Here we demonstrate that the emission spectra of the ablation-plasma produced by nanosecond laser pulses on metallic Al targets may be directly connected to the ablation rates and the dimensions of the ablated craters. We show that the variation of the individual spectral-lines intensities with pulse number gives direct, real-time information on the crater depth, whereas the relative intensities of the lines and their widths enable us to study the variation of the electron temperature and density with pulse number and laser fluence in direct connection to the ablation rates. To interpret these results we use a simple model in which the plasma-plume is treated as an ideal gas expanding away from the target with a velocity given by the electron-temperature, and exerting a recoil pressure determined by the electron temperature and density. The model correlates the plume hydrodynamic-length to the crater dimensions and succeeds in predicting the rims heights.