Library·SOP·Paid
Create a short monthly Search ads report explaining results, measurement limits, and the next actions with owners.
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Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Create a short monthly Search ads report explaining results, measurement limits, and the next actions with owners.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
Use one worksheet copy and choose what this report will measure before collecting numbers.
Open the Monthly Google Ads Search client report worksheet, click Make a copy, and rename your copy for the client and reporting month. Use Example to see invented numbers and decisions.
Set the account, campaign scope and business result in Report setup. A conversion is an action Google Ads records, such as a completed form or purchase.
Open Google Ads, select the intended customer account, and record Account name, numeric Customer ID, Time zone and Currency in Report setup. Open Campaigns > Campaigns and list the agreed Search campaigns in scope. Confirm each campaign is Search.
Enter Client, Business result, Target supplied by owner, Report preparer, Report reviewer and Important business context. Ask what a useful result means, such as a completed order or an enquiry the sales team can use. Record sales, closures or budget changes that affect this month.
Choose the month and a comparison before collecting results. Keep the same campaigns and conversion definition in both periods.
In Report setup, enter Current start/end for the last completed calendar month, Comparison start/end for the previous month, Comparison reason, and Report checked on. If the business is seasonal, use the same month last year and explain why. If there is no fair history, leave comparison dates and numbers blank and describe this as a first available report.
Count the days in both periods. Calendar months can differ in length. Totals shows figures per day as well as raw totals; use daily pace when extra days could explain a change. If you choose equal-length dates instead, state the actual dates rather than calling that comparison a full calendar month.
A larger count is useful only when you know what it counts and whether this month is complete.
Read the conversion settings and record them in Measurement without editing them. Conversions usually contains Primary actions in the campaign’s selected goal; All conversions includes additional actions. A custom goal can include Secondary actions too.
Open Goals > Conversions > All conversions and open each relevant action. In Measurement, record Campaign, Conversion action / goal, Business meaning, Primary / Secondary, Status / count / source and Value meaning. Count explains whether repeat actions are counted once or every time; source says where Google receives them.
For each included campaign, open Settings > Conversion goals and read its selected goal. Enter that name and which relevant actions it includes in Selected campaign goal / membership. For a custom goal, inspect its included actions; its Secondary actions can count toward the main goal. If details are hidden, record what could not be confirmed.
Check timing and any independent evidence before grading performance. A person may click in one month and complete the form later; the usual Conversions column credits that result back to the ad interaction date.
In Campaigns > Campaigns, hover over the Conversions value for a campaign to look for conversion-delay information. Record the shown warning or delay in Report setup > Recent results / delay note. If unavailable, ask the measurement owner about typical delay and record Could not confirm until answered. Choose Recheck date after the observed delay; unknown delay becomes an action to obtain that answer.
In Measurement > Independent check, record the same outcome from an available lead or order source, its dates and who checked it. Enter any difference and possible explanation in Difference / explanation. Ads often credits an earlier click while an order list uses the purchase date; different attribution, duplicate actions or tracking problems can also create differences. Ask the measurement owner to explain rather than forcing totals to match.
In Report setup > Value meaning, state whether the reported value is confirmed order revenue, an assigned estimate, or unknown. Confirm order-value tracking and currency with the owner and available order records before using revenue. A fixed $10 assigned to a form is an estimate, not a $10 sale.
Set Report setup > Measurement confidence and explain it in Reason for confidence. Keep the same decision beside affected rows in Measurement > Confidence / next check.
Choose Trusted for this report when the intended result, selected goals and value meaning are confirmed, data has settled, and available independent checks have no unexplained material difference. Choose Provisional for unfinished recent results or a missing independent check, when you can still explain what Ads recorded. Choose Do not judge results for a wrong or unknown counted outcome, broken tracking, or an unresolved difference that could change the recommendation.
Explain the missing fact and next check in Reason for confidence and add it to Actions. For example: “B’s newest forms may arrive later; Morgan will recheck after the shown delay.” Preserve the recorded figures even when you cannot grade them.
Use one table with the same scope and columns for both exports. Keep all included campaigns, including those paused now that had activity in the reporting period.
Open Campaigns > Insights and reports > Report editor and create a table for the included Search campaigns.
Click Create report. The editor opens as a Table. Add Campaign to Row. From the field list, add Impr., Clicks, Cost, Conversions, All conv. (All conversions), Conv. value and Cost / conv. to Column. Impr. means impressions: times an ad appeared; Clicks means clicks on it.
Use the filter control above the table to set Campaign type = Search and the Campaign names listed in Report setup. Check the selected names. Keep paused or removed campaigns if they belong to the scope and had activity in either period; do not filter only to campaigns enabled today.
