Performance Charts Guide

Performance charts turn numbers into visuals, making trends and patterns obvious at a glance. This guide shows you how to customize charts, interpret what you see, and use visual data to make better optimization decisions.

What You'll Learn

Time needed: 10 minutes to read

Accessing Performance Charts

Location: Client Details → Overview Tab → Bottom of page

What you'll see:

[Screenshot: Performance chart showing default view] Charts appear at the bottom of the Overview tab

Understanding the Dual Y-Axis Design

Why Two Y-Axes?

Problem: Metrics have different scales

Cost: $1,000-$5,000 (thousands)
Clicks: 100-500 (hundreds)

On single axis: Clicks would be invisible line at bottom

Solution: Two Y-axes

Left Y-axis (blue): Volume metrics

Right Y-axis (green): Cost metrics

[Screenshot: Dual Y-axis chart with annotations] Left axis for volume, right axis for cost

Reading the Chart

Each line:

Hover over any point:

Zoom:

[Screenshot: Hover tooltip showing values] Hover reveals exact numbers for any point

Customizing Displayed Metrics

Metric Selector

Default view:

To change metrics:

  1. Click metric dropdown
  2. Select new metric from list
  3. Chart updates instantly

Available in dropdowns:

[Screenshot: Metric dropdown menu] Choose from 40+ available metrics

Optimal Metric Combinations

Cost analysis:

Metric 1: Cost (right axis)
Metric 2: Clicks (left axis)
Metric 3: Impressions (left axis)

Shows: If spend increased, did traffic increase proportionally?

Conversion tracking:

Metric 1: Conversions (left axis)
Metric 2: Cost (right axis)
Metric 3: Conversion Rate (right axis)

Shows: Cost vs conversion trends

Quality monitoring:

Metric 1: CTR (right axis)
Metric 2: Quality Score (left axis)
Metric 3: CPC (right axis)

Shows: Quality impact on cost

ROI analysis:

Metric 1: Conversion Value (right axis)
Metric 2: Cost (right axis)
Metric 3: Conversions (left axis)

Shows: Revenue vs spend trends

Maximum 3 Metrics

Why the limit: More than 3 lines = cluttered, hard to read

Best practice:

Legend:

[Screenshot: Chart with 3 metrics and legend] Maximum 3 metrics keeps chart readable

Daily vs Weekly Aggregation

Daily Aggregation (Default)

What it shows: Each day as separate data point

Use when:

Example:

Oct 1: 100 clicks
Oct 2: 120 clicks
Oct 3: 95 clicks
Oct 4: 110 clicks

Pros:

Cons:

[Screenshot: Daily aggregation chart] Daily view shows every single day

Weekly Aggregation

What it shows: Weeks aggregated into single data point

Use when:

Example:

Week of Sep 25: 700 clicks (avg 100/day)
Week of Oct 2: 840 clicks (avg 120/day)
Week of Oct 9: 665 clicks (avg 95/day)

Pros:

Cons:

How weeks are defined: Sunday-Saturday

[Screenshot: Weekly aggregation chart] Weekly view smooths out daily fluctuations

When to Use Each

Daily aggregation:

Date range: Last 7 days → Daily
Date range: Last 14 days → Daily
Date range: Last 30 days → Daily or Weekly
Date range: Last 90 days → Weekly

Rule of thumb:

Interpreting Chart Patterns

Upward Trend

What it looks like: Line sloping upward left to right

For cost metrics: Spending increasing

For volume metrics: Traffic/conversions increasing

[Screenshot: Upward trend example] Upward slope indicates growth

Action: If cost up but conversions flat → investigate efficiency drop

Downward Trend

What it looks like: Line sloping downward left to right

For cost metrics: Spending decreasing

For volume metrics: Traffic/conversions decreasing

[Screenshot: Downward trend example] Downward slope indicates decline

Action: If unintentional decline → check for disapproved ads, budget limits, bid changes

Spike

What it looks like: Sudden sharp increase on one day/week

Causes:

[Screenshot: Spike pattern] Sharp spike indicates sudden change

Action:

  1. Identify the date
  2. Check what changed that day
  3. If positive spike → replicate
  4. If negative spike → investigate

Drop

What it looks like: Sudden sharp decrease on one day/week

Causes:

[Screenshot: Drop pattern] Sharp drop requires immediate investigation

Action:

  1. Urgent: Check if ads are running
  2. Check budget status
  3. Review recent changes
  4. Check Google Ads for errors

Flat Line

What it looks like: Horizontal line with minimal variation

For cost metrics: Consistent spending

For volume metrics: Stable performance

[Screenshot: Flat line pattern] Flat line shows stability

Action: If flat at low level → room for improvement

Seasonality Pattern

What it looks like: Repeating pattern (weekly peaks and valleys)

Common patterns:

Weekly:
- Monday-Friday: High
- Saturday-Sunday: Low

Or opposite:
- Monday-Friday: Low
- Saturday-Sunday: High (retail)

[Screenshot: Seasonality pattern] Repeating patterns indicate day-of-week effects

