The importance of PPC KPIs in client retention (and 12 to track)

When it comes to digital marketing for clients, there are a lot of account management metrics you need to track — and some that are just vanity metrics. Tracking the right KPIs and reporting back to your clients means you can show the positive impact you’re having on their business and also helps you determine what's working and where you might need to change up your strategy.

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With so many things to potentially track and report on, it can be overwhelming (and time-intensive) to figure out the best account management KPIs for your clients. Not to mention then implementing a reporting system that works for your workflow. We’ve rounded up 12 PPC KPIs you should be tracking and why they’re so important for you and your clients.

Why PPC KPIs matter for client retention

Goal alignment

If you’re doing digital marketing on behalf of clients, whether you’re packaging SEO and PPC management together or just offering PPC management as a standalone service, it’s crucial to understand why KPIs need to be a key part of your digital marketing strategy. One of the first things to do when you present your strategy to your clients is to ensure you’re working towards the right goals.

If you and your clients don’t align on goals, you could be working towards things that don’t matter to their business — wasting time, money, and effort. Including which account management metrics you’ll be reporting on and why in your strategy is a great way to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Clear KPIs make it easy to measure success in PPC campaigns, and your clients will always know what’s working. An informed client is a happy client, and happy clients stick around.

Performance tracking

Whether you’re performing the PPC work yourself or using a white-label digital advertising service, you need to track the performance of your campaigns. (Pro tip: using a white-label PPC service for agencies like Vendasta can save a lot of time and effort, helping you scale your business.)

By identifying the account management KPIs you’ll track, you and your clients can see exactly what kind of impact your efforts are having on the business. Reporting on growth means you can establish trust and value over time, leading to a longer working relationship.

Data-driven decision-making

Good marketing decisions are backed by data, and utilizing account marketing metrics help you make informed decisions. Tools such as Vendasta’s Advertising Intelligence white-label reporting software can make it easier by bringing all your ad campaign metrics in one place with automated reporting.

Monitoring and reporting on KPIs ensures you are consistently optimizing your clients’ campaigns, improving results and offering even more value to your clients.

Client communication and transparency

By setting out which account marketing metrics you’ll be reporting on from the beginning, you can highlight the work you’re doing, the impact it’s having on their business, areas of improvement and growth, and where you’ve had success. With consistent reporting, your clients will always be aware of what work is being done, building trust and managing their expectations.

Continuous opportunities for improvement

Using account management KPIs to set benchmarks for performance allows you to quickly spot which campaigns need optimization. You’ll be able to update the copy, creative, or allocate your budget where it makes the most sense. Demonstrating this commitment to continuous improvement to your clients’ business builds confidence and improves retention.

If this sounds like a lot of work you just don’t have time for, a PPC reseller program might be the solution for your agency. You get to take the credit for performance, build a new revenue stream, scale your business by bringing on new clients with white-label PPC, and offer more value to current clients — also improving retention by becoming a more valuable partner. For more ways to serve your clients (and improve retention), check out this guide on low-cost marketing techniques.

12 PPC KPIs you should always track to keep your clients happy

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR):

A click-through rate refers to the percentage of people who actually click on a link, ad, or CTA to go through to your clients’ websites. A high CTR typically means the ad is relevant and engaging to the target audience.

If the CTR is low, it can indicate either the copy needs to be optimized, the targeting needs to be adjusted to find the right audience, or both. Including CTR in your account marketing metrics is a good way to measure performance and optimize your PPC campaigns. If you offer local SEO services, you’re most likely already reporting on CTR for your clients.

How to calculate CTR:

The CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the total number of impressions or views. It’s then multiplied by 100 to become a percentage:

CTR = (Number of Clicks / Number of Impressions) X 100

2. Conversion Rate (CVR):

While the CTR measures how many people click, the CVR tracks how many people take action beyond that. What is considered a conversion depends on the goal of the campaign as well as the business. In some cases, it’s a sale. In others, it’s a download, signing up to an email list, or following a social media account.

How to calculate CVR:

The CVR is calculated by dividing the number of completed actions by the number of total visitors. It’s then multiplied by 100 to become a percentage.

CVR  = (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors) X 100

3. Cost per Conversion (CPA):

To effectively monitor and report on your account marketing metrics, you need to know how much it costs to get a customer. The cost per conversion, or cost per action, is an average of how much you spend to get one customer to convert. You can use this against your budget and your clients’ LTV (more on that below) to determine whether it’s cost-effective to continue running a specific campaign.

How to calculate CPA:

The CPA is calculated by dividing the total spend on acquiring customers by the total number of conversions. If you allocated $1,000 to a campaign and 100 people converted, the CPA would be $10.

