Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has replaced Universal Analytics (UA). Starting on July 1, 2024, you will lose access to Universal Analytics data in your account, the API, and in Google Ads. If you haven't completed the migration, go to the Setup Assistant to get started with Google Analytics 4.
When you’ve linked your Google Analytics and Google Ads accounts, you can import Google Analytics data into Google Ads and find this data in your Google Ads account. This data can give you insights and possible opportunities to optimize your campaign.
This article will give you an overview of how Google Analytics data can be helpful in your Google Ads account. When you’re ready, you can then follow the instructions to add Google Analytics columns to your reports.
How it works
To find Google Analytics data in Google Ads, you’ll first need to enable auto-tagging for your Google Ads account, link your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts, and choose Google Analytics views to import site metrics from. Then, you’ll add Google Analytics columns to your Google Ads reports.
By viewing these Google Analytics site engagement metrics alongside your Google Ads performance stats, you can view what people do after clicking on your ad and reaching your landing page. Here's the kind of data you can review:
- Bounce rate: When someone sees only one page or triggers only one event, Analytics considers this a "bounce." Your site's Bounce Rate is the percentage of sessions that are bounces.
- Avg. session duration (seconds): The average time someone stayed on your site.
- Pages/session: The average number of pages viewed per session.
- % new sessions: The estimated percentage of first-time sessions.
This information helps show you how effective your campaigns and ad groups are. The more information you have about your campaign's successes, the more it can help you make decisions about your budgets, bids, landing pages and ad text.
For example, viewing an ad group's bounce rate alongside its clickthrough rate (CTR) can give you a sense of whether your customers are seeing what they expect on your site after clicking your ad.
If you're ready to add Google Analytics data to your Google Ads reports, follow the instructions to add Google Analytics data to Google Ads reports.
Example
Dan sells flowers online. One of his campaigns is focused on birthday flowers, and he's experimenting with different keyword themes to find the one that brings him the most sales. One of his ad groups is focused on "birthday bouquets," while another contains keywords and ads related to "birthday flower arrangements."
When he reviews his clickthrough rate (CTR) for both, he notices that more people are clicking on the "bouquet" ad group's ads than those who click on the "flower arrangement" ad group's ads. At first, he thinks that the "bouquet" ad group is more successful. But when he adds the Bounce Rate column (based on Google Analytics data) to his ad group report, Dan notices a new piece of important information.
While the "bouquet" ad group ads have a higher CTR, 8%, compared with the CTR of the "flower arrangements" ads, 6%, the "bouquet" ad group also has a higher Bounce Rate (60%). This means that more than half of the people who arrive at his site from clicks on the "bouquets" ad group are not staying to explore the site or make a purchase.
In other words, the "bouquet" ad group may be getting a lot of clicks, but they may not be the kind of clicks Dan wants. He notices that the "flower arrangement" ad group has a lower Bounce Rate (30%), which means that people who click through to his site from those ads are more likely to stay on his site and explore.
| Ad Group "Theme" | Impressions | CTR | Ad Clicks | Bounce Rate | Users that don't bounce |
| birthday bouquets | 1,000 | 8% | 80 | 60% | 32 |
| birthday flower arrangements | 1,000 | 6% | 60 | 30% | 42 |
Although the "flower arrangement" ad group gets fewer clicks, for Dan, it's more valuable, because it yields clicks from people who stay to explore his website.