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Writer's pictureKelly Alica Liman
10 min read

How to Create a Google Ads Report in Looker Studio

If you're just starting with Google Ads, then this is the right article for you! We will be showing you how to create a professional and comprehensive Google Ads report that will showcase the performance of your account through Looker Studio.


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In case you prefer to watch a video tutorial instead, here's one you can follow from XYZ Lab's Youtube Channel!




Topics Covered:


 

Part 1.1: Creating a Blank 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


In this example, we will insert a rectangle and text element first to create the header of the report and customize the style of the properties accordingly.




 

Part 1.2: Adding Images and Logo


Step 1: Insert an "Image" element




Step 2: Click "Select a file"




Step 3: Upload your image and style it accordingly



 

Part 1.3: Adding More Space to the Report


Step 1: Click on "Page" and select "Current Page Settings"




Step 2: Click on "Style" and increase the Height





 

Part 2: Inserting 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. In this example, we are showcasing 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



In this example, we have set the date range to this year to date. You can see that the data will refresh to the date range that has been set. Now we have a reusable report where you can change the dates and see the updated numbers without having to recreate the report.




 

Part 3: Inserting Combo Chart and Column Charts for Trend Line


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

  1. Navigate to Style

  2. Change the Series no.1 to Bars

  3. Select "Show Data Labels"

  4. Change the Series no.2 to Lines

  5. 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

  1. Navigate to Style

  2. Change the number of bars to 12 (for 12 months)

  3. 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.





 

Part 4: Inserting Table for Campaign Performance

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 in order 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.



 

Part 5: Inserting Table for Keyword Performance


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).





 

Part 6: Inserting Pie Chart for Device Performance


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.


 

Part 7: Inserting Combo Chart and Column Chart for Network Performance


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.




 

Part 8: Inserting 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.


 

Part 9: Inserting 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.




 

Part 10: Adding 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



 

Part 11: Breakdown the 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"


In our 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.





 

Part 12: Inserting a Drop-down List


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:

  1. Showcase your top-level performance with visibility, efficiency, and outcome metrics using scorecards.

  2. 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.

  3. Showcase the trend lines of the conversion, conversion rate, and cost per conversion by month using combo and column charts.

  4. Break down the campaign and keyword performances using tables with heatmaps.

  5. Analyze your device performance using pie charts to understand where your conversions are coming from and where you're spending your budget.

  6. Analyze your network performance using combo and column charts to understand which networks are performing better and which networks you should perhaps eliminate.

  7. 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!





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