The top 7 PPC KPIs to track in 2025

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can make or break a client’s marketing strategy, but only if you know what’s actually working. Tracking the right KPIs, or key performance indicators, tells you whether campaigns are attracting the right audience and driving real action.

You don't need to wait until your client is losing money due to poor ad rank to adjust your approach. By tracking KPIs, you take a proactive approach to your clients' paid ad performance. It’s how you stay ahead, impress clients, and make a solid case for increasing their ad budget.

In this article, we’ll dig into seven of the most important KPIs for PPC campaigns, what they reveal about your clients' PPC strategy, and how to use historical data to improve ad quality and maximize revenue for your clients.

What are PPC KPIs?

PPC KPIs are the metrics that tell you whether your paid campaigns are delivering real results. They track everything from clicks and impressions to conversions, revenue, and customer acquisition cost. In short, they tell the story of PPC ROI–how efficiently your client’s ad spend is working.

For agency owners, KPIs are more than just numbers–they’re tools to make decisions, optimize campaigns, and demonstrate tangible value. 

Why tracking PPC KPIs is non-negotiable

You might be wondering: why track KPIs at all? The answer is simple–clarity and control.

PPC KPIs show exactly how well your client’s ad spend is performing, revealing which campaigns drive leads, sales, or local visibility. Once KPIs are set, use PPC report automation to keep results consistent month‑to‑month. For agencies, monitoring the right KPIs helps you uncover opportunities, optimize campaigns in real time, and prove measurable ROI. 

Think of KPIs as your roadmap: they help you make smarter decisions, justify budgets, and deliver results that impress clients.

Running campaigns without tracking KPIs is like throwing money at ads and hoping something sticks. Your clients are paying customers, and you need to prove that every penny counts.

Tracking PPC KPIs lets you:

• Show tangible results: Don’t just show clicks. Highlight revenue, leads, or conversions in your client PPC report.

• Optimize campaigns strategically: Use KPI insights to adjust bids, tweak ad copy, and reallocate budgets for maximum ROI.

• Stay competitive: Conduct competitive PPC analysis to see how your clients' paid advertising efforts stack up and adjust your strategy accordingly.

• Automate and save time: PPC report automation and PPC analysis tools let you pull data from multiple sources into one dashboard, so you can focus on strategy instead of manual reporting.

Combining PPC tracking with search engine optimization (SEO) analysis helps you understand how your client shows up on search engine results pages (SERPs) and how both paid and organic efforts contribute to your clients’ overall search performance.

When you show your clients how much revenue you’re bringing, you position yourself as an elite agency with the rates to match. 

For more insight into how to price your PPC services, check out our in-depth PPC pricing guide. 

By pricing based on the value you can deliver, you'll not only be more competitive in the market, but you'll also be able to show your clients the true impact of your PPC services on their business. This can help build stronger relationships and lead to more long-term, high-value clients.

Justin Hoffman, Founder and CEO, Web Solutions Firm

How to choose the most critical PPC KPIs to be tracked

There are so many metrics you can measure, but not all of them matter. The key is to focus on the numbers that reflect your clients’ goals and show the real impact of your work. Whether the aim is to drive more leads, boost sales, or improve ROI, choosing the right KPIs keeps everyone aligned and focused on what’s working.

Here’s a simple five-step process to help you narrow it down, align your KPIs with campaign objectives, and create reports your clients will instantly understand (and appreciate).

Step 1: Clarify your client’s goals

Before diving into data, have a real conversation with your client. What are they trying to achieve: more leads, higher sales, stronger brand awareness? When you understand their goals, it’s much easier to choose KPIs that actually measure success.

During the sales process, we ask the client what KPIs they want to track, often they're unsure and so we make recommendations based on their overall goals.

Paul Morris, Managing Director, Superb Digital

Step 2: Match PPC metrics to campaign type

Each paid search campaign is created with specific goals in mind. These goals will dictate which KPIs you'll track and how you'll define success in terms of PPC performance.

Some common goals for ad campaigns include:

When deciding which KPIs to track, focus on metrics that connect directly to your clients’ goals:

• Lead generation campaigns: Track Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Conversion Rate to measure efficiency.

• Sales-focused campaigns: Monitor ROAS, CAC, and Revenue to see true ROI.

• Brand awareness campaigns: Watch Impressions and Reach to gauge visibility.

The key is to connect every KPI to a real business outcome because that’s what clients care about most.

