How to Create a PPC Report That Goes Beyond Vanity Metrics

Have you ever looked at a PPC report and thought “well, that’s a bunch of numbers I don’t understand?” Often a lot of people only want to see impressions and clicks, but it’s so much more meaningful than that. 

We get it, as a PPC Agency in Singapore, PPC reporting can feel like an endless cycle of numbers, charts, and fancy graphs. However, strong PPC reports should help you understand what is working, identify what isn’t, and show you the best way forward.

This guide will walk you through creating PPC reports that give you the insights needed to make informed decisions. From ditching vanity metrics to showcasing the ones that actually matter, you will learn how to build reports that highlight real performance and provide actionable steps for your campaigns.

Why Vanity Metrics Don’t Tell the Full Story

Vanity metrics are like the junk food of PPC reporting. They are quick, easy to grab, and give you that instant hit of satisfaction. High clicks? Thousands of impressions? It sounds like everything is going great. Until someone asks the dreaded follow-up question: “What’s the ROI?” Suddenly, that big, impressive number of clicks feels a bit hollow.

Let’s be honest. Vanity metrics are tempting because they are the easiest to understand. Everyone knows what a click is, and seeing a massive number of them makes it look like you are crushing it. But here is the problem. That mountain of clicks doesn’t matter much if they aren’t turning into leads, sales, or at least some meaningful engagement (and they should be because people who click on ads are 50% more likely to buy!). It is like bragging about how many people walked past your store without mentioning that none of them came inside.

Some agencies lean on vanity metrics as a smokescreen. Got low conversions? No problem—just slap “10,000 impressions” on the report and call it a day. After all, who has time to dig into details like cost per acquisition or return on ad spend? While that might keep clients happy for a while, it’s not exactly helping the business make smarter decisions.

Here is the reality. A report filled with clicks and impressions but no substance isn’t telling the real story. It is ignoring the important stuff, like whether your ads are actually reaching the right people, generating leads, or creating value for the business. The real question isn’t “how many people saw this ad?” but “what did this actually achieve?” Without that context, you might as well be celebrating how many people walked into a room, looked around, and left.

Also Read: The Beginner’s Guide to The Google Ads Campaign Setup Process

Understanding the Audience and Business Goals Before You Build the Report

Before you start pulling data for your PPC report, take a moment to ask yourself who the report is for and what they actually care about. A report that doesn’t align with business goals is like handing someone a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle when they only needed a picture frame.

Start by understanding the business’s objectives. Are they looking to generate more leads, drive sales, or build brand awareness? Whatever the goal is, the report needs to reflect it. If it doesn’t, you will end up with a beautifully formatted document that no one knows how to use.

Different stakeholders need different levels of detail. Executives often want a quick overview. They care about the big picture and how campaigns are impacting revenue or growth. On the other hand, your marketing team might need a deep dive into metrics. They will want details like which keywords performed best or which ad placement drove the most clicks. If you try to create one report for everyone, you risk making it too shallow for the marketing team or too overwhelming for leadership.

Let us break it down into actionable steps to simplify the process:

1. Speak with stakeholders upfront. Ask what success looks like for them and find out what they need from the report.
2. One-report for all doesn’t work. Create high-level summaries for executives and detailed sections for campaign managers.
3. Keep it clear and concise. Avoid clutter and focus on connecting the data to the goals. If the click-through rate increased, explain how that impacted conversions or the broader strategy.
4. Tell a story. Without a narrative to guide the reader, it is just a pile of numbers. Show what the data means, why it matters, and how it connects to the business’s success.

Essential Metrics for a Comprehensive PPC Report

If you want PPC reporting to actually mean something, it is time to ditch the vanity metrics and focus on data that drives real decisions. Actionable insights are what separate a report that gets results from one that just fills up inbox space. The metrics below will help you see the bigger picture, understand campaign performance, and show whether you are actually hitting your goals—or just burning through your budget.

Conversion Metrics That Matter

Clicks are nice, but let’s be real. If those clicks aren’t turning into actual results, like leads or sales, they are just expensive bragging rights. Conversion metrics tell you if your campaigns are doing their job or wasting everyone’s time.

These metrics can also be used as a roadmap for improvement. For example, a high CPA might signal that your targeting is off, while a low ROAS could mean your campaign needs a serious creative overhaul.

• Cost per acquisition (CPA) shows how much you are spending to bring in each customer or lead. If your CPA is sky-high, it might be time to rethink your targeting or bids.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS) tells you how much revenue you are generating for every dollar spent. If you are spending ten pounds to make one, there is a problem.
• Conversion rate shows the percentage of clicks that actually led to a desired action. It is a clear indicator of how effective your ad and landing page are at working together.

Customer Journey and Engagement Metrics

The customer journey isn’t always as smooth as you would hope. Sometimes users get lost, take a detour, or bail halfway through. Engagement metrics help you figure out where things are going wrong so you can fix them.

As an example, if users are spending less than ten seconds on your site, it might be time to reevaluate your landing page strategy—or maybe even your ad copy. These metrics give you the chance to make targeted, data-driven changes that improve performance.

