
This is the latest post in a series on Google Ads reporting from the dimensions tab. In previous posts we’ve covered:
In this post, we’ll be walking through the free click report in the AdWords dimensions tab.
First we need to determine what Google is defining as “free clicks.” The free clicks report provides you with data about how people interact with different components of your ad, and about actions they take. It’s important to note that these “free clicks” aren’t all clicks. Included in the items AdWords is reporting on are:
The free clicks report gives you data on each of these touch points within your campaigns:
The free clicks report may not be useful at all if you’re doing lead generation and aren’t running video ads. There are four core types of advertisers who can get extensive data from the report:
The free clicks report isn’t the only area where Google has resorted to euphemistic naming within the AdWords platform, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the interactions people have with your ads will often come before a click that you pay for, and that many of the interactions aren’t actually clicks. You also want to remember to view these actions appropriately: not unlike view-through conversions, these aren’t the same as actual clicks and actual conversions. They can be very useful signals and can be helpful in better understanding how searchers act with certain local online advertising campaigns, ad creative, and content, but be careful not to overvalue the significance of any of these metrics.
Tom Demers is Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Measured SEM and Cornerstone Content.
See other posts by Tom Demers
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.