“You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”

You may have heard this famous quote in a parent’s wise advice or a song on the radio, but it takes on a whole new meaning with PPC reporting.

Traditional marketing campaigns have operated for decades without the ability to track detailed results. As an advertiser, you’d simply put up a billboard or run a TV ad and hope people see it. However, data is the lifeblood of any PPC campaign: the one key piece that allows you to analyze performance, strategically improve your campaigns, and track ROI.

Data is constantly being gathered for your campaigns. If you’re working with a PPC agency, part of their job is to review the data regularly, distill it down into clear reports for you (as the client or advertiser), and use the findings to optimize your campaigns.

Not all reports are created equally, though. Some PPC professionals share too much information (which is confusing and irrelevant), or too little information (which makes it hard to actually put the data to good use).

On the other hand, good PPC reports achieve the perfect balance. They act as both a journal of your past travels and your future roadmap. By summarizing past activities and planning the next leg of your journey, reports help you navigate the PPC roads and successfully reach your destination.

Planning the route: What to expect from your PPC reporting

PPC reporting is all about gathering strategic insights, which your PPC agency or partner can use to guide the conversation with you. The phrase “No news is good news” doesn’t apply here. Even if there’s no news, your agency should talk with you often, review progress regularly, and address any questions or concerns before they become problems.

At ParaCore, this type of clear, proactive communication is key. That’s why we provide a number of reports that assess the health and progress of your campaigns throughout your PPC journey.

90-Day baseline report

Imagine going on a cross-country road trip with a person you just met. At the beginning, there’s a lot of back and forth conversation as you get to know each other. At some point, you find the right rhythm, and the conversation shifts beyond small talk into deeper conversation.

The start of a PPC relationship is similar. Initial campaigns take a few months to gain momentum and gather data. Once we have enough information to draw meaningful conclusions, our team provides a 90-day baseline report. This report allows us and our clients to:

• “See where we’ve been” and analyze historical performance
• Establish benchmarks to gauge progress
• Provide recommendations for future optimizations to continue improving the results

Monthly check-in reports

If the 90-day baseline period is like the getting-to-know-you phase on a road trip, monthly check-in reports are your calls home as you hit each major pit stop. These mile markers are a built-in way to:

• Review campaign performance regularly
• Plan improvements and optimizations for the following month
• Discuss what’s going on within your company that might impact your PPC campaigns, such as any shifts in priorities or budgets
• Answer any questions you may have
• Have a “relationship check-in” to make sure you feel 100% comfortable and confident in your campaigns

Quarterly and annual reports

While the 90-day baseline and monthly reports provide a more focused view of performance, your agency should also take a step back once in a while and evaluate the big picture. That’s exactly what quarterly and annual PPC reporting is for. These reports “zoom out” and analyze your campaign results over a longer period of time, making it easier to:

• See trends like seasonality, the effect of news or economic events, and shifts that are affecting your entire industry
• Analyze the total impact of the smaller optimizations made each month
• Reflect back on the baseline objectives and determine what changes need to be made to improve campaign performance and our relationship with you

Reading the map: What to look for in your PPC reports

I love data. Can’t get enough of it! I could be up to my eyeballs in spreadsheets and be in heaven. But I also realize that’s not how everyone’s mind works, and throwing a bunch of data at our clients doesn’t necessarily add the value they’re looking for.

With reporting, our team has discovered that less is more. By putting just the highlights in our PPC reports rather than doing a huge data dump, we’re able to have a more collaborative conversation with you and make better decisions together.

At ParaCore, we begin our reports with a summary of the key findings for the month, followed by an overview of standard PPC metrics (such as clicks and conversions) along with custom data points that track performance for each client’s specific goals (such as cost per lead).

Then we briefly review the report together during our monthly check-in call, but we spend most of the time talking about decisions instead of data. Anyone can read the reports on their own. The real value comes from the conversations those reports spark.

Let’s hit the road together

A PPC team worth its salt should be carrying out several tasks each month to optimize your company’s campaigns and pave the way for success. Reporting is one of those key tasks. Reports are invaluable not only because they make it easier to review performance and keep the communication lines open, but also because they help maintain a strong bond as you navigate the journey with your PPC agency.

If you’re ready to hit the road with digital marketing, we’d love to do the drive with you. Take a look at how we use PPC reports as a roadmap, and get in touch to start planning your journey.

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