Google Ads
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YouTube Ads KPIs and Reporting Guide

Key YouTube KPIs depend on your campaign objective. For awareness: impressions, CPM, reach, and frequency. For consideration: views, view rate, CPV, watch time, and earned actions (likes, shares, subscribes). For conversions: conversions, CPA, conversion rate, and view-through conversions. Access re

YouTube & Video Campaignsyoutube ads reporting kpis

Quick Summary

Key YouTube KPIs depend on your campaign objective. For awareness: impressions, CPM, reach, and frequency. For consideration: views, view rate, CPV, watch time, and earned actions (likes, shares, subscribes). For conversions: conversions, CPA, conversion rate, and view-through conversions. Access reports in Google Ads under the Campaigns tab with Video-specific columns, or build custom reports.

Process Flow

Interactive diagram — drag to pan, scroll to zoom

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these 4 steps to complete this guide

1

Awareness KPIs

Impressions: How many times your ad was shown. Reach: How many unique users saw your ad. Frequency: Average number of times each user saw your ad (keep below 5-7 per week to avoid fatigue). CPM: Cost per thousand impressions.
2

Consideration KPIs

Views: Number of times someone watched at least 30 seconds (or the full ad if shorter). View Rate: Percentage of impressions that resulted in a view — aim for 15-30%+. CPV: Cost per view. Watch Time: Total hours of video watched. Earned Actions: Free interactions (likes, shares, subscribes) that resulted from your paid ad.
3

Conversion KPIs

Conversions: Website actions attributed to your YouTube ads. View-through conversions: People who saw your ad but did not click, then later converted on your site. This is important for YouTube since many users watch but do not click immediately. CPA: Cost per conversion. Conversion Rate: Percentage of ad interactions that led to a conversion.
4

Reporting Tips

Customise your column set to show only relevant metrics for your objective. Add demographic and device breakdowns to identify your best-performing segments. Use the 'Video' report to see which specific videos/creatives perform best.

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