How do I interpret the figures of my ads?

First things first

First, let's go back to the basics. To analyse ads properly, it is important to know what all the terms mean. Below is an overview of the most important data.

• Range / reach
  The number of individuals who see your ad.
• Views / Impressions
  How many times your ad has been shown. This can be several times per person.
• Click-through rate (CTR)
  The percentage of people who clicked on it after seeing your ad.
• Cost per click (CPC)
  How much you pay on average per click
• Conversions
  The number of desired actions. This is different for each goal: purchases, downloads, completed forms, ...
• Cost per conversion / cost per result (CPR)
  How much you pay per conversion achieved

What objective do I want to achieve?

To run your ads successfully, it is important to have a clear goal in mind. That way, you can analyse and adjust in a targeted way.

Possible objectives:

• More visibility? Focus on reach and views
• More traffic to website? Focus on click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC)
• More leads? Focus on number of conversions and cost per conversion (CPR)

What are the guidelines?

Ad performance is influenced by several factors, such as budget, target audience and ad objective. Below are general guidelines to watch out for.
Keep in mind that these figures vary by sector

• Reach
  Ensure sufficient reach to effectively reach your target audience. Specific numbers depend on your budget and market size. Ideally, this goes upwards
• Views
  A high number of impressions does not always mean success; it is important to look at this figure in relation to interactions such as clicks and conversions.
• Click-through rate
  We consider a click-through ratio between 0.7% and 1.5% to be average. A click-through ratio of 1.5% to 3% or higher is considered good.
• Cost per click
  We aim to keep costs as low as possible. A good guideline for many markets is between €0.30 and €1.50 per click.
• Conversions
  The ratio of clicks to conversions is important. A conversion ratio between 2% and 5% is a good starting point.
• Cost per conversions
  The lower, the better. As long as the quality of leads or purchases remains good.

What goes wrong?

A common mistake is to look at figures in isolation. A low CPC is not automatically a good thing if your conversion rate is low. Say you attract a lot of visitors but no one fills in your form, then maybe your ad is not relevant or your landing page is not persuasive.

So look at the overall picture. Here are some examples of what can go wrong

• High CTR + low conversion = Probably wrong message or landing page.
• Low CTR + high conversion = Possibly bad ad, but good offer.
• Low CPC + high conversion cost = You attract cheap clicks, but not the right audience.
• High reach + low CTR = poor message or targeting

How can I optimise my ads?

A good campaign needs optimisation. By looking closely at your figures regularly, you will know where you need to make adjustments. Is your click-through rate low? Then it's probably in the ad itself. Are you getting lots of clicks but few conversions? Then the problem may lie with your target audience or landing page. And are costs rising? Then it's time to take a close look at your bidding strategy. Below you can see which elements you can steer on, depending on where the bottlenecks are.

• Ad text and visuals → improve if your CTR is low.
• Adjust targeting → if you have many clicks but few conversions.
• Landing page → improve if you have high traffic but low results.
• Bid strategy → adjust if your costs get too high.

Many companies jump to conclusions. An ad campaign often takes several days to get going. So look at the results over a period of several days rather than every day.

Conclusion

Numbers by themselves reveal little. It is only really valuable when you understand how these figures are connected and how they align with your goals. By looking at your data in a structured way, you can steer ever better and get more results from your ads. Many channels have a business suite (e.g. Meta) where you can find everything clearly, making this easier.

👉 Does this still seem too complicated to you? Feel free to contact with us and we will think with you.