In short: for client reports and cross-checks with GA4 or the CRM there are two free tools: Looker Studio (shareable visual dashboards, with scheduled PDF) and the Google Ads add-on for Sheets (scheduled data in a spreadsheet, with your formulas on top). What neither exposes — RSA assets, QS history — comes from a script into a spreadsheet.
The report editor lives inside Google Ads. For client reports, joins with Analytics or the CRM, and spreadsheets with formulas of your own, there are two free tools: Looker Studio (shareable visual dashboards) and the Google Ads add-on for Sheets (data in a spreadsheet, on a schedule). This tutorial sets up both.
Part A · How do you build a Looker Studio dashboard?
Step 1 · Connect
Looker Studio → Create → Data source → Google Ads (the official connector) → authorise with the user who has access → choose the account (or the manager account and then filter by account) → Connect. The list of fields appears: dimensions (campaign, ad group, keyword, search term, device, date, network type…) and metrics (cost, clicks, conversions, value, IS…).
Tips: name the source after the account; switch off "account aggregation" if you connect the manager account and want to filter; conversion metrics by action need the "Conversion action name" dimension.
Step 2 · The four-page client report
- Overview: scorecards (cost, conversions, CPA/ROAS, IS) with period comparison; a time series of cost and conversions; a date control.
- Campaigns: a table by campaign with a CPA traffic light against
target (calculated field:
CASE WHEN Cost/Conversions > 50 THEN "🔴" …). - Search: converting search terms; keywords with QS (the "Quality Score" field is available).
- Conversions: by action and by campaign; calls; offline.
Add a date control and an account filter (if it's a manager account) in the header; a theme in the client's colours.
Step 3 · Blend sources
Blended data: Google Ads + GA4 (same date range, key = date and campaign) to see sessions and behaviour; Google Ads + Sheets (plan targets, margins, CRM sales) with key = campaign or month. A useful example: Ads spend (connector) alongside the monthly target (sheet) → a progress bar for the month.
Step 4 · Share and schedule
Share it with the client (view), or schedule delivery as a PDF (weekly/monthly). The data refreshes on opening (or from a 12-hour cache).
What Looker Studio doesn't do well
- Joins the connector doesn't expose (RSA assets, QS components over time): for those, scripts → Sheets → Looker.
- Large volumes of search terms: slow; use filters.
- Changing anything: it only reads.
Part B · How do you use the Google Ads add-on for Sheets?
Step 1 · Install
In a Google Sheet: Extensions → Add-ons → search for "Google Ads" (the official one) → install → authorise.
Step 2 · Create a report
Extensions → Google Ads → Create report: account, report type (campaign, keyword, search term…), columns, filters, date range → it is written into a tab. It is the same engine as the predefined reports, in a spreadsheet.
Step 3 · Schedule it
The add-on allows scheduled refreshes (daily, weekly): the tab regenerates itself. From there, your formulas in another tab (CPA against target, allocation, traffic lights) recalculate with the new data — and Looker Studio can read that spreadsheet.
When to use which
| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| A visual dashboard for a client, shareable | Looker Studio |
| Your own formulas, joins with the plan or the CRM | Sheets (add-on) + formulas |
| Both | Add-on → sheet → Looker reads the sheet (and the connector for the standard stuff) |
| Data neither exposes, daily history | A Google Ads script → sheet |
Which mistakes are made in reports?
- Connecting with a user who later loses access: the report breaks for everybody.
- Mixing "Conversions" and "All conversions" in the same dashboard.
- Blends with no date key: duplicated totals.
- A scheduled add-on with no thought for quotas in huge accounts.
- A "pretty" report nobody opens: schedule the PDF and ask what they actually look at.
💡 Ninja trick: the Suite's script spreadsheets make perfect Looker Studio sources: they already carry the history the connector doesn't have (daily QS, daily IS, fraud blocked in €, lead ratings). The Ninja Scripts client report is built exactly like that: the connector for the standard metrics, the scripts' spreadsheets for what only they know, and the NS_KPIS range as the summary.
What you should remember
- Looker Studio: official connector, four pages (overview, campaigns, search, conversions), blends with GA4 and Sheets, a scheduled PDF.
- The Sheets add-on: scheduled reports in a spreadsheet + your own formulas; Looker can read it.
- What neither exposes (assets, QS history): scripts → sheet.
- One conversion column per dashboard; date keys in the blends.