Advertising Analysis 101: All The Basics You Need to Know

Your boss has instructed you to create an action plan for the next quarter's ad campaign.

 

There's just one problem.

 

You’re new at this and don’t know where to start. What metrics should you track? How often do you monitor them? And the question you’re most embarrassed to ask: What do you look for?

 

Today, we’ll answer these questions.

 

But before we begin, let’s recap what advertisement analysis entails.

 

• What is Advertisement Analysis?
• Why is Analysis of Advertising Important?
• Advertising Success: Top 5 KPIs & Metrics to Measure Ad Impact
• Why Agency Marketers Track Advertisement Performance on DashThis
• How to Create an Advertising Report 
• Automate Your Ads Reporting Today

 

Heads-up: This guide covers digital advertising, not traditional advertising strategies like broadcasting, billboards, and print advertisements.

 

What is Advertisement Analysis?

Advertisement analysis evaluates your paid ads performance to achieve your brand awareness or conversion goals in the next campaigns.

 

This process involves analyzing metrics spanning across your:

 

(a) Channels - “Which channels can help us reach our target audience (awareness) or drive high-intent customers (conversions)?” “Which is better at retargeting abandoned site visitors?” 

 

(b) Ad creatives - “Which ad creatives drive user clicks?” “What optimization or improvement should we make to the copy, visual, or call-to-action (CTA) to keep our ad fresh?”

 

[Data via DashThis] Automatically gather your ad creatives across campaigns into one report to quickly pinpoint top performers

 

(c) Placements - “Where are our ads shown?” “Which placements drive the highest percentage of clicks or viewers?” “Which ad extensions (e.g., phone number in call extension) drive clicks?”

 

(d) Audience - “Who is our most profitable customer segment?” “Who are our underserved segments?” “Are we overspending on acquiring new customers?”

 

(e) Messaging - “What messages resonates with our audience?” “Which specific pain points or offers appeal to them?” “Our competitors are using similar language—how can we stand out?”

 

Tracking your PPC KPIs and metrics across these elements (and asking yourself these questions*) will improve your understanding of user behavior, create an effective ad, and accelerate decision-making in future campaigns.

 

*These are guiding questions. Treat them as a starting point!

 

Why is Analysis of Advertising Important?

Here are reasons to invest in ongoing ad tracking in your marketing strategy.

 

1. Optimize ad spend

You're not alone if you struggle with budget allocation. Allocating budget for different products across campaigns with their own daily budgets is tricky.

 

That's where ad analysis comes in.

 

[Data via DashThis] Identify campaigns that delivered the highest return in an easy-to-understand format

 

By analyzing your metrics—like the CPA for different campaign themes—you know which ads are bringing in customers and ensure your ad spend pays off.

 

2. Improve reach and engagement

If you're just starting out, you probably realized your ad targeting doesn't fully cover your ideal customer profile.

 

A quick analysis of your ad reach and engagement rate across demographics will show which ads perform poorly. You can then exclude irrelevant attributes and improve your targeting strategy.

 

3. Gain insights for future

Whether your goal is driving awareness or conversions, you'll likely test different messaging, creatives, and offers for specific segments to find the best performance.

 

You'll adopt whichever ad moves your metrics forward as a best practice for future campaigns.

 

4. Identify top performers

Finally, knowing which successful ads significantly impacted your efforts increases your chance of replicating success in other digital marketing campaigns.

 

Advertising Success: Top 5 KPIs & Metrics to Measure Ad Impact

Start with these advertising KPIs, metrics, and improvement tactics if you don't know where to begin.

 

1. Click-through rate (CTR)

 

 

WHAT IT IS:

 

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of clicks an ad receives from all users who see it.

 

The ideal CTR will depend on the ad platform and industry. For example, the average Google Ads CTR for dating and personal services is 6%.

 

Measure CTR daily to see if your ad resonates and compels users to the landing page.

 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IN AD ANALYSIS:

 

High CTR ads see higher Quality Score > rankings > cheaper clicks.

 

ONE WAY TO IMPROVE IT:

 

Experiment with emotional triggers. 

 

A gynecology clinic might highlight women's emotional journey when trying to get pregnant. Tip: conduct customer and market research to understand potential customers’ experiences.

 

2. Cost per click (CPC)

 

 

WHAT IT IS:

 

Cost per click (CPC) is the price you pay for each user who clicks your ad. 

 

Track it daily to avoid overspending.

 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IN AD ANALYSIS:

 

CPC impacts your ROI. Ensure it’s less than your profit from a sale.

 

ONE WAY TO IMPROVE IT:

 

Bid on long-tail keywords (for Google and Bing Ads).

 

They usually have lower monthly search volumes, less competition, drive greater targeted traffic, and are cheaper.

 

3. Conversion rate (CVR)

 

 

WHAT IT IS:

 

The percentage of users completing a high-value action measured against the total number of visitors over a period. Measure it weekly to spot key actions users complete across the customer journey.

 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IN AD ANALYSIS:

 

Gauge profitability and check if your product (or messaging, offer, etc.) resonates with customers. 

 

ONE WAY TO IMPROVE IT:

 

Improve landing page. 

