Hanapin has access to several different reporting platforms. I was curious which reporting platform Hanapin’s team prefers. After sending out a poll, the results revealed our team really only uses 3 platforms, and one of them might surprise you. The top three platforms were: Optmyzr (37%), NinjaCat (26%), and Google Sheets (26%).
Over the coming months, I will be highlighting some of Optmyzr’s key features. This first blog will outline the reporting widgets in Optmyzr I have found to be most effective in delivering performance results to our clients.
Where Do I Start?
If you are new to PPC, new to Optmyzr, or new to creating reports in general, it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few points you should think through BEFORE creating a report:
- Report History: Is there already a report in place? If you are working for a client, they may prefer a report they are already used to. This does not mean you can’t use Optmyzr if they haven’t used it in the past. Now is the time to discuss what report will be most effective. Don’t be afraid to assert your suggestions. As with anything in PPC, you need to choose the platform that best fits your client’s/ company’s needs.
- End User: Who is the report for? You need to ask yourself, will [insert end user] understand every aspect of this report? It may be necessary to set up a meeting with the end user to verify what they want the report to look like before getting started.
- KPIs: What metrics indicate how performance is trending? It’s critical to know your company’s/ client’s KPI (Key Performance Indicators); you can’t create a report without them. Your KPIs will help you prioritize what data is NECESSARY to include in the report, as well as help you navigate through Optmyzr’s widgets.
- PPC Platforms: Write out which platforms you are advertising in, including any reporting differences between the platforms. This may be obvious, but it will help you organize the report.
Now that we have laid out a few guidelines, let’s walk through how to set up a report in Optmyzr.
Linking Accounts
If you have already linked the necessary Google Ads, Bing, Google Analytics, Google Merchant Center, or Facebook accounts, you can skip this step. If you have not linked your accounts, you can do so within the settings drop down:
Creating a Report
If you are creating a report from scratch, it is best practice to create a multi-account report. Even if you are currently only advertising in one platform, you don’t want to have to create a new report if you expand to multiple Google Ads accounts, Bing accounts, etc. in the future. Once you are logged into Optmyzr, navigate to Multi-Account Reports (under Reports tab).
Date Ranges
First, create date ranges that will be used in the report. The date ranges you choose will be specific to the type of report (weekly, monthly, quarterly report, etc.).
Think about what the end user wants to see in this report. If you are not sure what date ranges to select, you can always go back and add date ranges as you are creating widgets. Here is an example of a few date ranges you could include:
Report Customizations & Cover Page
Select a color for the theme, upload a company logo, and fill out the appropriate fields on the cover page. We recommend aligning the color/format of the report to your client’s website or their existing internal reports.
Selecting Widgets
For reference, here is a screenshot of the widget categories. Most widget categories contain 3-10 widgets. The below examples will give you an idea of how you can mold your own report.
For each widget you choose, you can select the metrics, currency, date range, networks, and devices you want to include:
Widgets To Start With
If you are creating a weekly report, a good chart to start with is month-to-date KPIs. To add this widget, select “Multi-Acc. Data – Multi-Acc. KPI”.
The below example also includes green or red arrows with percentages below each KPI. If you select “Include Percent Change” and select a date range (previous period selected in below screenshot), you can quickly see how the account is trending:
For a client that has 19 Bing and Google accounts included in one weekly report, we opted to include the Multi-Acc. Summary widget. If you have numerous accounts, you may want to use this widget so you can break down performance for each account:
Now that you have provided a high level account overview, you might choose a widget that highlights top campaigns. If drilling down to keyword performance is more applicable for your account, you can also select “Top Keywords” from the “Top Elements” widget category.
There are many ways to slice and dice the data in Optmyzr, including splitting out performance by device. Widget: Tables – “Segment Performance”.
Charts & Geo Heat Maps
If you want to incorporate different charts into your report, here are a few charts to test out.
Pie Chart
The pie chart is simple, but effective when processing different data points. Depending on your data, you may want to include a pie chart that breaks out your KPIs. Widget: Charts – Segment Comparison.
Trend Charts
Trend charts are great visualizations when comparing two metrics over a period of time. After you drop the trend chart into your report (widget: Charts – Metric Trend), you can select two metrics to compare over the time period you set (daily, weekly, monthly).
Geo Heat Maps
Geo heat maps are great for accounts that are active in global markets. Widget: Data Insights – Geo Heatmap.
What if you are advertising in a platform that Optmyzr does not directly sync with?
Thankfully, the spreadsheet widget makes it really easy to include data from other platforms. To add a spreadsheet, select “Spreadsheet Table” under the “Table” widget.
For the below example, I first pulled metrics from SteelHouse’s interface and input the data into a Google sheet I had already created. Once you have added the widget, all you need to do is enter the Google sheet’s URL (see example below). Remember to edit the sheet’s sharing settings so that Optmyzr will have access.
Report view:
Conclusion & Additional Resources
Taking the time to properly set up a report can save you loads of time in the longrun. Before you start creating your report, remember to review any past reports, consider what is most important to the end user, know what KPIs should be included, and list out every marketing platform that needs to be included in the report. If you follow these guidelines, you will save yourself from many reporting headaches.
If you are looking for additional reporting resources, Hanapin’s Senior Account Analyst, Rachael Law has two great blogs on the topic of reporting: Creating Actionable PPC Reports and 7 Questions You Should Ask When Creating PPC Reports.