If you use Google Analytics to track activity on your site, Google Analytics can share some of the data it collects with Search Ads 360. Once Search Ads 360 receives this data, you can do any of the following:
-
Use Search Ads 360 reports to see which keywords, dynamic targets, and other biddable items lead to Google Analytics transactions and goals, including session goals.
-
Use Google Analytics data in a Search Ads 360 bid strategy. You can create a bid strategy that maximizes transaction and action-based conversions reported by Google Analytics. In addition, Google Analytics provides powerful session-level engagement goals that a bid strategy can work to maximize. For example, you can use a bid strategy to maximize sessions that last more than two minutes.
-
Use the Google Analytics data, formula columns, and automated rules to automate your workflow.
-
Apply Google Analytics attribution models for insight into the keywords that don’t directly drive performance but are part of the funnel that leads to a purchase.
Important details about Google Analytics data in Search Ads 360
Data is available for...
Google Analytics data is available in Search Ads 360 reports for the following items:
- Keywords
- Dynamic targets
- Text ads
- Shopping ads
- Product groups (GA goal completions, GA goal value, GA revenue, GA transactions only. Custom Google Analytics columns and other standard Google Analytics columns are not available for product groups.)
- Items in social and engine track accounts
Google Analytics data is not available for the following items:
- App extensions or other app-promotion interactions
- Search terms report or paid and organic report
Only data associated with Search Ads 360 visits
Google Analytics only sends data for activity that occurs during a visit recorded by Search Ads 360. For example:
-
A customer clicks a paid search ad that was trafficked by Search Ads 360.
-
The ad's tracking URL reaches Search Ads 360, and Search Ads 360 records a visit.
-
When the customer lands on your site, Google Analytics either starts a new session or adds metrics to an existing session. Then Google Analytics sends data that occurs during that session to Search Ads 360.
Google Analytics doesn't send data about other activity on your site, such as sessions that start from direct traffic or sessions that start with a paid search ad that is not managed by Search Ads 360.
Learn more about how Google Analytics associates user sessions with Search Ads 360 visits.
Paid search metrics in Google Analytics
If you want to see paid search activity in Google Analytics as well as in Search Ads 360, you'll need to take additional steps, depending on the type of engine account or on the level of service you've set up in Google Analytics:
-
Google Ads: To view metrics associated with Google Ads clicks in Google Analytics, sign in to Google Ads and link Google Analytics to the Google Ads account. This feature is free for all Google Analytics accounts.
-
Microsoft Advertising: To view metrics associate with Microsoft Advertising clicks in Google Analytics, talk to your Microsoft Advertising account representative for information on linking Microsoft Advertising to Google Analytics. Be sure to let the representative know that you've also linked Search Ads 360 to Google Analytics. This feature is free for all Google Analytics accounts.
-
Search Ads 360 data in Google Analytics 360: If you use the Search Ads 360 Reporting Integration in Google Analytics 360, you can view metrics associated with Search Ads 360 visits in Google Analytics, instead of metrics associated with Google Ads clicks and Microsoft Advertising clicks. The number of clicks can differ from the number of visits when landing pages are unavailable, perhaps due to incorrect landing page URLs, connectivity problems, or spam filtering.
With the reporting integration enabled, the data you see in Search Ads 360 and in Google Analytics 360 will match exactly. To set up this feature, follow the steps to link Search Ads 360 and Google Analytics or contact your Google Analytics 360 Account Manager.
Important: If you don't link Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising to Google Analytics or you don't enable the "Search Ads 360 data in Google Analytics" feature, you won't see paid search activity in Google Analytics.
Metrics in Google Analytics may not match Search Ads 360
If you set up the free link between Google Analytics and Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising, you'll see data that Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising send to Google Analytics. This may be slightly different from the data Search Ads 360 has for the same campaigns for a few reasons:
-
Search Ads 360 displays data associated with Search Ads 360 visits, while Google Analytics displays data associated with Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising clicks.
