Google Ads report in GA4

Sometimes the ghosts of Google Analytics Universal reappear in GA4, especially when you don’t find the same reports from one side to the other.

The focus is on the Google Ads report in Google Analytics 4.

First of all, a necessary element to proceed with the data analysis is to connect the Google Ads account with GA4. The connection allows to import the cost data and to upload the audiences and conversions to GAds.

The linking is very simple to do: just go to the GA4 property > Product Linking > Google Ads Linking and choose the account to link. I remind you that to do this you need to be a GAds admin and have the modification grant in GA4. Tip: when linking accounts, it is advisable to tick the thick on “auto tagging” so you don’t lose data along the way.

Well, now that the accounts are linked, where is the Google Ads data? In a “standard” report of those proposed?

Yes and No, in the sense that some data relating to campaigns can be retrieved – at the dimension level –  but not at the metric level, where all the cost data is missing, such as the cpc for example. We must therefore move on to the Explore section of GA4!

Google Ads in the Explore section of GA4

To get the cost data, you need to create an ad hoc report in the Exploration section of Google Analytics 4.

Thanks to the large number of dimensions and metrics that are provided by GA4, it is possible to create punctual and very detailed reports according to the needs.

In this case the focus is obviously set on GA4 data and Google Ads.

Google Ads Report Creation – Exploration

First, after accessing the Exploration section of Google Analytics 4, choose “blank” and in the “Technique” box choose “Free Form” and view the tabular format.

Google Ads metrics in GA4

Now, you need to choose the metrics to display. To do this, just click on the + at the end of the first column under “Metrics”.

A new layer will open to the right with a set of metrics. Perform a “Google Ads” search using the integrated search, tick the metrics as shown in the screenshot and click Apply:

• Google Ads Cost
• Google Ads Clicks
• Google Ad Impressions
• Google Ads Cost per click
• Google Ads video cost
• Google Ads video view

The remaining metrics relate to cost data of non-Google Ads platforms that have been imported into GA4 through the import tool (e.g. cost data from Facebook or Bing campaigns).

Google Ads dimensions in GA4

At this point you need to choose the dimension(s) per row.

As for the previous point, just access the Dimensions section and click the + button and then search and select the Google Ads dimensions of interest.

You have to pay attention to the choice of the typology: First User vs Session vs Attribution. Depending on the choice, the data analysis changes.

It is possible to use a dimension as row but it can also be used as a column to create a kind of pivot table.

View the  Google Ads report in GA4

Once you enter the dimensions in the rows and columns and the metrics in the values ​​section, a report similar to the following will be generated:

Improve the Google Ads report in Google Analytics 4

The report above can be improved by including metrics and eliminating some data that are not of interest, such as the (not set).

Add new metrics to the report

To improve the readability and actionability of the report, it is now possible to add metrics related to:

• Conversions
• Session Conversion Rate
• User Conversion Rate

Remove the (not set) from the exploration

To exclude the (not set) data from the report, simply right-click on the selected element and select “Exclude selection”.

In-depth analysis of Google Ads

Thanks to the type of configuration of GA4 it is possible to generate in-depth analysis through “nested dimensions” or through the integration of multiple dimensions in a single table.