Use the date selector above the table to apply Current start/end. Click Save or Save as and name the report with the client and Search scope. Reopen it from Report editor, check its campaigns, columns and dates, and paste its URL into Report setup > Saved Ads report URL.
Download the current and comparison tables using the same saved report.
Click the download icon and choose .csv. Name the file with the client, Search scope and current dates; record its name in Report setup > Current export file. Open it and check the campaign rows, columns and date range.
Change only the date range to Comparison start/end, apply it, and download .csv again. Name the file with those dates and record it in Comparison export file. If there is no comparison history, leave this blank and explain that limit in Client summary > What remains uncertain. Return the saved report to the current dates for the next reviewer.
Enter one row per campaign per period in Campaign results. Use the Current or Comparison dropdown and the export’s campaign name.
Copy Impressions, Clicks, Cost, Conversions, All conversions, Conv. value and Ads Cost / conv. into their matching columns. Keep decimal conversions as shown; shared credit between ad interactions can produce fractions. Enter 0 only when the report shows 0; leave unavailable figures blank and explain them in Notes.
Set Value basis to Revenue only for verified order revenue, Assigned value for estimates, Unknown if not confirmed, or Not used when values are not part of the report. Add the reason in Notes.
Repeat for every included campaign and both available periods; add rows as needed below the headings. Do not paste export total rows as campaigns. If a campaign has no displayed row, confirm its dates, scope and activity before entering zeros; otherwise explain missing data in Notes. Totals covers rows 4–1000; for a larger account extend every Totals formula range to your last campaign row.
In Totals, compare spend, impressions, clicks and conversion counts with the corresponding Google Ads report totals for each period. Fix missing campaigns, extra total rows, date or filter mismatches before writing conclusions.
Read Calculated spend per recorded conversion as total spend divided by total Conversions. Google Ads Cost / conv. can differ because its calculation uses eligible interactions; keep the copied Ads figure and explain a material difference instead of overwriting either. Revenue / spend (ROAS) is recorded order revenue per unit of ad spend, shown only when every included row is verified Revenue. It is not profit.
A blank total means missing input or no rows; investigate before using it. A blank Change % with a zero comparison is expected: write the count change instead, such as “2 recorded forms this month; none previously.” With sparse results, state the counts and uncertainty rather than treating a large percentage as strong evidence.
Separate what happened from what might have caused it. Reporting identifies and assigns work; it does not apply account changes.
Compare Totals and individual Campaign results. Identify the campaigns that explain the largest useful changes in the business result and spend.
Compare recorded results, spend and cost per recorded result with the owner’s target, if provided. Then check period length, business context and measurement confidence. An increase in clicks alone does not show more sales or useful enquiries. In Client summary > What changed, state the totals and the important campaign differences.
Open Campaigns > Change history for the reporting period and included campaigns. Inspect relevant goal, budget, status or ad changes and record dated findings in Actions > Finding and source. Compare with known promotions or closures. Write a cause as possible in Possible explanation until the timing and supporting checks establish it; a nearby change is not proof of cause.
Read Example: A gains 10 recorded forms and B loses 10 while the account stays at 35. B has a delay warning and a goal change. Check measurement first; otherwise you may recommend changes for a decline that later disappears. Then investigate B because it used more spend and lost more results. Monitor A rather than assuming its extra forms are qualified leads. Apply that comparison to your campaign rows.
Add one Actions row for each distinct important finding. Compare the candidates and number them in the order they should be handled.
Rank measurement/counting problems first when they could change the recommendation. Next rank supported losses or spending concerns by the business result affected, amount involved and confidence. Smaller gains or weak signals come later as monitoring or requests for more data. In Why this comes first, explain why the higher row matters more than the next one; do not use an arbitrary percentage cutoff.
For each row enter Finding and source, Possible explanation, Next action, Owner and Due / recheck date. Name a person who can do the check; ask the reviewer to assign one if unknown. Use Not started, In progress, Waiting or Complete in Status. Complete means the action and promised check finished.
For an unexplained Search performance problem, write an action to follow the linked SOP for a deeper read-only audit, using these campaigns, periods and findings as inputs.
Write short sentences in Client summary using the checked totals and your ordered action list.
In Headline, name the month and most useful business result. Fill What changed with the important totals and campaign differences, and What the numbers support with the conclusion the evidence allows. For example: “September recorded 35 form enquiries for $1500; A gained 10 and B lost 10.” Say recorded forms rather than qualified leads unless sales confirmed their quality.
In What remains uncertain, explain delayed results, missing targets or unclear tracking in plain language. Fill Next actions and owners from the ordered Actions rows, including dates. For example: “Morgan will check B’s counting change and delayed results before we recommend campaign edits.”
Check the whole report, then set Client summary > Review status to Ready for owner review and keep your worksheet copy and the available source exports together in the client’s usual reporting location. Give the recorded reviewer the report through your normal review process.
