PPC Metrics: The 15 KPIs to Track, Their Formulas and the Warning Signs

A paid search account produces dozens of columns, and most of them are only useful when something goes wrong. PPC metrics are worth tracking when each one answers a question: are the ads seen, are they clicked, do the clicks convert, and does the money come back? This guide gives the 15 indicators that matter for pay-per-click advertising on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, their formula, the warning sign to watch, and which ones to put first depending on your goal.

What are the most important PPC metrics?

The table groups the 15 metrics by stage. The formulas are the ones used in Google Ads; the warning signs are the patterns that call for action.

Two other metrics complete this list for specific cases: frequency (average number of times one person sees an ad) on Display and Video campaigns, and the engagement rate measured in Google Analytics 4: the share of sessions that last more than 10 seconds, include a key event or view at least two pages, according to the GA4 definition. It shows whether paid visitors interact with the site or leave at once.

Visibility metrics: are your ads seen?

Impression share is the most useful visibility metric, because it shows the room left to grow. Google defines it as impressions divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible for, based on targeting, approval status and quality (Google Ads Help, About impression share). Read it with its two companions:

• Lost to budget: the campaign stops showing because the daily budget runs out. If the CPA is good, this is the cheapest growth available: raise the budget.
• Lost to rank: competitors outrank you. The answer is a higher bid or better ad quality, which brings you to the Quality Score.

Since average position was removed, Google measures placement with the top impression rate (share of impressions among the top ads, usually above the organic results) and the absolute top impression rate (first ad). In its page on top and absolute top metrics, Google notes that these rates are not suited as bid targets, since they can fall when bids rise and more auctions are entered.

Engagement metrics: are your ads clicked?

The click-through rate measures how well the ad matches the search. A low CTR on a relevant keyword points to weak ad copy or a poor position; a low CTR on a broad keyword points to a targeting problem. You can test scenarios with the CTR calculator.

The cost per click is set by the auction: your bid, your ad quality and competition. Read it next to the conversion rate: a high CPC is acceptable when the click converts well, and a low CPC is useless when it brings the wrong visitors. Search term reports and negative keywords are the usual fix for clicks that never convert, as explained in our guide to paid search.

Conversion and profitability metrics: does the money come back?

Every result metric depends on reliable conversion tracking. Duplicate tags, missing values or lost conversions distort CPA and ROAS, and they also mislead Smart Bidding, which optimises on the conversions it sees. Check your setup with our guide to conversion tracking, and recover part of the conversions lost to cookies with enhanced conversions.

• CPA fits lead generation: compare it with the maximum you can pay for a lead, based on your close rate and customer value.
• ROAS fits e-commerce: your break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your gross margin. With a 40% margin, a ROAS below 2.5 loses money on the first order. The ROAS calculator does the maths.
• Customer acquisition cost adds the costs that sit outside the ad platform (agency, tools, team). Calculate it with the customer acquisition cost calculator and compare it with customer lifetime value.

Which PPC metrics should you track for each goal?

Keep one main KPI per campaign and agree on it with whoever pays the bills. A report with 20 KPIs at the same level hides the one that matters.

When the main KPI degrades, read the other metrics in this order to find the cause:

1. Tracking: did conversions drop while clicks stayed stable? Check tags first.
2. Conversion rate: did the landing page, the offer or the traffic mix change?
3. CPC: did competition or a bidding change raise the price of each click?
4. CTR and search terms: did new, less relevant searches enter the campaign?
5. Impression share: is the campaign limited by budget or by rank?

What are good PPC benchmarks in 2026?

The most cited dataset is the WordStream by LocaliQ Search Advertising Benchmarks report. Its 2026 edition, which analysed thousands of Google Ads and Microsoft Ads campaigns across 20 industries between April 2025 and March 2026, reports these averages, as summarised by Search Engine Journal (checked October 2026):

Use these numbers with care: they are averages across very different industries, mostly US campaigns, and legal or home services pay far more per click than restaurants or travel. Your own trend is the better benchmark: compare each month with the same month last year and with the previous period, and judge CPA and ROAS against your margins, not against an average. For the cost side, see our Google Ads cost guide, and run a full Google Ads audit when several metrics degrade at once.

How do PPC metrics fit with SEO and GEO metrics?

Paid metrics only describe the visits you buy. A complete view also covers organic search and the answers of AI assistants, where people now compare offers before they click any ad:

• Organic search: clicks, impressions and positions from Search Console, read with the same logic of visibility, engagement and results. Our list of SEO KPIs gives the equivalents.
• AI visibility: whether ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity mention your brand on the questions your buyers ask, and who they cite instead. This touchpoint influences branded searches and conversion rates without appearing in Google Ads.
• Cost comparison: a keyword that costs $5 per click in paid search and ranks organically brings the same visit without the click cost.

Sorank, our product, follows the organic and AI side in one place with its GEO and SEO dashboard and its AI mention tracking on ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

Key takeaways

The right PPC metrics are the ones that explain your main KPI: choose CPA or ROAS according to your goal, read impression share, CTR, CPC and conversion rate as diagnostics, check your conversion tracking first, and compare yourself with your own history before industry averages. Then balance paid spend with organic visibility on Google and in AI answers with Sorank, from $49 per month with a 3-day free trial.