Tracking & Reporting
Google Ads — Reading the Numbers
Always check WhatConverts before acting on Google Ads data. Google Ads conversion numbers lag and can look alarming for reasons that are completely normal. Lead count from WhatConverts is the primary signal.
1
Weekly checks
Every Monday and Friday, run through these for each active client:
- WhatConverts lead count is consistent with last week
- Budget is not exhausted — check daily budget pacing
- No campaigns paused unexpectedly
- Impressions are not suddenly zero (ad disapproval or payment issue)
- No "Limited by budget" warnings that need flagging to Josh
2
Key metrics — what they mean
| Metric | What it means | What's a concern |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | How many times the ad was shown | Sudden drop = ad disapproval, payment issue, or keyword issue |
| Clicks | How many people clicked the ad | Low CTR vs historical average may mean ad copy needs refreshing |
| CTR | Click-through rate. Clicks ÷ impressions. | Under 3% for search ads is worth noting, but compare to the account's own history first |
| Avg. CPC | Average cost per click | Significant increase may indicate increased competition or bidding issues |
| Conversions | Google Ads-recorded conversion events (from WC Leads import) | Zero conversions when WhatConverts shows leads = import broken. Flag to Teddi. |
| Cost / conv. | How much was spent per conversion | Only meaningful alongside WhatConverts data. High CPA ≠ bad if leads are high quality. |
| Conv. value | Dollar value of conversions | $0 is normal — WhatConverts doesn't pass values by default. See WhatConverts guide. |
| Search Impr. Share | % of eligible auctions where the ad appeared | Low impression share + "lost IS (budget)" = needs budget increase. Flag to Josh. |
3
Normal vs not normal
| What you see | Normal? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Conv. value = $0 | Normal | No action. Expected unless values set in WhatConverts. |
| WC Calls — Inactive | Normal | No action. See WhatConverts guide. |
| "Needs attention" on Contact goal | Usually normal | Check WC Leads is recording. If yes, ignore. |
| "Limited by budget" | Flag to Josh | Don't increase budget yourself. Flag to Josh with the current daily budget and how often it's hitting the limit. |
| Conversions drop to zero | Investigate | Check WhatConverts first. If leads are still coming, the WC import is broken — flag to Teddi. |
| Impressions drop to zero | Investigate | Check for disapproved ads, paused campaigns, or payment issues in billing. |
| Ad disapproval | Fix or flag | Read the disapproval reason. Policy violations need Josh. Formatting issues you can fix yourself. |
| Spend $0 today | Check | Check campaigns aren't paused and budget hasn't run out at account level. |
4
Campaign health checks
Search campaigns
- Ad strength: aim for "Good" or "Excellent" on RSAs. "Poor" is worth flagging.
- Quality Score on key keywords: below 5 is worth noting to Josh
- Search terms report: check weekly for irrelevant queries that need negative keywords added
Performance Max
- Asset group status: all assets should be approved
- PMax is a black box — don't over-interpret day-to-day fluctuations. Evaluate over 30-day windows.
- If PMax and Search are running together, check that they're not cannibalising each other
5
When to escalate
| Situation | Who to escalate to |
|---|---|
| Budget recommendations (increase / decrease) | Josh |
| Campaign structure changes | Josh |
| Bidding strategy changes | Josh |
| Conversion import broken (WC Leads not flowing to Google Ads) | Teddi |
| Tracking pixel or GTag issue | Teddi |
| Ad account suspended | Josh immediately |
| Client complaining about lead quality | Review WhatConverts data first, then Josh |
| Policy violation / ad disapproval you can't resolve | Josh |