Action: Use ad scheduling to match patterns

Comparing Metrics

Correlation Analysis

Strong positive correlation:

Cost up → Conversions up
Both lines move together

Interpretation: Spending more = more results (good)

Negative correlation:

Cost up → Conversions down
Lines move opposite

Interpretation: Efficiency declining (bad)

No correlation:

Cost up → Conversions flat
Lines don't match

Interpretation: Diminishing returns

[Screenshot: Correlated vs uncorrelated metrics] Compare line movements to spot relationships

Lag Effects

Delayed response:

Oct 1: Cost spike
Oct 3: Conversion spike (2 days later)

Why this happens:

Action: Don't judge campaigns on day 1 - wait 3-7 days

Date Range Impact

Short Range (7 days)

What you see: Daily fluctuations

Use for:

Limitations: Can't see long-term trends

Medium Range (30 days)

What you see: Short-term trends

Use for:

Best for: Most analysis

Long Range (90 days)

What you see: Big-picture trends

Use for:

Recommendation: Use weekly aggregation

Exporting Charts

Export Options

Formats:

Process:

  1. Configure chart (metrics, date range, aggregation)
  2. Click Export button
  3. Choose format
  4. File downloads

What's included:

[Screenshot: Exported chart sample] Export for client reports or presentations

Use Cases

Client presentations:

  1. Show cost vs conversions trend
  2. Export as PDF
  3. Include in monthly report

Internal reviews:

  1. Show performance trends
  2. Export as PNG
  3. Add to team dashboards

Before/after analysis:

  1. Export "before" chart
  2. Make optimizations
  3. Export "after" chart
  4. Compare side-by-side

Advanced Charting Strategies

Benchmark Comparison

Method: Export baseline, compare to current

Example:

Baseline (Sep): Avg CPC $5.00
Current (Oct): Avg CPC $4.20

Chart shows:
- September trend line (gray)
- October trend line (blue)
- Visual proof of 16% CPC reduction

Action: Track improvement over time

Multi-Client Comparison

Method: Export chart for each client, compare

Example:

Client A chart: CTR trending up
Client B chart: CTR trending down
Client C chart: CTR flat

Action: Identify best performers to study, worst to fix

Event Annotation

Method: Note important dates on charts

Example:

Oct 1: New campaign launched (spike)
Oct 15: Competitor sale (drop)
Oct 20: Budget increased (recovery)

Action: Correlate performance to events

Tips & Best Practices

Start Simple

First visit:

  1. View Cost + Clicks only
  2. Use daily aggregation
  3. Last 30 days

Get familiar before adding complexity

Use Chart for Questions

Not sure why cost increased? → Chart Cost + Impressions + Clicks → See which drove the increase

Not sure why conversions dropped? → Chart Conversions + Clicks + CTR → Identify the funnel step that broke

Chart answers "why" questions visually

Review Weekly

Every Monday:

  1. Open chart
  2. Set date range: Last 7 days vs previous 7 days
  3. Look for changes
  4. Investigate anomalies

Time: 2 minutes per client

Combine with Metrics Cards

Workflow:

  1. Metrics cards → spot the change
  2. Chart → understand when it happened
  3. Drill into data → fix the issue

Example:

Metric card: CTR dropped 20%
Chart: Shows drop started Oct 10
Investigation: Ad disapproved on Oct 10

Document Insights

When you see important patterns:

  1. Export chart
  2. Add notes about what you learned
  3. Save in client folder
  4. Reference in next review

Builds institutional knowledge

Common Questions

Q: Can I compare two date ranges side-by-side? A: Not directly in the chart. Export both and compare externally, or use metrics cards' comparison feature.

Q: Why does my chart look different from Google Ads? A: Check that date ranges match exactly. Also verify timezone settings.

Q: Can I add a fourth metric? A: No, maximum is 3 to keep chart readable. Remove one to add another.

Q: Why is my chart empty? A: No data for selected date range and metrics. Check if client has been synced for this period.

Q: Can I see hourly data? A: No, finest granularity is daily. Google Ads has hourly data but we aggregate to daily.

Q: How do I print charts? A: Export as PDF, then print the PDF file.

Q: Can I customize chart colors? A: Not currently. Colors are assigned automatically based on metric type.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Chart shows no data

Diagnostics:

  1. Check date range - does client have data for this period?
  2. Check last sync date - is data synced?
  3. Check selected metrics - are they available for this campaign type?

Solution:

Problem: Lines look flat/identical

Cause: Metrics on same scale showing similar values

Example:

Clicks: 100-110 (range of 10)
Impressions: 10,000-10,100 (range of 100)

Both on left axis, impressions appear flat

Solution:

Problem: Too noisy to see trends

Cause: Daily aggregation on long date range

Solution:

  1. Switch to weekly aggregation
  2. Or reduce date range to 14-30 days

Next Steps

Master data visualization with these guides:

Ready to visualize your data? Go to Client Details → Overview tab

Want to compare multiple clients? Export charts for each, analyze side-by-side

Need help interpreting patterns? Contact support at contact@perfoads.com

Last Updated: October 4, 2025