INTRODUCTION
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, effective marketing campaigns rely on data-driven insights to optimize performance and drive better results. As digital marketeers, harnessing the full potential of available data is crucial for the business of our clients.
To be able to manage campaigns and evaluate their success in the best possible way, it goes without saying that having the Google Ads report available in GA4 is crucial for marketeers.
Indeed, Google Ads offers valuable insights into advertising campaign performance, including clicks, impressions, conversions, and more. On the other hand, GA4 provides a holistic view of website and app analytics, enabling marketers to understand user behavior, engagement, and conversion patterns. By seamlessly integrating Google Ads reports into GA4, digital marketers gain a consolidated and comprehensive view of campaign effectiveness and user interaction data, leading to informed decision-making and enhanced campaign optimization. Furthermore, as the attribution models and the way the data is tracked completely differs, GA4 is often considered providing a better view on the customer journey thanks to this holistic approach.
In this article, we'll explore how to integrate the Google Ads data in GA4 but also how to make sure that this report is easily accessible by including it in the default reports.
How to link GA4 with Google Ads?
Once you are in your property, go to “Admin” and under Property settings you will be able to link your Account with Google Ads.
Once this is done, GA4 will automatically populate the Google Ads report meaning that you won’t have to do anything. The only problem is that it’s hard to find this report, and it’s not directly added to your default dashboards in the “Reports” section of GA4.
How to “bookmark” your Google Ads reports in the default “Reports” section
In this part, we will epxlain the steps that need to be taken in order to have the Google Ads report accessible as a default report for all the users of the property.
1. Make sure that your Google Ads account is linked
2. Go to your Google Ads report (for instance via: Lifecycle --> Acquisition --> Acquisition Overview --> View Google Ads Campaigns)
3. Edit the report by clicking on the pencil (top right)
4. Don't change anything and click on save your report (top right)
5. Save the report (existing or new, doesn't matter)
6. Go back to the report's sections and click on Library
7. Edit collection of the Life Cycle collection
8. Look for the Google Ads report
9. Drag and drop it where you want it to be (under acquisition for instance)
10. Save changes (to the current collection)
11. The report is now “bookmarked by default and all the users of the property can access it.
Conclusion
Integrating Google Ads data and its reports into Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a critical step in maximizing the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns. However, accessing the Google Ads report in GA4's default reports section can be challenging. By following a few simple steps to "bookmark" the report, marketers can ensure easy accessibility and leverage its valuable insights. Embracing this integration empowers digital marketers to unlock the full potential of their campaigns, drive better results, and provide maximum value to their clients.
Sebastiaan Reeskamp
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