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Drill into a campaign

Clicking a campaign name on the dashboard table or the all campaigns page opens the campaign view. It shows the same KPIs as the dashboard but scoped to that single campaign, plus tabs that let you drill into the campaign's sub-entities.

The tab set depends on the campaign type. Search campaigns and Performance Max campaigns each have their own.

Search campaigns​

A Search campaign view shows four tabs:

  • Ad groups. Every ad group in the campaign with its own row of metrics. Click an ad group name to drill in.
  • Ads. Every ad served by the campaign. By default the table shows all ads. Use the Ad group filter at the top to narrow to one ad group.
  • Keywords. Every keyword the campaign bids on. Each row shows match type and quality score (a value from 1 to 10, shown as 7/10). Filter by ad group.
  • Search terms. The actual user queries that triggered your ads. The most useful view when you're looking for negative keyword candidates. Filter by ad group.

Drilling into an ad group​

From the Ad groups tab, click an ad group name. A dedicated ad group view opens. It has its own KPI cards at the top, and three tabs underneath: Ads, Keywords, Search terms, all scoped to that ad group.

Drilling into an ad​

From the Ads tab (at either level), click an ad name. The ad detail page shows the ad's headlines, descriptions, final URL, ad strength, approval status, and the ad's own performance over the selected date range.

Performance Max campaigns​

Performance Max has a different set of sub-entities, so the tabs change:

  • Asset groups. Each asset group in the campaign with cost, conversions, ROAS, and ad strength. Click a group name to drill in.
  • Assets. Every asset (headline, description, image, video, business name) used across the campaign. Two filters sit at the top: Asset group narrows to one asset group, Field type narrows to one role like Headline, Marketing image, or Long headline.
  • Search terms. Performance Max does not expose individual queries the way Search does. Instead, Google categorizes search interest into buckets and reports the volume range and conversion data per bucket. Each row is one of those categories.
  • Placements. Where ads ran across YouTube, Display partners, and other surfaces. Google only reports impressions here, not cost or clicks. Click the external link icon to open the placement URL in a new tab.
  • Networks. Spend, clicks, conversions, and ROAS split by Search, YouTube, Display, Search partners, and so on.

Drilling into an asset group​

From the Asset groups tab, click an asset group name. The asset group view shows KPI cards for that group and the Assets table filtered to just this group's assets. Use the Field type filter to narrow further.

Image assets​

When a row is an image asset, hover the asset name to see a preview of the image. Click the name to open the full size image in a new browser tab. Text assets (headlines, descriptions, business name) and video assets show their text in the name column with no hover preview.

Filters carry across the drilldown​

Date range, comparison setting, and the active Google Ads account all carry through automatically. Change the date range while you're three levels deep and every parent page reflects the new range when you navigate back.

Filter selections that live in the URL, like the ad group filter and the field type filter, stay put when you switch tabs or use the browser back button. They reset when you leave the drilldown.

Period comparison​

If comparison is on at the dashboard (Previous period or Same period last year), the comparison data shows up everywhere in the drilldown:

  • KPI cards. Each card shows the previous value and the percentage change beneath the current value. The percentage is colored by tone: green means the metric moved in the right direction for its kind (impressions up, cost down), red means it moved the wrong way.
  • Table rows. Every metric column shows the previous value and the percentage change underneath the current number.

A couple of exceptions: PMax search term insights and PMax placements do not show comparison data, because the underlying categories shift between periods and a one-to-one comparison would be misleading.

Every drilldown page has a breadcrumb at the top: Campaigns > Campaign name > Ad group name and so on. Click any segment to jump back to that level.

The browser back button works too.

When data is missing​

A few situations to expect:

  • No ad groups, ads, keywords, or search terms. The campaign may not have run in the selected date range, or it may be paused. Try expanding the range.
  • No PMax search term insights. Google only surfaces insights after a campaign has accumulated enough traffic. New PMax campaigns commonly show nothing here for several weeks.
  • No PMax placements. Same situation. Placements appear once Google's automation has spent enough across surfaces to have data worth reporting.

Next​

Pause or edit a live campaign