Google Ads redesigns its interface every few years and moves things around, but the logic never changes: everything hangs off the four levels of the account (Module 2), every screen is a table with columns and filters, and there is a handful of controls that repeat everywhere. This lesson gives you the mental map so you can move without searching.
The side menu (2026)
| Section | What's inside | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Summary with charts and automatic cards | A quick glance; not for deciding |
| Campaigns | Campaigns, ad groups, ads and assets, keywords, audiences, insights and reports (search terms, auction insights...) | 80% of the work |
| Goals | Conversions (actions, summary, diagnostics), customer data | Measurement |
| Tools | Planner, shared libraries (negatives, exclusions), scripts, rules, experiments, bulk editor, Tag Manager... | Setup and automation |
| Billing | Payments, invoices, payment methods, account budget | Administration |
| Admin | Access, linked accounts, account settings, security | Account management |
Speed trick: global search (the magnifying glass at the top, or the "/" key) finds any campaign, keyword or screen by name. It is faster than navigating.
The levels inside the table
Inside Campaigns, the left-hand column walks down the hierarchy: Campaigns → Ad groups → Ads → Keywords. When you click a campaign's name, everything you see from that point on is filtered by it (the header tells you so). To go back to the total: "All campaigns". Half of all beginner confusion ("my data is missing") is being inside a campaign without realising it.
The three controls that are everywhere
1. The date range (top right)
Everything you see depends on it. Usual values: last 7 days (noise), last 30 days (the normal one), previous full month (to judge). And the Compare switch: it shows the previous period next to it with the differences as percentages. Use it whenever you evaluate a change; and remember the conversion delay (Module 6): the last few days are incomplete.
2. The filters (funnel icon)
Filter the table by any column or attribute: status, name, metrics ("CPA > €50", "impressions > 1,000", "conversions = 0"). Filters can be saved with a name ("Keywords that spend without converting") and reused: every saved filter is a question you ask yourself every week.
3. The columns (columns icon)
Which metrics you see. That is a whole lesson of its own, coming next.
Statuses: what the interface tells you without speaking
Every row has a status with its reason: Eligible, Limited by budget, Eligible (limited), Paused, Disapproved, Low search volume, Below first page bid... Hovering over the status explains the reason. Read them as warnings: "Disapproved" on an ad and "Limited by budget" on a profitable campaign are the two most urgent actions of any week.
Download and share
Any table can be downloaded (download icon: CSV, Excel, Sheets) with the columns, filters and segments you have applied. It is the fast way to analyse in a spreadsheet or to send data to someone without giving them access.
💡 Ninja trick: the interface shows one table at a time; what really matters is usually the cross-reference of several (search terms × conversions × QS, budget × lost IS × CPA). A spreadsheet fed by a script can have those cross-references ready for you every morning. That is the idea behind the whole Suite: the interface is for acting, the sheet is for seeing.
What you should remember
- Campaigns is 80% of it; Goals to measure; Tools to configure; the magnifying glass to go straight there.
- Always check which level you are at (are you inside a campaign?).
- Date range + Compare to evaluate; saved filters as weekly questions.
- Read the statuses: disapprovals and "limited by budget" on profitable campaigns come first.