1. Visualizing ad group performance with column & bar charts
Other common chart types include column and bar charts.
2. Ad groups data set
In this lesson, we will walk through some charts to assess ad group performance. The data is quite small, as we are only focusing on two groups: the Data Science and Data Analyst ad groups.
3. Impressions by ad group
We want to assess how well each ad group is performing based on a single metric, or in this case, based on impressions. Column and bar charts are great for visualizing one or two ad group metrics at a time. These charts will plot the total number of impressions per ad group next to one another. As we can see from the column chart, the Data Science ad group is performing the best in terms of impressions.
The only difference between column and bar charts is the axis on which the labels reside. Here, the labels are on the x axis, so it is a column chart.
4. Impressions by ad group
If they were on the y axis, it would be a bar chart. Here is the column chart we just reviewed, plotted as a bar chart, the data tells the same story; only the visualization of the data is different.
5. Impressions & click performance by ad group
The stacked column chart is great for displaying two or more metrics. To get a stacked column chart, we only need to change the stacking type in the chart editor. By default, the stacking dropdown is set to none for normal column and bar charts. The stacking dropdown selection must be changed to standard to get a stacked column chart, like the one shown.
We saw that the Data Science ad group outperformed Data Analyst in impressions. Now, in this chart, we see that the number of clicks is roughly equal, meaning that the Data Analyst ad group requires less impressions to receive about the same number of clicks. So, this round goes to Data Analyst!
6. Ad group overall performance
At last, we now see a bar chart. This is a 100 percent stacked bar chart, which means that the bars show the relative makeup of the total metric. This chart is not only different because it is a bar chart, or because it is 100 percent stacked, but also the rows and columns are switched!
In the settings, we can check the switch rows and columns box so that the metrics are now the labels and the bars represent the percent makeup each ad group shares of the metric total. This makes for an informative graph that provides insight into the percent makeup of each metric. In this case, we can see that Data Science has over 50 percent of both impressions and clicks.
From this assessment, it seems that both ad groups have strengths and weaknesses and there is no clear winner!
7. A brief recap
Let's revisit what we learned.
Column charts and bar charts are very similar; the only difference is the axis in which the labels reside.
Normal column and bar charts are great for visualizing one or two ad group metrics at a time.
The stacked version of column and bar charts are effective at showing a few ad group metrics at a time, as a single bar.
Lastly, the 100 percent stacked column and bar charts, with their columns and rows switched, is a great tool for providing insight into the percent make up of the total for each metric.
8. Let's get to work!
Now that we have done an ad group assessment together, it is your turn to try completing one on your own in the following exercises!
Let's get to work!