Step 3: Pick KPIs that drive action

If a metric doesn’t help you to better understand your client's target audience, optimize copy, and improve ad relevance, it’s probably not worth tracking. Focus on data that reveals what’s working, what’s not, and what to do next.

Step 4: Keep it simple

More data isn’t always better. A cluttered dashboard can confuse clients and bury your insights. Stick to a handful of KPIs that demonstrate clear progress, and present the numbers using easy-to-understand data visualizations.

Step 5: Automate the process

Don’t waste hours pulling numbers from different platforms. With AgencyAnalytics, connect data from 80+ tools into a single Smart Dashboard. Automate reports, track changes in real time, and even get alerts when a KPI drops so you can course correct and keep clients in the loop.

Once you’ve nailed down your client’s goals and aligned your metrics, it’s time to focus on the KPIs that really move the needle--the ones that reveal how efficiently your campaigns attract, convert, and retain customers.

Below, we’ll break down the PPC KPIs that every agency should be tracking, along with what they measure, why they matter, and how to use them to create more effective advertising campaigns.

Keep track of all your KPIs in one place. Try AgencyAnalytics free for 14 days!

The most important PPC KPIs to track in your campaigns

PPC campaigns are complex. You can’t tell if they’re really working just by looking at surface-level metrics–you need to dig deeper. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. PPC reporting platforms let you track all your clients’ KPIs in one place, giving you a clear, comprehensive view of campaign performance that’s easy for both you and your clients to understand.

The numbers don’t just tell you whether or not your marketing efforts are paying off, they can actually provide a roadmap to a higher quality score, better ad visibility, and a lower cost per click (CPC).

These are the metrics you’ll want to track to really move the needle on your clients’ marketing goals.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate measures the percentage of clicks paid advertising receives relative to the number of ad impressions. It helps gauge overall ad performance, including ad relevance, ad text, and content effectiveness in digital marketing campaigns.

CTR lets you know how well users are responding to advertising creatives and whether or not your messaging is hitting the mark. A high CTR signals not just the success of a campaign but the quality of its components, making it essential for both performance optimization and creative fine-tuning.

Conversion Rate (CVR)

Conversion Rate tells you the number of successful conversions compared to the total number of visitors or sales leads. Basically, out of all the opportunities to convert a prospect to a customer, how often was it successful?

A high Conversion Rate often correlates with a strong sales funnel, satisfied clients, streamlined user experience, and ultimately, a healthier bottom line.

Cost Per Conversion (CPA)

Cost Per Conversion shows how efficiently your ad spend turns into real results—like sales, sign-ups, or downloads. Think of it as the link between what you spend and what you actually get in return.

A lower Cost Per Conversion means your campaign is doing its job: turning clicks into customers without draining your clients’ budgets. It’s also how you show clients or stakeholders that every dollar is pulling its weight.

This metric also tells you how well your conversion funnel and lead generation efforts are working. If your conversion rates are high but your Cost Per Conversion is climbing, it means your ads are attracting the right people, but at too steep a price.

On the other hand, a low Cost Per Conversion paired with strong lead metrics is a sign your marketing machine is running smoothly and it might be time to scale what’s working.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is one of the most commonly tracked PPC metrics, which makes sense. If there’s one metric that sums up the success of your PPC campaigns, it’s ROAS–right? 

Well, sort of. 

ROAS shows how much revenue your clients generate for every dollar spent–but revenue isn’t the same as profit. A 600% ROAS looks great until you factor in fulfillment costs and discounts. Meanwhile, a 300% ROAS campaign might deliver higher margins if it drives repeat or high-value sales.

To get the full picture, look beyond ROAS. Track profitability at the product or campaign level and feed that data back into Google or Microsoft Ads so algorithms can optimize for profit, not just revenue.

ROAS still matters, but it’s not the whole story. Pair it with metrics like customer lifetime value, margin, and acquisition cost to see what really drives growth.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Not to be confused with cost per acquisition (CPA), Customer Acquisition Cost represents the total cost a business incurs to acquire a new customer. This metric is calculated by dividing the sum of all acquisition-related costs by the number of new customers gained within a specific period.

CAC shows how much it costs your client to bring in a single new customer. To find it, add up all your client’s marketing and sales expenses–this includes ad spend, sales team salaries, commissions, software subscriptions, and any other related costs–then divide that total by the number of new customers they gained in the same period.

Looking back at CAC from past campaigns reveals patterns and insights that help you fine-tune your strategy and spend smarter in the future.

