4 suggestions for maximizing the Google Ads interface

Want your Google Ads dashboards to just show you the most crucial information? Find out how to make secret account features accessible.

Although Google Ads' charts and tables offer an enormous number of facts and data, they don't differentiate between high and low priority. Instead, the user interface mixes everything together, frequently omitting important details and emphasizing the unimportant.

You'll discover how to change it in this post.

Although the "factory defaults" conceal the lead, important nuances expose the Google Ads interface's secret hook for your data tale.

Open your Google Ads account, then let's get started.

1. Open the lead.

Google Ads will provide you with a ton of information without ever getting tremendous the point, just like young Ephron and her journalism classmates did.

It is your goal to determine what is most important and make that the center of your tables and charts.

Start here if you're feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data and stats in the Google Ads interface:

your overall summary card, please.

By default, the summary card on your overview page includes uninteresting stats.

This card shows clicks, impressions, cost, and CPC. None of these indicators are likely your most crucial ones, so why would you include them on an overview card?

How to correct the overview card summary

• To alter each measure, click the drop-down arrow next to it.
• To add or remove a scorecard from the chart, simply click on its backdrop.
• To modify the date segment or download the data, click the three dots in the top right corner.

The card becomes significantly more useful only by changing your metrics to key performance indicators (KPIs).

The majority of clients are less concerned with the quantity of clicks they received than they are with the $25 million in revenue they generated and the trajectory of that statistic.

You can determine whether you're on pace to meet your goals and where to focus more effort by setting your card to match your KPIs.

Correct your statistics table

The statistics tables in the Google Ads interface aren't calibrated to make it easier for you to understand what they mean, just like the overview summary card.

The most significant metrics should be located on the left because we read English from left to right.

Though are they?

Your columns probably aren't properly ordered if you get headaches from looking at your stats in the UI.

How to include and set up columns

• Select Modify columns from the drop-down menu after clicking on Columns.
• Columns should be changed or customized to reflect your relevant KPIs.

• columns such that the most significant ones are at the top.
• Then click Save.

Although changing columns isn't a well-kept secret of the Google Ads interface, if you don't already do it, it will provide you a significant advantage in account optimization.

It is almost tough to choose what to do next after reviewing a statistic table constructed like this:

It becomes clearer after organizing the columns and including a timeline comparison:

You can determine right away which campaigns are succeeding when compared to one another and to previous year.

To improve account decisions and avoid the feeling of dread that comes from staring at data without knowing what to do next, prioritize the most crucial information.

2. Separate your conversion efforts

We've established that it will be simpler for you to optimize if you give Google Ads conversions top priority in the interface.

However, not every conversion is created equal.

This is due to the fact that "conversions" are not a standardized metric and might relate to various actions with various business values.

Any of the following can be recorded in Google Ads as a conversion:

• A sale
• A page view
• the download
• making a call
• Clicking a link

However, by default, all conversions are rolled up and reported on as a single activity. The advertiser has the discretion to specify which actions are tracked as conversions.

An example of a Google Ad statistics table with 358 conversions and a reasonable CPA of about $5.19 is shown below:

But what do the conversions that are displayed here actually mean?

Go to Segment and choose Conversions > Conversion action to find out.

It turns out that booking demos, the company's main KPI, accounted for fewer than 4% of conversions. Page views (About Us, View Pricing) that were automatically imported into the account and logged as conversions made up the remaining 96% of conversions:

The true CPA for a scheduled demo is $142, not $5. (Division of $1,857 by 13 demos.)

In order to improve your tracking or alter your optimization strategy, applying this segment can help you rapidly determine which conversions are being monitored and how each performs at a campaign level.

It might not be the tale you're looking for, but it's the one you need.

3. Do you actually "message match" or just think you do?

You are aware of what a message match is. When the keyword, ad, and landing page are all focused on the same subject, this occurs.

Message match, also referred to as "congruence," is crucial for raising your performance, raising your quality score, and retaining the interest of your prospects.

But matching every single keyword to every single ad is no easy task, especially in light of the significant text diversity introduced by responsive search advertising (RSAs). (Perhaps on versions 1, 2, and 4 the keyword matches flawlessly but fails on version 3.)

Here's how to determine whether your advertisements and keywords are in sync.

Sort your adverts based on keywords.

Click Segment > Keyword text in the statistics table on your Ad page.

To determine whether all of your keywords are performing similarly or if there are any outliers, you will play the "one of these things is not like the other" game in this view.

The table above demonstrates that while "sales" aren't generating any sales, the brand "promo" ad is performing admirably on searches for deals and coupons. Furthermore, the CTR for this ad is only 7%, which is significantly lower than the usual CTR of 25%.

So what now?

You might:

• The keyword is paused.
• Edit the advertisement.
• Make a new ad group that highlights the term in the ads more clearly.

Based on the search, advertisements, and offer, any of these choices may be the greatest option for improved message fit.

4. Your data won't be accurate if you don't segment ad extensions.

Is there a more deceptive feature of the Google Ads interface than the Extensions tables? This table truly eliminates the lead rather than just "burying" it.

For illustration, let's visit and see how our sitelink for "Gift Cards" is doing.

It looks fantastic, no? This extension is exploding with 73K clicks and $1.6 million in income!

You are aware of the outcome. Select This Extension vs. Other under Segment. Let's now take a second look at the performance:

It turns out that the sitelink received only 64 clicks, generating less than $2K in earnings.

The remaining performance information relates to the headline or, more broadly, any other element of the advertisement that ran concurrently with the sitelink but wasn't it.

By default, the table will present you with false or partial information regarding your extensions. Use This Extension vs. Other to compare performance accurately at all times.

Bring out your inner reporter

You can learn to find the lead and concentrate on what is most important in your story, much like an investigative journalist.

With little to no notice or fuss, the Google Ads interface is continually updating. The information in this article is merely the tip of the iceberg.

For illustration:

• Segmenting landing pages by device type can help you determine how mobile landing pages impact your conversion rates.
• By segmenting by Network, check to see if Search Partner volume has changed (with search partners).
• To rapidly see the distribution of terms generated by related inquiries, filter your search term data by search phrase text.

Explore new filters, segments, columns, and report features to see how you can use them. In no time, you'll be a pro at making your point quickly!.