I have been really digging the Reports Editor within Google Ads. The previous Dimensions tab has been retired in this new UI and the Report button in the top navigation is where you’ll find all of these previous reports.
I think this feature can help you to create some very professional looking reports and dashboards without spending a lot of time.
There are some other handy features in the new interface that are definitely worth utilizing, so let’s hop in.
The Reports dropdown in the top navigation bar is where you’ll go to get started. From here, you can access the Reports tab, (previous) pre-made Dimensions reports and Dashboards.
Google Ads Reports
After you click the “Reports” drop-down, you can create a custom report or choose from one of the many pre-made reports that Google Ads offers.
If you click the View All button, you can choose from all of the reports that were previously featured in the Dimensions tab of the old Google Ads user interface.
Let’s take a look at the search term report, which is one of my favorites.
Clicking “Search terms” in the Predefined reports menu, it will take you to the view below.
You can select your date range and use the filter button to scale down the information being shown. You can also use the columns button (a couple of squares put together on the right) to change the columns being shown. What I like the most about this new report is that it immediately makes this table a pivot table, without having to download the information and pull it into Excel.
If you plan to utilize this report often, I would suggest saving the report using the “Save As” button in the top navigation.
Here is a list of what reports are available in the interface:
Basic Reports:
- Campaign
- Ad group
- Ad
- Keyword
- Search terms
- Youtube search terms
- Paid and organic
- Automatic placements (group)
- Free clicks
- Call details
- Final URL
- Billed cost
- Campaign details
- Ad group details
- Message details
Time:
- Day of the week
- Day
- Week
- Month
- Quarter
- Year
- Hour of the day
Conversions:
- Conversion category
- Conversion action name
- Conversion source
- Store visit
Geographic:
- Geographic
- User locations
- Distance
Labels:
- Labels – Keyword
- Labels – Ad
- Labels – Ad group
- Labels – Campaign
Extensions:
- Sitelinks extensions
- Call extensions
- App extensions
- Offer extensions
- Callout extensions
- Review extensions
Display:
- Topic
- Audience
If you still need a specialized report that isn’t covered by one of the reports above, stay with me — let’s cover creating custom reports now.
Creating Custom Reports in Google Ads
Back on the main page of the Reports tab, click the “+ Custom” button to start creating your custom report. Select the type of report you want to create.
For this example, we’re going to take a look at a basic table.
Let’s say you want to see how your landing pages are performing by device.
First, select your rows, which in this case would be the landing page and device options. Drag and drop your row options in the report. You can use the Search bar to quickly locate metrics. The Row and Column areas will become highlighted when you drag and drop selections. Use the arrows to the left of the Report type selection to undo or redo actions.
Select your columns and add any filters like “only enabled campaigns.” If you choose to save your report, other users who have access to the account will be able to see and access your report.
You can also schedule your report to be automatically emailed by clicking the clock symbol. Enter the emails, frequency and file type.
Let’s check out the saved Dashboard feature that Google Ads offers.
Google Ads Dashboards
This is a great way to share performance overviews and on-going reports in one easy spot.
Click Dashboards in the Reports drop-down.
To see a sample dashboard, click “Open Sample Dashboard”. This will give you an idea of what can be created using this tool.
To create your own dashboard, click the blue plus sign. Let’s look at all of the different pieces of the dashboard that you can create.
Scorecard
If you’re looking to do a high-level summary, the Scorecard will be useful. Simply select the metrics, time range and add any filters. Use the handles and box to adjust the size to be bigger or smaller on the finalized dashboard.
Make sure to click the “save” button in the top right corner once you’re happy with your Scorecard.
To add to your Dashboard, click edit and click the blue plus sign again. Here you can create a new table, chart or scorecard. If you choose to create a new table or chart, you are sent to the Report Editor where you can customize and save your report. If you have already created a saved report, you can choose it in the dropdown and click next.
Adjust the size of the table or chart and save.
Adding Report Notes
You can add additional context to your dashboard by adding a Note. (There is also a Notes feature that allows you to add notes to different campaign elements, which is not the same as this addition to your Dashboard.)
To do this, click the blue plus sign and select Note. Add your text, select the save and placement on the dashboard and save.
Repeat this process for all of the tables, charts, and notes that you want to add to your dashboard.
You can have your dashboard automatically emailed on a schedule if that’s what you’d prefer.
Here is what the final result would look like with the three pieces we set up.
Tips for Making the Most of Google Ads Reports and Dashboards
- Create any custom charts or tables before setting up dashboards so that you can pull in that information into your dashboard.
- Filters on some of the reports can be limited and make adjusting your data a little difficult sometimes.
- You set the time period on each individual chart or table, so if you only want to look at the past 30 days, you’ll want to make sure to set that when you’re setting up the individual parts of the dashboard.
If you need tips on how to make the most of filters in the new Google Ads UI, check out this post.
What are you favorite features in the Reports Editor? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
