8 free tools for PPC reporting

Reporting is an important a part of paid media administration for speaking outcomes to stakeholders and informing optimization selections.

Whereas there are a selection of well-made third-party reporting instruments, many are pricy and inaccessible to all PPC managers, both on account of price range issues or advanced approval processes.

Moreover, varied instruments have totally different advantages, with some higher suited to spreadsheet-nerd evaluation and others for visually pleasant reporting.

This text appears at eight free choices you need to use for PPC reporting. 

1. Looker Studio

Looker Studio (previously generally known as Google Knowledge Studio) is a full-scale device for constructing interactive experiences that may be seen in a browser or downloaded as a PDF.

As Google owns this platform, it integrates by default with most different Google-owned properties, corresponding to Google Analytics, Google Advertisements, Search Advertisements 360 and Show and Video 360. 

For different platforms, you may export information to Google Sheets and sync it to a report. A number of paid third-party instruments additionally let you sync on to a wider vary of knowledge sources.

You’ll be able to create charts, graphs, tables and textual content packing containers or embody dropdowns and different parts to permit customers to filter information how they’d like. 

Superior customers can mix a number of information sources collectively, corresponding to combining Google Advertisements information and CRM information or reporting throughout a number of accounts.

For these simply beginning out, ready-made templates are free instantly from Google and third-party suppliers to supply a primary reporting construction.

Dig deeper: 3 steps for effective PPC reporting and analysis

2. Google Advertisements/Google Sheets add-on

With this free add-on developed by Google, you may generate advert experiences after which import them right into a Google Sheet.

You’ll be able to customise which columns to indicate and filter information (corresponding to to indicate choose campaigns or solely these with latest impressions). 

The device additionally permits you to set schedules for refreshing information at common cadences.

This setup might be helpful when sharing with people who need to see information in a spreadsheet format or for offering simply exported information tables you can manipulate for different reporting.

3. Google Advertisements experiences and dashboards

The Report Editor inside Google Advertisements permits you to construct experiences with the exact metrics you’d prefer to see and save them for future use. You’ll be able to successfully make a pivot desk populated with the metrics and dimensions you need to embody. 

As well as, a number of ready-made templates may also help you rapidly view efficiency by advert group, key phrase, viewers, content material or different dimensions.

One useful tip is you can embody customized columns you’ve created, corresponding to for seeing totals and CPA for particular person conversion actions. 

Moreover, you may create dashboards containing information from a number of experiences, scorecards for top-level metrics and notes for commentary. One latest use the place I’ve discovered a dashboard useful was monitoring particular advert exams I’m working.

Dig deeper: How to approach weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual PPC reporting

4. Microsoft Promoting experiences

Microsoft additionally comprises its personal sturdy reporting part, the place you may view premade experiences or construct your personal.

Along with exhibiting commonplace marketing campaign information, just a few sensible makes use of for these experiences embody:

• Writer reporting to see a breakdown of efficiency by web site URL, which might’t be seen in the principle interface.
• Detrimental key phrase conflicts to take away negatives which will inadvertently be blocking key phrases you need to bid on.
• Advert extension reporting at key phrase or advert degree.
• Person location reporting to view precise geography of people versus focused geography.
• Label reporting (helpful for reviewing exams the place advert variants could also be labeled individually).

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On the social promoting entrance, Meta has a built-in reporting part, which could be discovered underneath the Advertisements Reporting part of the menu.

Choices embody a pivot desk function and the flexibility to construct line and bar charts. 

It can save you pre-built experiences with the precise dimensions, metrics and filters you’d like to incorporate. You may also break down information in varied methods, corresponding to by marketing campaign identify, gadget, placement and extra.

6. Google Advertisements Editor

Whereas this may increasingly not essentially be your first thought for reporting, you may see efficiency information in Google Advertisements Editor.

While you first open it, you’ll see a graph and selectors for top-level metrics, with the flexibility to decide on a timeframe. 

You may also pull information into the modifying part through the View Statistics button within the prime bar. Select particular person metrics, which you’ll then populate in a desk throughout the Editor interface. 

Moreover, you may view a search time period report or see the efficiency of particular person search, show, app, or Demand Gen belongings (together with pictures and textual content).

These options might be helpful as an alternative choice to the online UI for downloading information in spreadsheet format.

7. Microsoft Promoting Editor

Equally to Google, you may also embody metrics when downloading information into Microsoft Promoting Editor. 

Use the View Statistics button within the prime bar and choose the timeframe you’d prefer to see. You may also view the info instantly within the interface or export it to control in Excel or one other program.

8. Google Analytics

A correctly configured Google Analytics implementation is essential for any PPC supervisor’s evaluation. You’ll want to ensure web site site visitors out of your advert platforms is being tracked correctly (corresponding to by connecting Google Advertisements and utilizing correct UTM parameters throughout platforms). 

Stories in-built GA4 may also help present the efficiency of advert site visitors tied along with web site conduct metrics. 

In case you’ve linked your Google Advertisements account and have auto-tagging turned on, you may view Google Advertisements information along with key occasions (occasions that you just’ve marked as precedence for your small business, corresponding to type completes, gross sales, and so on.) underneath the Promoting part. 

Explorations provide a very good place to begin for constructing personalized experiences that may be segmented to incorporate solely particular site visitors, corresponding to that from paid channels, together with choose dimensions and metrics.

As an illustration, you may create a funnel report exhibiting how a lot advert site visitors is getting to every step of the acquisition course of.

An added worth of Google Analytics for PPC reporting is the flexibility to see how advertisements work along with different channels corresponding to natural search, social, referrals and direct site visitors within the conversion course of. 

The Attribution part helps you to see customers’ paths throughout a number of mixtures of channels and examine final clicks to data-driven fashions.

Dig deeper: How to combine GA4 and Google Ads for powerful paid search results

Begin reporting

Even when you don’t have the price range for pricier reporting instruments, there are various free choices out there.

In case you haven’t examined among the choices reviewed on this article, take the time to examine them out, play with options and see what reporting configurations may match on your wants.