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Read your dashboard

The dashboard is where you check campaign performance. It pulls live data from Google Ads in your account's time zone and currency, so the numbers match what you'd see in Google Ads directly.

The metrics​

Hero Marketer shows three groups of metrics.

Volume​

  • Impressions. Times your ad was shown on a results page.
  • Clicks. Times someone clicked through to your landing page.
  • Conversions. Tracked goal completions (sign ups, demo requests, purchases, depending on what you've set up in Google Ads).

Cost​

  • Spend. Total cost across the date range. Charged by Google to your Google Ads payment method.
  • CPC (cost per click). Average amount paid per click. Spend divided by clicks.
  • CPA (cost per acquisition). Average cost per conversion. Spend divided by conversions.

Efficiency​

  • CTR (click through rate). Clicks divided by impressions. The percentage of people who saw your ad and clicked.
  • Conversion rate. Conversions divided by clicks. The percentage of clickers who converted.
  • Conversion value. Total value of conversions where conversion value is set up in Google Ads.

For a glossary of every metric, see Glossary.

Date ranges​

The date range picker has presets and a custom option. The default range is Last 7 days with comparison turned on:

  • Today. Current day, in your account's time zone.
  • Yesterday. Previous full day.
  • Last 7 days. Rolling 7 days, not including today.
  • Last 30 days. Rolling 30 days, not including today.
  • Month to date. From the 1st of the current month through yesterday.
  • Year to date. From January 1st of the current year through yesterday.
  • Custom. Pick any start and end date.

Today and ranges that include today refresh more frequently because the data is still moving. Older ranges are cached.

Comparison modes​

Open the date range picker to change comparison. You can compare against:

  • No comparison. Just the current range.
  • Previous period. The same length window immediately before the current one. (Last 30 days versus the 30 days before that.)
  • Same period last year. The same calendar window from a year ago. Useful for seasonal businesses.

When a comparison is on, every metric shows a delta (absolute and percent) next to it.

Filters​

Use the filters beside the date range to narrow reporting by campaign type, campaign status, or campaign name. The same filters are used on Dashboard and Campaigns > All campaigns. If you change the date range or filter on one page, the other page opens with the same selection.

Filters are remembered per Google Ads account. Switching accounts restores that account's last reporting view instead of carrying over campaign names from a different account.

On the dashboard, the campaign name dropdown only lists campaigns that had activity in the selected date range. Type and status filters still apply to whatever rows are in the table.

Per campaign breakdown​

Below the metric cards, the Campaign Performance table shows the same metrics broken down by campaign. Click any column to sort. Click a campaign name to open the campaign view, which adds tabs for ad groups, ads, keywords, and search terms (or asset groups, assets, search terms, placements, and networks if it's a Performance Max campaign). See Drill into a campaign for the full tour.

Only campaigns with performance data in the selected date range appear in this table. A paused campaign with no impressions or spend in the window won't show up here even if it's still enabled in Google Ads.

Under the table title you'll see a short note explaining that limit, plus a View all campaigns link. Use that link (or Campaigns > All campaigns in the sidebar) when you need the full account roster.

All campaigns page​

The all campaigns page lists every campaign in the account, including paused and removed ones. Campaigns with no activity in the date range still appear, usually with zeros in the metric columns.

It shares the dashboard's date range, comparison mode, and filters. Campaign names link to the same drilldown views as on the dashboard.

What's different:

  • A Status column (Enabled, Paused, Removed, and so on).
  • A row menu on each campaign with Pause and Enable actions. See Pause or edit a live campaign.

PDF export is only on the dashboard today, not on the all campaigns page.

Charts​

The dashboard charts plot a single metric over time. The default is spend; you can switch to impressions, clicks, conversions, or any other metric.

The chart's x axis aggregates by day for ranges up to 60 days, by week for ranges between 60 days and a year, and by month for ranges over a year.

Export to PDF​

Click Export PDF at the top of the dashboard to download a snapshot of the current view. The export captures whatever you have on screen at the time:

  • The date range and comparison setting.
  • All active filters (campaign type, status, names).
  • The chart with the metric and granularity you've picked.
  • The campaign table in the order you've sorted it, including the scope note under the table title.

The file is named dashboard-<account>-<date>.pdf so reports from different accounts and dates stay easy to sort and share.

It usually takes ten to thirty seconds to prepare. Longer date ranges take longer because more data has to render before the PDF is ready.

A few things worth knowing:

  • The PDF is a snapshot from the moment you click. To capture an update, run the export again.
  • The sidebar, filter bar, and other controls are hidden in the file so the page reads cleanly.
  • Per campaign drilldown views and the all campaigns page do not have PDF export yet.

When data looks wrong​

A few common situations:

  • Numbers don't match Google Ads. Time zone is the most common cause. Hero Marketer uses your Google Ads account time zone. If your Google Ads time zone is set to UTC and you're in California, "today" in the dashboard ends earlier than you'd expect.
  • Conversions show as zero. Conversion tracking might not be set up in Google Ads. Conversions tracked through other tools (Google Analytics, server side events) need to be connected to Google Ads first. Hero Marketer reads what Google Ads has, not what other tools report.
  • Metrics seem stale. Google Ads has reporting lag of up to a few hours for some metrics. Refresh after some time has passed.

Going deeper​

For daily monitoring, the dashboard is the main view. To dig into a single campaign, click its name in the table. The campaign view exposes ad groups, ads, keywords, and search terms for Search campaigns, and asset groups, assets, search term insights, placements, and networks for Performance Max campaigns. See Drill into a campaign.

A few reports still live only in Google Ads:

  • Audience and demographic breakdowns.
  • Auction insights.
  • Performance by device and geography.

Open the Google Ads UI directly for those.

Next​