CPA = Total Cost / Number of Conversions

4. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS):

ROAS looks at how profitable a PPC campaign is, aka what return are you getting for your clients based on how much you spent on a particular campaign. It gives a look at the effectiveness of the campaign overall, which is important to include in your account management KPIs.

How to calculate ROAS:

ROAS is calculated by dividing the revenue brought in by the campaign by the cost to run the campaign.

ROAS = Revenue / Advertising Cost

5. Cost per Click (CPC):

Cost per click measures the average spent to get someone to click on an ad. In a Google Ads campaign, you can set a maximum spend to get that click, which is why it helps to have a handle on your other account management KPIs in order to determine the right budget amount for each campaign. Want to simplify and scale? White-label Google Ads management may be a solution for your business.

CPC can vary depending on how competitive a keyword is or the target audience you’re going after. Monitoring your CPC is a good way to optimize keywords, ensuring your campaigns are cost-effective and your budget is allocated properly.

How to calculate CPC:

CPC is calculated by dividing the cost of the campaign (including ad spend, agency fees, copywriting costs, etc.) by the total number of clicks.

CPC = Total Cost / Number of Clicks

6. Quality Score:

Quality score is used by Google Ads and other platforms to determine how relevant your ad is to what people are searching for. It ranks the quality of your ad against other advertisers and helps determine where your ad is placed and the CPC for any given keyword or ad.

How to calculate quality score:

Quality score is measured out of 10, on a variety of factors including:

• Your CTR
• Keyword relevance in each ad group
• The quality and relevance of the landing page each ad links to
• Your Google Ads account performance history

With a high quality score, your ads will rank higher and cost less. To improve your quality score, optimize your ads to be relevant to the search intent, make sure your landing page is relevant to each keyword you’re targeting, and work on your CTR.

7. Ad Position:

Ad position refers to where your ad shows up on the search engine results page (SERP). Position is based on some other account management KPIs listed above, such as quality score and relevance, along with other factors like bid amount. Higher ad position can lead to increased visibility and higher CTR.

8. Impressions:

Impressions simply refers to the number of times people are shown your ads. Impressions are often used to measure brand awareness or to inform bidding strategies.

How to calculate impressions:

Each time an ad is loaded and displayed, it counts as an impression. You can track total impressions or monitor for unique impressions, only tracking the number of times an ad is served to a unique user.

9. Sales Lift:

Another account marketing metric to watch is sales lift. Sales lift refers to the additional revenue made beyond typical sales projections after a particular campaign.

How to calculate sales lift:

To calculate sales lift, you need to know the baseline sales for your clients. By setting a campaign group or test group and a control group during the campaign, you’ll be able to compare. You can then subtract the control group from the sales during the campaign to see how much lift the ads contribute.

Sales Lift = Actual Sales (Test Group) — Expected Sales (Control Group)

10. Return on Investment (ROI):

ROI is an extremely important account management KPI to track to make sure your PPC campaigns are actually working for your clients. ROI measures the total profit of your campaign against the investment (including ad costs, agency, copywriters, etc.). Want to simplify? This guide can help you easily generate ROI reports for white-label PPC clients.

How to calculate ROI:

To calculate ROI, subtract the investment from the net profit and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

ROI = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) X 100

11. Bounce Rate:

Bounce rate measures how many people visit a landing page without engaging or interacting with anything on the page. The bounce rate is an important account management KPI as it may indicate that the product, service, or landing page isn’t a good fit for the targeted group.

How to calculate:

Bounce rate is calculated by dividing the number of single page sessions by the total visits and multiplied by 100 to turn it into a percentage.

Bounce Rate = (Number of Single-Page Sessions / Total Entrances) X 100

12. Lifetime Value (LTV):

The LTV is the average-estimated revenue clients can expect to get from one customer during their time engaging with the company. Keeping track of LTV can help you assess the long-term value of PPC campaigns alongside metrics such as CPA and ROAS.

How to calculate:

There are multiple ways to calculate LTV, but one common formula is:

LTV = (Average Revenue per Customer / Churn Rate) X Average Customer Lifespan

Frequently asked questions

How can I use account management metrics to improve the customer experience and increase retention in my PPC campaigns?

By using account management metrics, you can closely monitor and optimize PPC campaigns to both target the right audience and make your campaigns more successful for your clients. With the right targeting, customers will be more engaged, resulting in more sales. Transparently reporting on those metrics keeps clients informed and ensuring you’re aligned on the right goals.

How do I communicate the importance of account management metrics to my clients or stakeholders?

It’s key to communicate the importance of account management metrics to clients in order to make sure you’re aligned on the right goals for their business. By keeping clients informed, you can report on performance, make data-driven decisions to benefit their business, and keep communication transparent.