Beginners' Google Analytics - Which AdWords Groups Give Best ROI

A foundational discipline in running a great AdWords account is to kill off underperforming Ad Groups and invest in top performers. Here's how to use Google Analytics to work out which is which.

1. Log in to Google Analytics
2. Navigate to Acquisition
3. Click AdWords > Campaigns
4. On the main screen, below the graph but above the table, click "AdGroup" to set this as the Primary Dimension
5. On the right-hand side of the table, click the drop down menu for Conversions and select "All Goals" (or e-commerce if you're an online retailer)
6. Sort by Goal Completions by clicking the top of that column (or Revenue for e-commerce sites).

This is what the resulting table should look like if you're running a lead generation website:

If you are looking at an e-commerce variation of that table it should look something like this:

Check out Conversion Rate Column

Look at the conversion rate column (called either Goal Conversion Rate or E-commerce Conversion Rate) depending on which sort of site you're running. Those AdGroups which have a good conversion rate are probably worth additional investment - those which are performing poorly, probably need killing or curing.

Goal Completions / Revenue

In addition to the overall rate of conversion, you need to check how many ACTUAL conversions (or how much ACTUAL revenue) is coming in from each AdGroup. If an AdGroup has only driven two conversions but has a conversion rate of 100%, it probably isn't as interesting, from an ROI perspective, as one that's driven 200 conversions at a 10% conversion rate.

Seeing (not set) or nothing at all...?

Looks like you need to fire your PPC agency or give your in-house team some better training. Here's how to link your AdWords to your Analytics - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033961?hl=en 

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