days. Look for steps rather than slopes: a level that changes from one week to the next and stays there. Then find the week in What Oppy did, or in your own notes, where something changed.
Main goal
The card sets the quarter's results against the main goal set on the Goals page: a number of results a month, a maximum cost per result, or both. The monthly number is scaled to the quarter's days. With no goal set, the card says No goal set yet.
Top campaigns beside Campaigns
Read the two together. Top campaigns ranks by conversions, Campaigns sorts by spend. A campaign high on the spend list and missing from the top six by conversions is the first one to give less. A campaign in the top six that spends little is the first one to give more.
How do you turn a quarterly report into next quarter's budget?
Before you move money to a strong campaign, check that it can take it. Its impression share lost to budget says how many searches it missed for lack of money. A campaign that already wins most of its searches will not convert more just because it has more budget.
Move budget in steps over the quarter, not in one go. Smart bidding needs time after each change, and a large jump makes it hard to see what the money did.
Then write the new numbers down. Set the next goal on the Goals page, so the next quarterly report reads against it, and see what the forecast expects the account to do with its current budgets.
What does a quarterly report show on a made-up account?
Oakham Furniture
A made-up account, for illustration
Oakham Furniture, a made-up furniture shop, sells online and set a main goal of 400 sales a month. Its third-quarter report shows €48,000 of spend, a ROAS of 4.1 against 4.6 the quarter before, and a Main goal card behind target.
Top campaigns puts Performance Max for sofas first by conversions. Campaigns shows Search for dining tables third by spend, yet it is missing from the top six. The sofa campaign loses about a fifth of its searches to budget.
The plan for the fourth quarter: take €1,000 a month from dining tables, give it to sofas, and check in six weeks whether sales rose more than the cost did.
Which accounts is the quarterly report template for?
Any account with a quarter of history. Two cards depend on your setup: Main goal stays empty until a goal is set, and ROAS stays empty until your conversion actions carry values. A firm that sells by quote can put cost per conversion against its goal instead and drop ROAS.
Customize it to add a Budget pacing card (see the budget pacing guide) or a Note with the decisions you agreed. The monthly report holds the month-by-month detail behind a quarter.
Questions about the quarterly report template.
Anything else? Ask Oppy in the product, or write to the team.
Which days does the quarterly report template cover?
The last whole calendar quarter in the account's time zone, so January to March, April to June, July to September or October to December, compared with the quarter before.
What does the Main goal card need?
A main goal set on the Goals page: a number of results a month, a maximum cost per result, or both. Without one, the card says No goal set yet and the rest of the report still shows.
Why is ROAS empty in my quarterly report?
ROAS is conversion value divided by spend. If your conversion actions carry no value, there is nothing to divide. Swap ROAS for another figure in the Key figures settings.
Can I compare the quarter with the same quarter last year?
Yes. Pick Same days last year in Compare with. Each key figure can also have its own comparison.
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