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google’s way of measuring how relevant and useful your ads are to users. It’s influenced by four key factors:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): How often people click your client’s ad.

• Ad relevance: How well the ad matches the keyword being searched.

• Landing page experience: How helpful and user-friendly the page is once someone clicks through.

• Keyword strategy: How effectively your ad copy incorporates high-performing keywords.

The higher the score, the better the ad placement and the lower your average CPC, or Cost Per Click.

To improve your clients’ Quality Score, make sure keywords, ad copy, and landing pages all align. Optimize ad copy so that it's engaging, accurate, and delivers exactly what users expect. Finally, keep landing pages fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate.

Impression Share

Impression Share measures how often your client’s ads show up compared to how often they could have. A low score means competitors are getting visibility and clicks that could have been your client’s.

To boost your clients' Impression Share, take a strategic view:

• Budget and bidding strategy: Review their budget allocation. Underspending or misaligned bid strategies often limit reach.

• Keyword strategy: Target long-tail, low-competition terms and use negative keywords to avoid paying for irrelevant clicks that won't convert.

• Ad rank: Elevate creative quality and relevance to improve performance without simply raising bids.

• Geo targeting: Focus on high-performing regions or expand into new ones based on data, not assumptions.

• Competitor tracking: Keep tabs on competing strategies and adjust your bids and creative accordingly.

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How to choose the right PPC KPIs for your clients’ campaigns

Every business has different priorities, and the KPIs you choose should reflect that. For local businesses, that generally means focusing on the actions that drive real results, like booked appointments, service calls, or foot traffic. 

Here’s how to tailor your approach so you’re working with KPIs that are meaningful, actionable, and tied directly to your clients’ goals:

• Lead generation (appointments, quotes, or service calls): Track Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Conversion Rate to see how effective your clients’ ads are at turning clicks into booked appointments. For example, a salon might measure how many online bookings came from their Facebook Ads.

• Revenue-focused campaigns (sales or upsells): Keep an eye on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). A mechanic offering seasonal tune-ups or a plumber running a promotion can measure how much revenue each campaign dollar generates.

• Brand awareness (local visibility): Monitor Impressions, Reach, and Engagement. For a local restaurant, this might mean how many people in the neighborhood saw the ad and clicked to view the menu.

How to track PPC KPIs in one platform 

Rather than sifting through spreadsheets, take advantage of platforms that keep all your clients' PPC metrics in one place, making it easier to manage multiple campaigns simultaneously. The tool should do the heavy lifting, taking data entry off your to-do list and giving you the information you need to optimize your clients’ marketing strategies.

AgencyAnalytics makes this easy. With {{integration count}}+ integrations, it automatically pulls PPC data from Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Facebook Ads, and more into a single PPC reporting dashboard. 

The best PPC tools do more than just collect data, they also: 

• Support multi-channel reporting: PPC campaigns don’t operate in silos. You need to see PPC, SEO, email, and social side-by-side to get the full picture and spot cross-channel trends.

• Offer customizable dashboards and reports: Not every client cares about the same KPIs. Build custom views that highlight what matters, whether that’s ROAS, conversions, or search impression share.

• Automate reporting and alerts: Stop wasting hours on manual reports. Schedule them to send automatically and set up alerts to catch performance drops before they become problems.

• Make teamwork easier: When multiple team members manage PPC, user permissions and shared workflows keep everyone aligned and reduce errors.

Turn PPC KPIs into real performance gains

Tracking the right KPIs is about so much more than meaningless numbers. Done right, it's like a cheat code to deliver top-tier performance for your clients' PPC programs.

PPC KPIs tell you how every ad appears, what search queries trigger it, and how well your ad copy and ad targeting perform. By measuring metrics like average CTR, average position, average conversion rate, target CPA, and conversion value, you’ll know exactly where your clients' total ad spend is going and what’s driving returns.

Forget the vanity metrics–instead, focus on insights that help you match search queries more effectively, test different ad formats (including video ads), and improve ad extensions to boost your clients' expected click-through rate. The right data helps you fine-tune every ad group, adjust bids strategically, and deliver measurable value your clients can't ignore.

And with AgencyAnalytics, you don’t have to juggle multiple ad platforms or spreadsheets. Automate your client PPC reports, visualize KPI trends, and get all your performance data in one dashboard. Smarter insights, less manual work, and happier clients–start your free 14-day trial and see the difference.