If you're just starting with Google Ads, then this is the right article for you! We will show you how to create a professional and comprehensive Google Ads report that will showcase the performance of your account via Looker Studio.
How to Create a Google Ads Report in Looker Studio
Create a Blank Report Looker Studio Report
Step 1: Navigate to lookerstudio.google.com
Step 2: Select "Blank Report"
Step 3: Connect the Data Source
1. Select Google Ads.
2. Select your Google Ads account and click "Add".
Step 4: Name the Report
Step 5: Click on "Insert" to add elements to your report
Through this tab, you'll find all the elements that you can include in your report, such as tables, charts, scorecards, shapes, texts, images, and more.
Step 6: Customize your elements and visualizations
Add your Business Logo
Step 1: Insert an "Image" element
Step 2: Click "Select a file"
Step 3: Upload your image and style it accordingly
Add More Space to the Report
Step 1: Click on "Page" and select "Current Page Settings"
Step 2: Click on "Style" and increase the Height
Insert Scorecards for Top-level Performance
Step 1: Insert a "Scorecard" element and duplicate it a few times
A scorecard showcases a single metric.
Step 2: Select the metrics that you'd like to showcase
Click on each Scorecard element and set the metrics that follow your customer journey. For example, we can showcase the Impressions and Clicks (visibility metrics), Avg. CPC and Avg. CTR (efficiency metrics/supporting metrics), Conversions, Cost/conv., and Conv. rate (outcomes/hard KPIs).
Step 3: Apply a "Comparison date range"
Select all the scorecards and select a comparison date range from the dropdown: Previous period.
You will see some indicators that show the comparison of performance from the current date range to the previous period. For instance, if you're looking at a weekly report, it will compare the results to the previous week; if you're looking at a monthly report, it will compare the results to the previous month.
Step 4: Insert a "Date range control"
Step 5: Select the date range you'd like to view in the report
Insert Combo Charts and Column Charts
Step 1: Insert a "Combo chart" element
Step 2: Select the Dimension and Metric for the Combo Chart
In this example, we will select Month as the dimension and Conversions and Conversion Rate as the metrics.
Step 3: Change the Style of the Combo Chart
Navigate to Style
Change the Series no.1 to Bars
Select "Show Data Labels"
Change the Series no.2 to Lines
Change the Series no.2 Axis to the Right
Step 4: Sort by Month in Ascending Order
Now we have a chart that shows the conversions and conversion rate over months.
Step 5: Insert a "Column chart" element
Step 6: Select the Dimension and Metric for the Column Chart
Select Month or Week as the dimension and Cost per Conversion as the metric.
Step 7: Sort by Month in Ascending Order
Now we have a chart that shows the cost per conversion over months.
Step 8: Change the Style of the Column Chart
Navigate to Style
Change the number of bars to 12 (for 12 months)
Select "Show Data Labels"
With the two charts, we can see the trend lines of how our Google Ads account is performing by month, in terms of conversions, conversion rate, and cost per conversion. If you have a bigger ad account, then you might want to consider setting the trend lines to a weekly basis.
Create a Campaign Performance Table
Step 1: Insert a "Table" element
Step 2: Select the Dimension "Campaign" and select the Metrics you'd like to showcase
Step 3: Click on "Chart" and select "Table with Heatmap"
Convert the table into a heatmap so you can easily see the performance of various campaigns. You can navigate to Style tab to change the colors of the heatmap.
Step 4: Add a "Comparison date range" to the previous period
The completed table will now have a Delta column that shows the performance of each campaign by each metric in comparison to the previous period, i.e. whether the performance went up or down and by how many percent versus the previous period. This will allow you to understand which campaigns are doing better/worse and if there are any issues you need to work on and optimize it.
Step 5: Click on "Show summary row"
The summary row will show the grand total performance of the campaign.
Create a Keyword Performance Table
Step 1: Duplicate the table from Part 4
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Search Keyword"
The completed table will now show the performance of all the search keywords in your campaigns. This will tell us what are the converting keywords, the cost per conversion of the keywords, and how much budget are we spending on each keyword.
Step 3: Set the "Rows per page" accordingly
Navigate to set-up and set the rows to be displayed per page accordingly. For instance, if we set the rows per page to 25, there will only be 25 keywords displayed per page, and we can click the arrow to see the next 25 keywords (instead of scrolling infinitely).
Create a Device Performance Pie Chart
Step 1: Insert a "Pie chart" element
You can change the style from a Pie chart into a Donut chart by clicking on the "Chart" dropdown and selecting the relevant chart style.
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Device" and the Metric to "Clicks"
Step 3: Duplicate the Pie Chart two more times and change the Metric to "Conversions" and "Cost"
The charts show the performance of various devices in terms of the percentage of clicks, conversions, and cost. This will help you understand where the traffic and conversions are coming from, as well as where you're spending the most budget. In our example, the majority of the traffic and conversions are coming from mobile devices, but a lot of the budget is actually spent on desktop devices which are not producing significant results.
Create a Network Performance Combo Chart
Step 1: Duplicate the Combo Chart and Column Chart from Part 3
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Search Network"
Here, we can see the performance of various networks and which ones are working better in terms of conversion and cost per conversion. In our example, we can see an opportunity to eliminate search partners as the cost per conversion is higher.
Create a Combo Chart and Column Chart for Day of the Week Performance
Step 1: Duplicate the Combo Chart and Column Chart from Part 3
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Day of Week"
We want to understand whether there is any difference in cost per conversion and conversion rate throughout the day of the week, which can help us determine if we need to apply ad scheduling.
