I recently spoke at AdWords Days in Cologne, Germany, and had  the pleasure of wandering the city for a few extra days.

The skyline of Cologne is dominated by the Cologne Cathedral. No matter where you are in the city, you can look up and see the towers dominating the skyline. However, while you can see the Cathedral, you cannot see the street next to you through a building. From the ground floor, one does not have perspective.

There are 509 steps that transcend 98 meters to reach the top of the cathedral. It is not an easy climb. And one starts to wonder, is it really worth the effort?

At various intervals throughout the climb, you can start to gain some perspective by peering through gated windows.

This is one of those moments you need to ponder. The walls are closing in; deadlines are approaching. Should you keep navigating the maze or to return to the surface to let your aching legs rest?

If you don’t make it to the top of the cathedral – you will never gain perspective of seeing the entire picture. On the ground, you cannot see the street next to you. From the top of the tower, you can not only see the street next to you, but what other landmarks are in the same area. And of course, the view is fantastic as you can walk around the entire cathedral to attain a 360 view of the city.

Climbing the cathedral steps is just like your PPC account organization. It’s easy to give up half-way through as it is time consuming and large accounts can take some brainpower to determine an organizational structure. However, if you don’t climb to the top of the cathedral, you will never gain true insight into metrics such as profit per impression, let alone understand how your user’s search.

It’s not easy – but it’s a wonderful feeling when you finally complete the journey.