Connect Microsoft Ads Data to Looker Studio : How-to, templates, metrics...

This tutorial will guide you through the process of linking your Microsoft Ads account with Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio), enabling you to create rich, dynamic, and customizable marketing reports. By following these steps, you'll be able to visualize your advertising data in real time, uncover actionable insights, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your Microsoft Ads campaigns. Let's get started on simplifying your reporting workflow.

How to connect your Microsoft Ads account to Looker Studio

Create an Account on Looker Studio

Embarking on your data visualization journey begins with setting up an account on Looker Studio. If you're leveraging Google's ecosystem, the process is streamlined for you. Simply use your existing Google account to access Looker Studio.

Connect Microsoft Ads to Looker Studio

Let's dive into the specifics of integrating your Microsoft Ads data. Follow these instructions carefully, and you'll be analyzing your data in no time.

• Start from the main dashboard in Looker Studio, find and click the "Create" button.

• Choose the "Report" option to create a new report.

• Inside the data sources gallery, look for Catchr's Microsoft Ads data connector.

Step-by-step guide on the authorization step:

When it's your first time using a connector, there are a couple of authorization steps you need to follow:

• A request for Looker Studio authorization will appear; grant permission to proceed.

• Choose the Google account linked to Looker Studio.

• Carefully review the necessary permissions for Looker Studio and scroll down.

• Click on "Allow" to provide those permissions.

• Next, you'll see an 'Authorize' button for the Catchr connector. Click it to allow Catchr access to your Microsoft Ads account.

• Follow the popup instructions for Catchr authorization, and soon you will complete the authorization process.

• After a short loading period, choose the relevant Microsoft Ads account and click "Add".

If you don't see the "Add" button at the bottom right, it may be labeled as "Create Report" at the top right of the screen.

In conclusion, by linking Microsoft Ads data with Looker Studio using the Catchr connector, you're now ready to build powerful marketing reports that will empower you to make strategic decisions based on up-to-date and comprehensive data.

Example of metrics you can use with the Looker Studio Integration for Microsoft Ads

The integration of Microsoft Ads with Looker Studio presents a palette of detailed metrics, enabling you to analyze and visualize data in unprecedented ways. You can track campaign performances, understand demographic insights, assess search query trends, and much more. These metrics can be woven into engaging reports that tell the story of your ads' success and areas for optimization.

Visualizing performance data, such as Click-Through Rate (CTR) in conjunction with Cost Per Click (CPC) and Conversion Rate, allows marketers to gauge which campaigns and keywords are driving the most valuable traffic. Advanced metrics like Quality Score and Impression Share provide deeper insight into how efficiently your ads are reaching the intended audience.

Utilizing demographic data such as Age Group or Gender can help tailor your creative messaging and bidding strategies for specific audience segments, thus enhancing relevancy and likely improving performance.

For an extensive list of all metrics you can track and analyze with Catchr for Microsoft Ads in Looker Studio, refer to the detailed fields listing at Microsoft Ads Metrics on Catchr.io.

Take the power of data analytics into your own hands by incorporating these comprehensive metrics into Looker Studio, and transform raw data into visually compelling and insightful reports that drive actionable marketing decisions.

How to create a dashboard to display data from Microsoft Ads

Ok, all the configuration steps are done. We can now start to create your dashboard.

If you have clicked Create Report, you are now in front of a blank report with just your data source. To learn what is each section of this page, check this short article.

We will create this dashboard so you can use it as a template for other accounts.

Choose your KPIs and display them:

For a Microsoft Ads account, we want to follow each step, from when your ads have been seen to when a customer purchases on your website, passing by your number of clicks and your percentage of people that visit your ads and click on them.

Here's the list of KPIs: 

• Spend -> Total budget
• Impression -> how many times do your ads appear on the screen
• Cost per Milles (CPM) -> What do 1000 ads on screen cost you?
• Clicks -> How many clicks on your ads?
• Click-through rate (CTR) -> Percent of people that click on your ads after seeing them.
• Cost per Click (CPC) -> What does a click cost you?
• Conversions -> Your number of purchases (or your number of results if you have a different objective).
• Cost per Conversion -> What does a conversion cost
• Conversion rate -> Percentage of people who click on your ads and then purchase (or a result action).
• Revenue -> Total money generated by your ads.
• Return on Ads Spends (ROAS) -> How many times you get your investment.

And here is how to display them (sometimes a gif is better than a long story) : 

Use tables to details campaigns, audiences, ads, or objectives:

Now, we want to add some breakdowns to our KPIs. That way, we can identify give more insight to our viewers.

To do so, create a new table and choose "Campaign Name" as the dimensions and add some metrics : 

You can do the same with the following dimensions :

• Ad Group Name
• Ad Title
• Goal

Do not hesitate to explore the fields in the right column. You can find more exciting dimensions that can help you present your results.

Creating a design:

You know how to display your information through charts. But your report must still be more beautiful, even with more cards or tables.

To create a visually pleasing dashboard, we will change the dimension and add a header, a square behind the cards, and colors on our table.

Change page's dimension  :

From the menu Theme and Layout, then Layout, search for the Canvas Size section and change the height to 2000 :

You now have enough place for all the tables.

Please note that you change the canvas dimension for all the reports in Theme and Layout. So if you add a new page, they will also have these dimensions.

But you can override this configuration in the Page -> Current Page Settings menu, then Style and Canvas Size. All settings chosen here will only apply to the current page.

Add a header

In Looker Studio, you can natively add two shapes: Rectangle and circle. It's easy to use : 

• Click on the Shape button (the square in the shortcut bar).
• Select your shape.
• Click anywhere in the report to add it.

We will start by adding a square at the top of the page, enlarge it to take the full width, and finally, change its color in the Style menu : 

Then create a new text field to give a title to your report :

You can also add images in PNG format, for example, your logo or clients logo:

Add a rectangle behind the cards:

You know how to add a rectangle. We will now add one behind the card. To do so, place a rectangle. Then Right Clicks on it. Then choose Order -> Send to back : 

Add color to the table header:

We will also change the table header. You can check on the Style tab for every component to modify the visual appearance.

Table is no exception. We can change the color of the header, the font size and color, the interline color, etc.

Tips: you can apply only the style of an element to the other: copy one component you want to re-use the style, the right clicks on other components, Paste Special -> Paste style only

Tips for building your design : 

Alignment tips: if you select multiple elements and right-click on them, you have three options that will become your best friends if you like when everything is pixel-perfect:

• Vertical Align: You can align two or more elements to the top, the bottom, or the middle of your selection.
• Horizontal Align: You can align two or more elements to the left, the right, or the center of your selection.
• Distribute: You can distribute evenly three or more elements vertically or horizontally. 

Shape tips: Looker Studio can only draw two shapes but will accept all PNG. You can use Google Draw to create forms that suit your needs and download them to PNG for your reports. 

Customizing your report:

There are multiple ways to customize your report. For example, you can filter your data by date or campaign or compare KPIs to a previous period.

And you can let your viewer play with dynamic filters to let him dig into the data.

Create a dynamic filter:

In the shortcut bar, click on Add a control. Then select the Drop-down list. Place it on the page and add the Campaign Name dimension.

Now, the viewer can filter the entire report by campaign name.

You can also use the Fixed-size list and the Advanced filter to have the same result with a different appearance.

Compare KPIs to a previous period:

On every component, you can find a section called Comparison date range. Looker Studio will compare the data to the previously selected period if you activate it.

To do so :