Custom columns allow you to define and view specific parts of your Google Ads data. For example, instead of reviewing all your CTRs (click-through rates) in 1 column, you could create a custom column that would display your 'desktop CTRs' and 'mobile CTRs' only. You can tailor custom columns to display specific views of your data and quickly see the information that is most important to you.
Why use custom columns?
Custom columns offer a convenient solution if you’re interested in combining columns together or in seeing only part of your data for a metric. With custom columns, you can build custom metrics based on existing metrics in Google Ads and spend less time preparing reports outside of Google Ads. Other benefits include:
- Access and leverage a wide variety of metrics computed from Google Ads data.
- Create your own custom columns and KPI calculations that meet your business and reporting needs in terms that the end client will understand.
- Track how each campaign is contributing towards a formulated or weighted KPI and budget by using formula columns.
- View metrics across multiple date ranges side-by-side in a table.
- Pair custom columns and labels so you can easily flip through different buckets of campaigns, ad groups, ads or keywords.
- Calculations are made in real time to ensure that custom reporting is up to date, with the freshest data.
Here’s an example: Matthew’s business uses a metric called 'Mobile share of clicks', which is defined as mobile clicks divided by total clicks. There's no column for this in the 'Campaigns' page, so Matthew decides to create his own custom column:
- First, he names the column 'Mobile click percentage' and adds a description: 'This column calculates mobile clicks divided by total clicks.' The description will help other users on his account understand what the column displays.
- Then, he selects the Clicks metric and adds the Device > Mobile phones filter to it so it only shows clicks from mobile devices.
- He adds ÷ and adds the Clicks metric again, which represents the total number of clicks.
- Next, he chooses Per cent as the 'Data format' in the upper right so the column will display as a percentage.
- Finally, he saves the new column.
Now, Matthew can view this metric at any time.
Custom columns allow you to use spreadsheet features, such as functions, directly in Google Ads. Learn about creating custom columns
Just like standard Google Ads columns, custom columns can be filtered, sorted, downloaded and used to customise your performance summary chart above your statistics table. Learn how to customise your tables and charts