• Session duration tells you how long users are spending on your site. If they are leaving quickly, your landing page might need better content or a clearer call to action.
• Click-through paths show you the exact routes users are taking on your site. If they are wandering aimlessly, it might be time to simplify navigation or clarify your offers.
• Bounce rate shows how many users leave your site after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate often means the page isn’t meeting expectations.

Long-Term Impact Metrics

Short-term wins are great, but they don’t paint the full picture. To truly measure the success of your PPC campaigns, you need to think beyond immediate conversions and consider the bigger picture. 

These metrics can shift your strategy from short-term wins to long-term growth. For example, a campaign with a high CLV might cost more upfront but deliver greater value over time.

• Customer lifetime value (CLV) tells you how much revenue you can expect from a customer over the course of their relationship with your business. It helps you see if you are attracting the right type of customer.
• Attribution models show how different campaigns and touchpoints contribute to conversions. 

Making Reports Engaging with Visual Storytelling

Let’s be honest—numbers on their own can make even the most exciting campaign look like a tax return. If you want stakeholders to actually care about your PPC report, you need to make it visually engaging. And, it’s not just for the sake of making it look pretty. Engaging visuals help people understand your data without feeling like they need a PhD in analytics.

The key is to match the visual to the story you are telling. To make it a bit easier, here are a few top tips we like to follow:

• Line graphs are great for showing trends over time, like how a campaign’s conversions have improved month by month. 
• Pie charts can help you show proportions, such as how different keywords are contributing to your overall performance. 
• Bar charts work well when you are comparing PPC results, like which ad sets are driving the most clicks. 

There is a caveat though. Don’t get carried away! Adding too many visuals can clutter your report and leave everyone wondering what they are supposed to focus on.

The Best Way to Structure a PPC Report

When structuring your report, think of it like a guided tour. Start with the big picture—a summary of key findings for executives who want to know the “so what” in 60 seconds. Once they are on board, move into the details for the marketing team or campaign managers who need to dig into the nitty-gritty. A clear, logical structure means everyone gets what they need without having to dig through a pile of irrelevant data.

The goal is to make your report as clear and engaging as possible. Skip the clutter, tell a story with your data, and give stakeholders the tools they need to make decisions.

Use Attribution Models to Connect Campaign Performance to Real Value

Figuring out which parts of your campaign are pulling their weight will help you make smarter decisions with your PPC campaigns. Not all clicks, impressions, or interactions actually do anything (even if your numbers are great, there's always room for campaign optimization), and attribution models help you track the entire journey from start to finish. They show how each touchpoint contributes to conversions, so you can allocate budgets more effectively and refine your strategy, without it, you’re playing a guessing game.

There are two main approaches: single-touch and multi-touch attribution. Single-touch models are straightforward, giving all the credit to either the first interaction or the last one. They are simple to use but often miss the complexity of the customer journey. Multi-touch models, on the other hand, spread the credit across multiple touchpoints, giving you a fuller picture of how your campaigns work together to deliver results.

Here is a quick overview of the most common models:

First-touch attribution gives all the credit to the first interaction with your brand. It is helpful for identifying which campaigns are great at grabbing attention, but it ignores the rest of the journey.

Last-touch attribution focuses on the final interaction before conversion. This model highlights what closed the deal but doesn’t consider the steps leading up to that moment.

Linear attribution shares credit equally across all touchpoints. It provides a balanced view of the customer journey but might oversimplify the impact of each step.

Time-decay attribution gives more credit to interactions closer to the conversion, recognising their greater influence on the final decision.

Multi-touch attribution spreads credit based on custom rules or weightings, offering the clearest view of how different interactions work together to drive results.

Beware. Some people will get confused with attribution models. If you don’t keep it simple, their eyes will glaze over and they’ll start talking about those dreaded vanity metrics. 

So, when presenting attribution models to stakeholders, keep the explanation simple and relevant to their goals. Highlight how these models provide clarity on campaign performance, helping you optimize ad spend and drive better results. By framing attribution as a tool for smarter decision-making, you can turn complex data into insights everyone can appreciate.

Using Insights to Optimise Future Campaigns

So many people underestimate the value of the data in a PPC report. In fact, 72% of businesses say they haven’t looked at their PPC account in a month and only 10% say they optimize campaigns weekly. 

They should be though, because good PPC reporting explains past performance, but the real value lies in using it to guide what happens next. Reports should be used for identifying patterns and trends that show which strategies are delivering results and which ones need rethinking.

Start by focusing on the campaigns or keywords that consistently bring in high ROI from Google Ads. These are the ones worth building on. If a particular audience segment responds well to a specific ad, you have a clear direction for your next campaign. There is no need to start from scratch when you can scale what is already working.

On the other hand, look closely at what is underperforming. If certain keywords have a high cost per click but lead to very few conversions, it might be time to make some changes. That could mean adjusting your targeting, testing new messaging, or even cutting those keywords altogether to focus on better opportunities.

Need a hand with PPC and Pay-per-click Reporting?

PPC is a full-time job, it’s not easy to learn, and setting up Google Ads campaigns takes patience. If you haven't got the time to create meaningful reports or to optimize what you’re doing, then get in touch with us for a free proposal. Here at Heroes of Digital, as a PPC agency in Singapore, we have a track record of PPC excellence and will work with you to make the most of your ads budget.