 

Ensure your ad's messaging matches your landing page copy to avoid a disconnected experience. Or add a case study to boost credibility.

 

4. Cost per acquisition (CPA)

 

 

WHAT IT IS:

 

The cost paid for every customer you acquired. Experts say it shouldn't increase by 5% or more. Track it monthly to avoid overspending on new customer acquisition.

 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IN AD ANALYSIS:

 

Your CPA keeps your ad spend in check and maximizes your campaigns.

 

ONE WAY TO IMPROVE IT:

 

Adjust the budget by region (only your target countries!) to lower CPA and improve ROI.

 

Different regions have different advertising costs because of competition and purchasing power. For example, CPC alone in Japan is 47% lower than in America. Our guess is CPA is also cheaper.

 

5. Return on ad spend (ROAS)

 

 

WHAT IT IS:

 

Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue you get back for every dollar spent on your ad campaigns. Generally, low ROAS is a ratio below 2:1.

 

Check it monthly to gauge your ads’ effectiveness in generating revenue.

 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IN AD ANALYSIS:

 

No one wants to burn through their ad budget! Your ROAS helps you track how your ad campaigns impact the bottom line.

 

ONE WAY TO IMPROVE IT:

 

Segment customers to improve targeting (e.g., welcome discount ads for new shoppers who abandoned carts).

 

Why Agency Marketers Track Advertisement Performance on DashThis

As an ads specialist, you likely spend at least 30 minutes weekly to grab complete campaigns for each client.

 

Assuming you're working with 15 clients right now, that's a total of 7.5 hours of manual (non-billable) work weekly.

 

That's a lot.

 

This time is better spent on value-added activities like strategy meetings and ads analysis.

 

Fortunately, that's where DashThis comes in.

 

Automatically gather your data across multiple ad platforms, campaigns, and groups (or sets) into one beautiful report. Our automated reporting tool creates reports from Instagram and TikTok Ads to Google and Bing Ads in no time, saving you hours.

 

Grab this free all-in-one social media report template with your own data!

 

Agencies automating their reports on DashThis enjoy:

 

(i) Native integrations with major players like TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, Instagram Ads, and Facebook Ads. Creating an ads report takes a few clicks.

 

(ii) CSV file manager for your custom data. Alternatively, use our Google Sheets integration to add any metrics, from any source, custom calculations, or proprietary data.

 

(iii) All-in-one dashboard thanks to multi-channel integration. Combine your favorite advertising analytics tools in one place. You can also combine them with other marketing channels (e.g., email, SEO, social media) in a single report.

 

(iv) Pre-filled metrics like CTR, CVR, and CPA. Just click any metric once, and DashThis automatically transforms it into an eye-catching graph or chart.

 

(v) Unlimited accounts, data sources, and users, regardless of your plan.

 

(vi) Multiple sharing options like automatic email dispatch. Your data updates daily, ensuring you access the most current dashboard results.

 

These features help regain time for more proactive roles with clients’ portfolios and ad campaigns.

 

In fact, one of our clients said that it has made reporting "more transparent, more clear, and more fun. The format of DashThis tells a good story in terms of a holistic view of a brand and their online efforts.”

 

How to Create an Advertising Report

DashThis is the easiest reporting tool.

 

First, grab your free 15-day trial today.

 

Next, complete the following steps to create a sleek advertising report:

 

1. Select a report template
2. Connect your favorite ad channels with DashThis
3. Choose your metrics in Preset Widgets (tip: all metrics are sorted by popularity. Expand your metrics list here to understand your ad campaigns better)

 

Wait a few seconds while DashThis gathers the metrics automatically. Drag and drop them in an easy-to-understand format.

 

Grab this free PPC report with your own data!

 

Isn’t analyzing your overall campaign performance in a single interface easy? For example, you can tell right away the underperforming CTR and high impressions (in red box above) indicate your ad messaging or offer needs work.

 

Customize your advertising dashboard by changing the colors and logo.

 

You can add your analysis and recommendations directly in the report (note: this saves you the hassle of writing a separate email to stakeholders).

 

For example, if you want to suggest bidding on more long-tail keywords to drive greater targeted traffic and save costs, click Static Widget > Comment to make your case.

 

 

Once done, schedule an automatic email dispatch to all stakeholders:

 

1. Hover to the Sharing Options icon on the top right
2. Click Share by Email
3. Set the dashboard period and frequency
4. Add an optional note
5. Click Schedule

 

This email dispatch sends your report automatically according to your preferred schedule.

 

 

Alternatively, share your ads report via a URL link.

 

Or print it for the next strategy session.

 

Start your free 15-day trial to automate your ads reporting today.

 

Automate Your Ads Reporting Today

These five metrics reveal what’s working in your advertising efforts.

 

Start with the guiding questions in your advertising analysis. They help you spot successful themes across campaigns, understand user behavior, and inch you closer to driving growth.

 

Better yet, automate your ads reporting on DashThis.

 

Automatically gather your data across multiple platforms into one beautiful report. Start your free 15-day trial to create reports in the blink of an eye and gain back hours of your time today.