-
Search Ads 360 and Google Analytics use different systems for counting conversions and attributing conversions to days. Learn more about differences in conversion tracking systems.
-
Search Ads 360 only shows Google Analytics data starting from the day you link Search Ads 360 to Google Analytics. If your Google Analytics report starts before the day you linked Search Ads 360 to Google Analytics, the data won't match.
-
You may be using different attribution models in Google Analytics and Search Ads 360, or you may be viewing a different group of goals and transactions.
-
Search Ads 360 scales conversion metrics when conversions can't be measured directly. Google Analytics doesn't scale conversion metrics.
Important: Make sure the advertiser's web server or redirection service doesn't strip the gclid and gclsrc parameters from landing page URLs. These parameters are added automatically for Google Ads accounts when you enable auto-tagging and for other accounts when you link your Search Ads 360 advertiser with Google Analytics. If the parameters are removed, Google Analytics will not attribute visits to your search campaign, and the metrics in Google Analytics will not match Search Ads 360.
Freshness of Google Analytics data in Search Ads 360
Google Analytics metrics shown in Search Ads 360 reports are updated approximately every 6 hours. Because Search Ads 360 scales the Google Analytics conversion metrics for conversions that can't be measured directly, conversion data can take 24 to 48 hours to be fully complete.
Due to scaling, there may be discrepancies in your reports depending on the date range of the report and when the report is created. For example a report created on January 5th over January 4th-5th may show 100 goal completions, while this same report might show 103 goal completions if created on January 7th.
Rollup properties and source properties
If you use Rollup reporting in Google Analytics, link your Search Ads 360 advertiser to a rollup property instead of a source property. If you try to link to a source property, Search Ads 360 will automatically link to the rollup property instead. If a property that is currently linked to Search Ads 360 is added to a rollup property, Search Ads 360 will change the link to the rollup property.
If needed, you can create a view in Google Analytics to filter the property's data, and then specify the view when you link the property to Search Ads 360.
Unsampled data in Search Ads 360
While reports that you see in Google Analytics sometimes show sampled data, the Google Analytics data in Search Ads 360 reports is unsampled.
Manual URL tagging in Google Ads accounts
If you override autotags generated by Google Ads with manual tags:
- Search Ads 360 will still be able to report on Google Analytics data, since Search Ads 360 does not rely on the data in UTM URL parameters (though it does require the GCLID parameter).
- In Google Analytics:
- The Search Ads 360 reports will function correctly, since these reports do not rely on the data in UTM URL parameters.
- If you add Search Ads 360 dimensions and metrics to custom reports, you'll see the same values that you find in the Search Ads 360 reports, which are not affected by manual tags. If you add Source, Medium, Campaign,
Search Term, or Ad Content to custom reports you'll see the data you specified in the manual tags. - If the utm_source and utm_medium parameters specify any value other than "google" and "cpc", the Google Ads reports will not attribute sessions to your Google Ads campaigns. These reports use the data you specified manually instead of the original data from the autotags.
Removing the Search Ads 360 link
If you remove the link between Search Ads 360 and Google Analytics, here's what to expect:
- In Search Ads 360: you can no longer see Google Analytics data in Search Ads 360. Google Analytics reporting columns will no longer be available. To any bid strategies that used Google Analytics data, it will appear as though the number of Google Analytics goals is zero, and that any revenue from transactions is zero.
- In Google Analytics: if you linked Google Ads to Google Analytics, you'll still see the data Google Ads is sending to Google Analytics.
If you re-link Search Ads 360 to Google Analytics:
- If you re-link to the same Analytics property, you'll see all of the historical data that was collected when you were linked previously. And you'll see new data starting from the day you re-enabled the link. You won't see data about activity that occurred while the link was removed.
- If you link to a different Analytics property, you won't see the historical data associated with the old property. A Search Ads 360 advertiser can only show data for one Google Analytics property at a time.