Create Combo Chart and Column Chart for Hour of the Day Performance
Step 1: Duplicate the Combo Chart and Column Chart from Part 3
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Hour of Day"
We want to understand whether there is any opportunity for ad scheduling for certain hours of the day; whether there are the hours of the day that are performing better or worse in terms of conversions, conversion rate, and cost per conversion.
Add Titles to Each Section
Now that you have created a few tables and charts in your report, you should label them so you can understand clearly what each element/section is representing.
Step 1: Insert a "Rectangle" and "Text" element
Step 2: Title and style the Elements accordingly
Breakdown Google Ads Performance by Types of Conversions
Step 1: Navigate to your Google Ads account
Step 2: Under Campaigns, click on Segment and select Conversion > "Conversion Action".
You'll see that your campaigns might have various types of conversion action.
The Scorecard that we have set up previously with Conversion as the metric shows all the conversions that are recorded by Google Ads. You may want to split this conversion scorecard so you can know exactly what kind of conversions you are getting.
Step 3: Duplicate the Conversion Scorecard
Step 4: Click on the Scorecard and click on "Add a filter"
Step 5: Configure the filter parameter and click "Save"
For example, we want to report only the conversion "Clicks for Directions. We will set up the parameter such that the filter includes segment conversion type name that contains [Click for Directions].
Step 6: Click on the Pen symbol on the Metric and rename it accordingly
In this example, we will label the scorecard specifically as "Clicks for Directions".
Step 7: Duplicate the Cost/Conv and Conv. Rate Scorecards and apply the relevant filters
Step 8: Repeat the same steps for all your conversion actions
It is important to break down the performance of the conversions into each conversion action because sometimes the total number of conversions can be misleading. For example, our account here shows a high number of total conversions, but the actual completed booking forms (which is our most important goal) are lower.
Insert a Drop-down List to Filter Campaigns
Step 1: Insert a "Drop-down list" element
Step 2: Change the control field to "Campaign"
Using the control field, you can select specific campaigns to filter out the performance for the selected campaign. Hence, you can deep dive into the performances of each specific campaign easily.
You can duplicate the drop-down list and change the control fields according to your necessities. This will make it faster and easier for you to narrow down into any dimension and see specific data. For instance, we recommend having a drop-down list for devices. If you're a multinational company, you can also create a drop-down list relevant to countries.
Step 3: Change the metric of the control field
Click on the control field and change the metrics accordingly. We recommend having clicks or conversions as the metric for your control field. When you open your dropdown, it will show the metric you have set for the relevant field.
With this, we have created a one-page report that is very comprehensive and detailed. This report will provide you with all the information you need to know in regard to your Google Ads performance.
To summarize, here are the important parts you need to have in your Google Ads performance report:
Showcase your top-level performance with visibility, efficiency, and outcome metrics using scorecards.
If you have multiple conversion actions, break down your performance into different conversion actions to understand what is the type of conversion you're getting.
Showcase the trend lines of the conversion, conversion rate, and cost per conversion by month using combo and column charts.
Break down the campaign and keyword performances using tables with heatmaps.
Analyze your device performance using pie charts to understand where your conversions are coming from and where you're spending your budget.
Analyze your network performance using combo and column charts to understand which networks are performing better and which networks you should perhaps eliminate.
Analyze your day of the week and hour of day performance using combo and column charts to find opportunities for ad scheduling.
Of course, this is just the basic foundation of your report and you can feel free to customize the content, metrics, and style of the report as necessary!
Frequently Asked Questions on Creating a Google Ads Report in Looker Studio
How do I set up custom metrics or calculated fields in a Looker Studio report?
You can set up custom metrics or calculated fields in Looker Studio through these steps:
Open your data source in Looker Studio.
Click "Add a Field" and define your custom metric or calculated field using formulas.
Use the formula editor to define your calculation. You can use various functions and operators.
Can I use Google Ads data from multiple accounts in one Looker Studio report?
Yes, you can use data from multiple accounts by selecting the appropriate Google Ads accounts when setting up your data source. After creating the data sources, you can blend them in Looker Studio to combine metrics from different accounts. You can also use a data control to allow viewers to select which account's data to display
Can I include Google Ads data alongside other data sources in a single Looker Studio report?
Yes, you can combine Google Ads data with other data sources such as Google Analytics, Google Sheets, or BigQuery in a single report. To include other data sources, click on Add Data again and select the additional data sources you want to incorporate.
If you want to combine metrics from Google Ads with metrics from other sources, you can use the Data Blending feature:
Click on Resource in the menu, then select Manage blended data.
Click on Add a Blend and choose the data sources you want to blend (e.g., Google Ads and Google Analytics).
Define the join keys (common dimensions) that will be used to blend the data, such as Date or Campaign Name.
Select the metrics and dimensions you want to include in the blended data source.
What are the best practices for designing a Google Ads report?
Best practices for designing your Google Ads report in Looker Studio include:
Focus on key metrics and KPIs
Create calculated fields for custom metrics that are specific to your business goals
Using filters to segment data
Use data controls to enable viewers to switch between different data sources or segments easily
Providing context (e.g., timeframes)
Utilize multiple chart types and select appropriate chart types for your data
Include brief explanations or annotations to provide context
Compare current performance against previous periods, benchmarks, or goals
Arrange the report in a logical order, starting with high-level metrics and drilling down into more detailed data
Set up automatic email delivery for the report
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