Unlocking Google Analytics’ True Potential

By Patrick Cannarozzi, Manager of Digital and Data Strategy

How to Upload Bing Ads Data into Google Analytics

 

Google Analytics is the most powerful free tracking tool out there. It can track data from all your online sources and comes equipped with a handful of connectors for Google products as well. But what if you want to see additional data from your sources that aren’t natively tracked in Google Analytics? Luckily, Google also included a feature to help with this as well.

 

Let’s start with a classic example of the above dilemma: Bing Ads cost data. Thankfully, Bing Ads has auto-tagging, so source/medium reports will correctly show traffic data and last click revenue. However, calculating ROAS requires jumping back and forth between platforms to check how much was spent and how much revenue was attributed to it. This is where Google Analytics’ data import feature comes in.

 

Before you go any further, it is important to note that you will need Edit permissions at the Property level to upload data into Google Analytics.

 

Creating a Data Import in Google Analytics

  1. To create a data upload, go to Admin
  2. Under Property, select Data Import
  3. Click create and select Cost Data as your Data Set Type
  4. Name your data set and link your view to it
  5. Under the schema, ensure the following are selected: Date, Medium, Source, Clicks, Cost, Impressions, Ad Group, Keyword, and Campaign
  6. Save your schema

 

Generating Bing Ads Keyword Report

 

You’ll be approaching this cost import all the way down to the keyword level because the granularity can show some really unique insights and help make very specific optimizations to your campaigns.

 

First thing you’ll need is a keyword report from Bing Ads. To do this:

  1. Click the Reports link at the top of the page
  2. Choose keyword as the report type and name your report
  3. In the General Settings section, make sure “Show (unit of time)” is set to Day; this will break out the data by day for your keywords
  4. If you’re running this report through an MCC, make sure you select the “Specific accounts and campaigns” option for “What to report on”

 

With the reporting options selected, the next step is to choose the columns. You’ll need the following that match your schema:

  • Date
  • Campaign
  • Ad Group
  • Keyword
  • Impressions
  • Clicks
  • Spend

 

Download the report, locate the file, and open it.

 

Formatting the Report for Google Analytics Upload

 

You’ll need to make a few formatting adjustments before uploading to Google Analytics.

  1. First, delete all the information above the columns listed previously
  2. Second, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the data and delete the summary row
  3. Next, you’ll want to rename the columns to match Google Analytics’ schema
  4. Date = ga:date
  5. Campaign = ga:campaign
  6. Ad Group = ga:adGroup
  7. Keyword = ga:keyword
  8. Impressions = ga:impressions
  9. Clicks = ga:adClicks
  10. Spend = ga:adCost
  11. Finally, you’ll want to add two additional columns for the source and medium; fill these columns with Bing as the source and CPC as the medium so it matches with the auto-tagged data already in Google Analytics
  12. Source = ga:source
  13. Medium = ga:medium
  14. Save the file as a CSV; Google will not accept any other file format

 

Below is an example of the final CSV format.

format csv for google analytics

 

Upload the Report into Google Analytics

 

The report is now ready to be uploaded into Google Analytics. Head back to the Data Import section under Admin and select Manage Uploads next to your cost data. Select Upload File at the top left and locate your file.

 

Finding the Data in Google Analytics

 

Now that the data has been uploaded, you can create a custom report to show your PPC data in one place. Below is an example of one such report.

custom report in google analytics

 

With this, you can easily compare your PPC campaigns across platforms with accurate ROAS and CPA metrics.

 

Google Analytics’ data import option is a powerful extension of the platform and this is only one example of how it can be utilized. We all know, the more information, the better, so if there is third-party data that needs to be analyzed against your Google Analytics metrics, always remember this option.

 

As always, if you have any questions about this content, feel free to get in touch with our team!

 

[email protected]

 


Vladimir Jones is Colorado’s original independent, integrated advertising agency, with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We believe in brilliant brands and love making the world love them as much as we do.

Vladimir Jones is Colorado’s original independent, integrated advertising agency, with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We believe in brilliant brands and love making the world love them as much as we do.