How to read a Google Ads report (and what your agency leaves out)
By Pan · Updated
The myth
If impressions, clicks and click-through rate are going up, your ads are working.
The truth
Impressions and clicks measure attention, not business. They're easy to grow and they look good in a chart. A report built on them can shine in a month the phone didn't ring.
Four numbers tell you whether the ads work: what you spent, how many real leads or sales came in, what each one cost, and how many of your search terms were relevant.
If a report leaves out conversions or the search terms, ask why. Those are the two places waste hides.
Check this yourself
- Open Google Ads → Campaigns and add the Conversions and Cost / conv. columns.
- Open Insights and reports → Search terms. Read the first 50 things people actually typed.
- Count the ones you'd never want to pay for. That share of your budget is waste.
What I'd do in your shoes
- Ask for a one-page monthly report: spend, leads, cost per lead, and what changed.
- Match the leads in the report to the real calls and form fills you received.
- Read the search terms every month and add negative keywords.
Questions
What's a good click-through rate?
It varies by industry, and on its own it doesn't tell you much. A high click-through rate on the wrong searches is still waste.
My report shows more conversions than calls I got. Why?
Tracking may be counting things that aren't leads, like page views or button clicks, or counting one call twice. Ask exactly what counts as a conversion.
Want me to look at yours?
Come to a free workshop, or book a 25-minute straight-talk call.
Read next
- Paying for junk clicksTwo default settings can send a search budget to sites and apps nobody chose.
- Who owns your ad account?If the agency owns it, they own your history. Leave and you start from zero.
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