How to Read Your Google Ads Data Like a Pro

Google Ads can feel overwhelming—graphs, metrics, columns, and endless acronyms. Most small businesses log into their accounts, see numbers moving up and down, and don't know what any of it actually means for revenue.

But the truth is: You only need to master a handful of key metrics to make smart, profitable decisions.

At Casaccio Media, we manage campaigns across restaurants, e-commerce brands, beauty salons, nightlife venues, home services, and more. And no matter the industry, the businesses that win are the ones that know how to read their data correctly.

Clicks don't matter.
Impressions don't matter.
CTR doesn't matter.

Not without context.

The most important metric in your entire account will always be: Conversions

A conversion is any completed action that drives business value, such as:

• A phone call
• A form submission
• A booked appointment
• An online purchase
• A direction request (for restaurants/retail)
• A lead form extension submission

If your conversion tracking isn't set up correctly, nothing else in Google Ads will make sense.

Once conversions are set up and flowing correctly, the next metric that matters is: Cost Per Conversion (CPA)

This is how much you're paying for each lead or sale.

A good CPA varies by industry:

• Restaurants: $5–$20
• Salons: $10–$40
• E-commerce: depends on ROAS
• Home services: $20–$80
• Real estate: $50–$150
• B2B: $80–$300+

The key is not what your CPA is, but whether it's profitable relative to your customer value.

If your average job is worth $2,000 and your CPA is $60—you're winning.

For e-commerce brands, the golden metric is: ROAS = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend

Profitable ROAS depends on your margins.
Low-margin products might need 5–8x.
High-margin brands can profit at 2–3x.

Click-through rate (CTR) shows how compelling your ads are. Higher CTR often leads to:

• Better Quality Score
• Lower CPC
• Better ad rank

But CTR is not a measure of profitability.
An ad with a 2% CTR might still produce 10x better leads than an ad with a 10% CTR.

Use CTR to identify:

• Ads that resonate
• Weak headlines
• Irrelevant keywords
• Competitor-heavy auctions

But don't chase high CTR for its own sake.

A $20 click isn't bad if it converts 1 in 5 times.
A $2 click is terrible if the leads are junk.

Evaluate CPC relative to CPA, not in isolation.

If your CPC rises but your CPA stays profitable → stay calm.
If your CPC drops but your leads are unqualified → the traffic quality is declining.

Impression share tells you what percentage of auctions you're actually showing up in.

• <40% = lots of missed opportunity
• 40–70% = competitive
• 70–90% = strong visibility
• 90%+ = you dominate the search results

Two sub-metrics matter most:

This helps diagnose why your ads disappear throughout the day.

This report shows you exactly what users typed when they saw or clicked your ad.

It reveals:

• Irrelevant clicks
• New profitable keyword ideas
• Negative keywords you need immediately
• Bad user intent you're paying for

We check this weekly for every Casaccio Media client. It's one of the highest-leverage tasks in Google Ads.

Quality Score affects:

• Your CPC
• Your ad position
• Your impression share
• Your overall efficiency

QS is based on:

• Expected CTR
• Ad relevance
• Landing page experience

Improving Quality Score from 4 → 7 can reduce CPC by 20–40%.

But don't obsess over it—focus on relevance and user experience.

Most small businesses never look at this.

But performance can differ dramatically across devices:

• Mobile: higher volume, lower conversion rate
• Desktop: lower volume, higher conversion rate

You can improve results fast by:

• Adjusting bids for devices
• Excluding tablets if needed
• Building mobile-friendly landing pages

Restaurants and salons: mobile dominates.
B2B: desktop leads convert better.

Another underrated lever.

Review your performance by:

• Hour of the day
• Day of the week

You may discover:

• Monday leads are the best
• Weekend clicks are expensive
• After 8pm the leads drop in quality
• Early morning searchers convert well

Adjusting ad schedule can cut CPA by 20–30% easily.