You receive a monthly report from your Baidu PPC agency. It is 15 pages long. It has colorful charts. And after reading it, you still do not know whether your campaigns are working.
This is the reporting problem. Most Baidu PPC reports are designed to look comprehensive, not to drive decisions. They drown you in metrics while hiding the numbers that actually matter.
Here is what an effective Baidu PPC monthly report should include — and what you can safely ignore.
π― The 7 Metrics That Matter
1. Total Leads Generated
The number of qualified leads (form submissions, phone calls, chat inquiries) generated this month. This is the single most important metric.
What to look for:
- Absolute number and trend (up/down vs. last month)
- Breakdown by campaign and ad group
- Quality distribution (how many were sales-qualified vs. junk)
2. Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Total ad spend divided by total leads. This tells you how efficiently your budget is converting.
Benchmark ranges by industry:
| Industry | Healthy CPL Range (RMB) |
|---|---|
| B2B Manufacturing | Β₯50β150 |
| SaaS / Software | Β₯80β200 |
| Professional Services | Β₯100β300 |
| Education | Β₯50β150 |
| E-commerce | Β₯20β80 |
3. Conversion Rate
Clicks that became leads. A low conversion rate signals landing page or targeting problems.
Healthy ranges: 3β10% for B2B, depending on industry and offer.
4. Total Ad Spend
How much you actually spent vs. your planned budget. Both overspending and underspending are problems.
What to look for:
- Budget utilization rate (should be 90β100%)
- Day-by-day spend distribution (any unusual spikes?)
- Spend by campaign (are you investing in the right areas?)
5. Top Performing Keywords
The 10β20 keywords generating the most conversions at the lowest CPL. These are your money makers.
6. Search Term Report
What people actually typed before clicking your ads. This reveals:
- New keyword opportunities you should add
- Irrelevant searches you should exclude (negative keywords)
- How well your keyword targeting is working
7. Optimization Actions Taken
What your agency did this month to improve performance:
- New keywords added
- Negative keywords added
- Bid adjustments made
- Ad copy changes
- Landing page tests
If your report does not include this section, your agency is not earning their fee.
π« Metrics You Can Usually Ignore
Impressions
Impressions tell you how many times your ad was shown. Unless you are running brand awareness campaigns, this number does not drive decisions. A campaign with 10,000 impressions and 50 leads is better than one with 100,000 impressions and 30 leads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR matters for quality score optimization, but it should not be a primary decision metric. A high CTR with low conversions means your ad is compelling but your landing page is not.
Average Position
Baidu reports average ad position, but this is misleading. Position 1 does not always mean best ROI. Sometimes position 3β4 delivers better cost efficiency.
Quality Score
Quality Score is important for campaign optimization, but it is a diagnostic metric, not a business metric. Your agency should track it internally, but monthly reports should focus on business outcomes.
π Report Structure Template
Here is the structure BPP uses for client reports:
Page 1: Executive Summary
- Total leads, CPL, total spend
- Month-over-month trend (with arrow indicators)
- Top 3 wins this month
- Top 3 action items for next month
- Overall campaign health score (Green/Yellow/Red)
Page 2: Lead Performance
- Lead volume by campaign (bar chart)
- CPL by campaign (comparison table)
- Lead quality breakdown (sales-qualified vs. marketing-qualified vs. junk)
- Lead source distribution (search vs. feed vs. other)
Page 3: Spend Analysis
- Budget vs. actual spend (with variance)
- Spend by campaign (pie chart)
- Daily spend trend (line chart)
- Spend efficiency (cost per qualified lead)
Page 4: Keyword Performance
- Top 10 converting keywords (with CPL and conversion rate)
- Top 10 spend keywords (are they converting?)
- New keywords added this month
- Negative keywords added this month
Page 5: Search Terms & Opportunities
- Top 20 actual search terms (with conversion data)
- Recommended new keywords to add
- Recommended negative keywords to add
- Competitor activity notes
Page 6: Optimization Log
- All bid adjustments made (with rationale)
- Ad copy changes and test results
- Landing page test results
- Any campaign structure changes
Page 7: Next Month Plan
- Budget recommendation
- Strategy adjustments
- New campaigns or ad groups to test
- Content or landing page recommendations
π¨ Red Flags in Reports
Watch for these warning signs:
| Red Flag | What It Means |
|---|---|
| No search term report included | Agency is not monitoring actual queries |
| CPL trends not shown | You cannot see if efficiency is improving |
| No optimization actions listed | Agency may be running campaigns on autopilot |
| Only impressions and clicks highlighted | Vanity metrics hiding poor conversion |
| Report arrives 2+ weeks late | Agency lacks real-time monitoring capability |
| No competitor analysis | Agency is not watching the competitive landscape |
π€ How BPP Reports to Clients
At BPP, we believe reporting should drive decisions, not fill pages. Our reports follow the template above — concise, data-driven, and actionable. Every metric included answers a business question. Every recommendation is backed by data.
We report in English (or Japanese/Korean for our respective clients) so you can read and act on the information without translation delays.
Want to see what a BPP report looks like for your industry?
Talk to the BPP team. We will show you a sample report and explain how our reporting drives campaign improvements — no pressure, no fluff.
β Contact BPP