In short: the columns Google shows by default (clicks, impressions, CTR, CPC, cost) are the less important half of the chain: they talk about traffic, not business. The ones that decide — conversions, CPA, value, ROAS, impression share and its losses to budget and to rank — you have to add by hand. One column set per level and you never touch it again.
The default Google Ads columns show clicks, impressions, CTR, CPC and cost: half of the metrics chain (Module 1), and the less important half. The ones that actually decide things — conversions, CPA, value, IS, Quality Score — have to be added. The good news: you do it once, save it as a set and it is there forever.
How do you customise columns in Google Ads?
Columns icon → Modify columns. They appear grouped by category (Performance, Conversions, Competitive metrics, Quality Score, Attribution...). Tick the ones you want, drag them to reorder, and at the bottom: Save column set with a name. Create one per level and switch between them with a click.
Which columns should you see at campaign level?
| Column | Why |
|---|---|
| Status | Disapprovals, limited by budget |
| Budget | How much it is allowed to spend |
| Cost | How much it spends |
| Conversions · Cost/conv. · Conv. rate | The whole chain |
| Conv. value · ROAS (if ecommerce) | Money, not just volume |
| Lost IS (budget) · Lost IS (rank) | Can I grow, and what is holding me back? |
| Search impr. share | How much share I have |
| Bid strategy · Bid strategy type | What Google is doing |
| Clicks · Avg. CPC · CTR | Context, at the end |
Which columns should you see for ad groups?
The same as campaigns, minus budget and bid strategy, and with lost IS (rank): at ad group level it points to where quality is falling short.
Which columns should you see for keywords?
| Column | Why |
|---|---|
| Status (with reason) | Low volume, below first page bid |
| Match type | So you can read search terms afterwards |
| Cost · Conversions · Cost/conv. | What each keyword costs you |
| Quality Score | And its three components: Exp. CTR, Ad relevance, Landing page exp. |
| Lost IS (rank) | Which keywords are not getting in because of quality or bid |
| Impressions · CTR | Context |
Those three QS component columns are the diagnostic tool from Module 1: they tell you what to fix on each keyword.
Which columns should you see for ads?
Status (approved/disapproved), Ad strength, impressions, CTR, conversions, conversion rate, cost/conv. And inside each ad, the asset report (Module 4).
Which columns does almost nobody look at that count the most?
- Conversions (by conv. time): when the conversion happened, not the click. Useful for reconciling with your CRM.
- All conv. and All conv. value: for diagnosis, never for judging (Module 6).
- View-through conv.: conversions after seeing (not clicking) a Display or video ad. Handle with great care.
- Interaction rate / Call clicks in campaigns with call assets.
- Impr. (Top) % / Impr. (Abs. Top) %: where you show up, far more useful than the old "average position".
- New vs returning customers (with customer data): whether you are bringing in new customers or repeating.
What are custom columns?
You can create your own formulas (Columns → Custom columns): for example
Cost / All conversions for an "everything CPA", or Conv. value × 0.35 − Cost for an estimated profit with margin. One well-thought-out column saves
you a spreadsheet.
💡 Ninja trick: the interface columns show the current state; they keep no history. What Quality Score did this keyword have three months ago? When did it start losing IS to rank? Google does not say. A script that saves those columns to a sheet every day builds the history the interface does not have — which is exactly what the QS Analyzer does with Quality Score and its components, and what lets you see trends instead of snapshots.
What you should remember
- The default columns show traffic; add conversions, CPA/ROAS, lost IS and Quality Score and save sets by level.
- Lost IS to budget vs to rank answers "can I grow?".
- The three QS components at keyword level are your diagnosis.
- Custom columns with formulas for whatever the interface does not bring.