How do I read an agency report?
The report arrives but I don’t know what it means. Most advertising reports are written not to be read but to show that work was done. 📋
A good report is not a list of numbers. It answers three questions: what did we spend, what did we get, what will change?
Short answer: read the report from the end backwards. Result first, then cost, and only last the indicator numbers. 🔎
The three numbers to read first
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- Spend
- Number of results
- Cost per result
- Comparison
The rest can wait. 🎯
Related reading from the archive: reading a Google Ads report · marketing numbers that matter.
Spend
How much went out? Is it in line with the budget, or is there an overspend? 💰
Number of results
How many sales, enquiries, calls? A click is not a result. 🧾
Cost per result
Spend divided by results. The single most important number. 📐
Comparison
These three sit beside last month and last year; a number without comparison means nothing. 📊
Vanity numbers
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- Impressions
- Click-through rate
- Reach and engagement
- “Optimisation was done”
All four look good and say little. 🎭
Impressions
How many people saw it? On its own it is unrelated to sales. 👁️
Click-through rate
Useful, but an intermediate indicator; a high rate can sit alongside low sales. 👆
Reach and engagement
Likes and comments are not purchase intent. ❤️
“Optimisation was done”
What was done, and what came of it? A sentence without reasoning is not information. ⚙️
What a report should contain
Four sections, one page. 📄
A summary table
Spend, results, cost and comparison. At the top. 📊
Questions to ask
The same ones at every meeting. ❓
Warning signs
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- The report grows, no summary
- The same sentences every month
- Only good news
- Numbers change
All four call for a conversation. 🚩
The report grows, no summary
A twenty-page appendix does not replace a one-page summary. 📚
The same sentences every month
The same commentary each month shows nobody is looking. 🔁
Only good news
If nothing ever went badly, the report is incomplete. 🌤️
Numbers change
If the same month’s figure differs in the next report, ask about method. ❗
What should I do today?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Step 1: extract the three numbers
- Step 2: send the questions
- Step 3: ask for a one-page format
- If you want help
Three steps, one hour. 🪜
Step 1: extract the three numbers
Spend, results, cost per result. The last three months. 📐
Step 2: send the questions
In writing before the meeting; answers come back clearer. ❓
Step 3: ask for a one-page format
Summary table, tests, learnings, next month. 📄
If you want help
Let us set up your report format: use the consult your expert form. For your current setup see the advertising digital audit; the whole sits on the advertising consulting page. 🎯
📝 Notes From the Field
A business received a twenty-page report every month and cost per result appeared nowhere. Once the three numbers were extracted it emerged that one campaign carried the healthy-looking total while the other three were losing money. The losing ones were paused and sales rose on the same budget.
📖 Short Glossary
Cost per result: spend divided by the number of results. Intermediate indicator: a number that leads to sales but is not a sale. Vanity number: a measure that looks good but produces no decision. Learning log: the written record of tests and their outcomes.
⚡ Quick Summary
Read the report from the end backwards: spend, results, cost per result. 📋 Impressions, click-through rate and engagement are vanity numbers. A good report is one page and covers tests, learnings and next month. The same questions are asked at every meeting.
🎯 Next Step
Let us set up your report format: use the consult your expert form. The fee distinction sits in the fees guide; for your setup see the advertising digital audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Which copy, which audience, which offer? A month without tests is a stagnant month. 🧪
Which test worked, which did not? Learning that is not written down is lost. 📓
Concrete and numbered. “Continue improving” is not a plan. 📅
The ceiling is yours; the calculation sits in the budget guide. 🎯
The total can look fine while one campaign is losing money. 🔍
No test means no learning; the reason is asked. 🧪
Platform report or your own sales data? The gap can be large; if they do not match your orders, the cause sits in the attribution guide. 📊
Platforms report using their own measurement logic and time windows, sometimes counting several channels’ contribution. Base decisions on your own sales data and read the platform as a direction indicator.
Decisions are monthly, so once a month is enough. Weekly reports lead most businesses to mistake fluctuation for trend and intervene unnecessarily.
Changes do happen, but the explanation must be specific: what changed, which campaign it affected and how, and what was done. A vague explanation without reasoning is not acceptable.