Configuring Google Ads

Overview

Google Ads provides valuable data about your advertising campaigns and performance. By connecting your Ads accounts, you can export this data to Google Sheets for further analysis, reporting, and optimization.

Prerequisites

Before you can configure Google Ads exports, make sure you have:

• Connected your Google account (see Connecting Your Google Account)
• Granted Google Ads access permissions to your account
• At least one active Google Ads account
• Connected at least one Google Sheet (see Configuring Google Sheets)

Adding Google Ads Accounts

To export data from Google Ads, you first need to select which advertising accounts you want to connect:

1. Access the Google Integration Dashboard

   From your account dashboard, navigate to Connections > Google Integration.

2. Find the Google Ads Section

   In the Google Integration dashboard, locate the Google Ads section.

   

   The Google Ads section in the Google Integration dashboard

3. Add an Ads Account

   Click the "Add Ads Account" button to view available accounts.

4. Select an Account

   You'll see a list of Google Ads accounts that you have access to. For each account, you can see:

   • Account name (or ID if no name is set)
   • Account ID
   • Currency used in the account
   • Time zone of the account
   

   The account selection page showing available Google Ads accounts

5. Confirm Your Selection

   Click the "Add Account" button next to the account you want to connect.

Managing Connected Accounts

After connecting Google Ads accounts, you can manage them from the Google Integration dashboard:

Creating Google Ads Exports

Once you've connected your Ads accounts, you can create exports to send data to Google Sheets:

1. Navigate to the Export Builder from your dashboard
2. Click "Create New Export"
3. Select "Google Ads" as the data source
4. Choose the Ads account you want to export data from
5. Select a Google Sheet as the destination
6. Configure the export settings (see below)
7. Set up a schedule for the export
8. Click "Create Export" to save your configuration

For detailed instructions on creating exporters, see our Creating Data Exporters guide.

Google Ads Export Settings

When configuring a Google Ads export, you'll have several options to customize what data is exported:

Basic Settings

Configure the fundamental settings for your export:

• Export Name: A descriptive name to identify your export
• Date Range: Select how much historical data to include:
  • Last day
  • Last 7 days
  • Last 30 days
  • Last 90 days
  • Custom date range (for specific time periods)

Dimension Tabs

Google Ads exports are organized by dimensions, with each dimension creating a separate tab in your Google Sheet. The interface uses a tab-based layout where you can configure each dimension independently:

The tab interface for configuring different dimensions

Common dimensions include:

• Campaign: Performance data broken down by campaign
• Ad Group: Performance data broken down by ad group
• Keyword: Performance data for your keywords
• Ad: Performance data for individual ads
• Device: Performance data by device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
• Network: Performance across different networks (Search, Display, etc.)
• Date: Performance data broken down by day

For each dimension tab, you can:

• Enable/Disable: Choose whether to include this dimension in your export by selecting metrics
• Set Data Handling: Choose whether to append new data or replace existing data
• Select Metrics: Choose which performance metrics to include for this dimension

Metrics Selection

For each dimension, you can select which metrics to include in your export:

The metrics selection interface for a dimension

Available metrics include:

• Impressions: How many times your ads were shown
• Clicks: How many times users clicked on your ads
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks
• Cost: How much you spent on your ads
• Average CPC: The average cost per click
• Conversions: The number of conversions generated
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in conversions
• Cost Per Conversion: The average cost for each conversion
• ROAS (Return On Ad Spend): The return on your advertising investment

You can use the "Select All" and "Deselect All" buttons to quickly manage your metric selections.

Data Handling

For each dimension tab, you can choose how to handle the exported data:

• Replace (default): Each export run will clear existing data and replace it with new data
• Append: Each export run will add new data rows without removing existing data

The append option is particularly useful for building historical datasets. When enabled, new data will be added to existing rows rather than replacing them.

Best Practices

• Focus on Key Performance Indicators: Select metrics that directly relate to your advertising goals (e.g., conversions, ROAS)
• Use Multiple Dimensions: Create exports with different dimensions to analyze your campaigns from various angles
• Regular Scheduling: Set up daily or weekly exports to track performance trends over time
• Combine with Other Data: Use Google Sheets to combine your Ads data with data from Analytics or other sources for a complete picture
• Create Custom Calculations: Use Google Sheets formulas to create custom metrics like profit margin or lifetime value
• Segment Your Data: Use dimensions like device or network to identify opportunities for optimization

Troubleshooting