How to connect Facebook Ads to Google Sheets

Facebook might be getting old but it’s still the most popular social media platform in the world with an estimated 2.93 billion active users. To put that into context, that’s almost 37% of the world’s population. Using Facebook Ads for your brand has the potential for huge reach and revenues. And to make sure you’re on the right path, tracking your performance is essential. One of the best tools for that is Google Sheets.

Read on to find out why and how to connect Facebook Ads to Google Sheets.

Why track Facebook ad performance in Google Sheets

There are some serious benefits to tracking and analyzing your Facebook Ads performance. Here are some of the biggest.

• Optimization. Tracking your ads in Google Sheets gives you a super clear picture of which ads are working and which aren’t. Once you know this information, you can start optimizing your content. Look for patterns in the data to find future avenues or content topics. For example, you might see your audience engage with a bunch of ads that include animated videos. This is a clear sign you should continue publishing similar ads. Tracking helps you see these clear signs.
  
  And unlike many other data analysis tools, you don’t need to pay for Google Sheets. So you can optimize your marketing without breaking the bank. There are both paid and unpaid ways to connect your Facebook Ads data to Google Sheets. We’ll look at both later in this article.
  
• Budget management. Advertising budgets can be tricky. Even more so when you’ve got no idea what your ROI is. But if you track your data, you’ll know exactly how much you need to spend to get a dollar revenue. And you can back up your budget allocation decisions with data. And what better way to make sure you stick to your budget than a spreadsheet. Google Sheets has all the features you could ever need to keep your spending in check.
  
• Audience insights. Who’s looking at your ads is information you need when running a Facebook Ads campaign. Track your performance and you’ll find out the who, what, where, and when about your potential customers. You can add custom charts, graphs, pivot tables, and filters to visualize this data and make it easier to gain insights.
  
• Campaign tracking. Campaigns can be big, complicated things. Tracking performance can make them run smoothly. You’ll know what’s going wrong. And can make the necessary changes to get things back on track. When you start comparing previous and current campaigns, you can get deep insights into your marketing efforts.
  
• Collaboration, integration, and customization. Google Sheets’ sharing features mean multiple uses can work in the same spreadsheet at the same time. It’s also great for sharing results as reports. Google Sheets plays nicely with lots of other tools. Whether they’re part of Google’s suite of platforms, or third-party add-ons so it fits right into your current tech stack. You can also change the design to fit your brand — you can be confident sending reports made in Google Sheets to your clients.

Overview of Supermetrics and PMA

Power My Analytics (PMA) and Supermetrics are third-party connectors you can use to import and analyze your marketing data. They link up to dozens of popular platforms like Facebook Ads. And they integrate with Google Sheets, Google Looker Studio and more. By using them, you can make custom spreadsheets and reports to meet the needs of your brand. 

Installing Supermetrics or PMA add-ons

Before you can start analyzing your data, you need to install the add-ons for both Supermetrics and PMA. Luckily, it’s really easy to do. Access the ‘Extensions’ menu in the Google Sheets ribbon. Click ‘Add-ons’ and then ‘Get add-ons.’

Next you’ll see a search bar. Enter ‘Power My Analytics’ and ‘Supermetrics’ and install the add-ons. After doing this you’ll need to log in and give the necessary permissions. Note: To use the add-ons you’ll need a subscription. Luckily, both PMA and Supermetrics have free trials so you can try before you buy.

Analyze Facebook Ads performance in Sheets with Supermetrics

Below are the steps you need to follow to get your Facebook Ads data in Google Sheets.

Step one: Setting up a new query

Access the Supermetrics add-on in the extensions menu. Launch the sidebar and we can get working on your first query. To get started, click ‘Create new query.’ Now you’ll see all of the different data sources Supermetrics connects to. For this demo, we’re using Facebook Ads. So search for Facebook Ads and click the icon. Next, log into your Facebook Ads account and give the required permissions to Supermetrics.

Step two: Transferring the data

Now it’s time to configure the query. Choose the account, select the timeframe, and add the metrics you’d like to analyze. Then choose the dimensions you’d like to split the metrics by. Click the blue ‘Get Data to Table’ button and Supermetrics will send the data to the spreadsheet.

Step three: Analyzing your Facebook Ad performance

Now your spreadsheet includes data, you can start analyzing it. Start by adding the best charts for your data type. For more on graphs and charts, take a look at our ultimate charts and graphs guide.

Analyze Facebook Ads performance in Sheets with PMA

Now let’s take a look at how to connect Facebook Ads to Google Sheets through PMA. There are three steps you need to follow.

Step one: Adding a data source to PMA

Before we can start using the add-on in Google Sheets, first we need to add a data source. To do this, go to Power My Analytics and log in. In the overview, you’ll see this screen. Click ‘Connect Your First Data Source.’ Find ‘Facebook & Instagram,’ follow the prompts, give the permissions, and you’re all set.

Step two: Setting up a new report

Let’s go back to Google Sheets. You can access the PMA add-on in the ‘Extensions’ menu. Click ‘Show Sidebar’ and it’ll pop up on the right side of the screen. Here we need to set up our first report. To do this, click the plus icon. Search for the Facebook Ads connector. Then select the right accounts.

Next we need to tell PMA what data we want to analyze. Select the date range for your analysis. Choose the dimensions and metrics. Add a filter and, finally, give your report a name. Click ‘Create Report’ and PMA will populate your spreadsheet with the right data.

Step three: Analyzing Facebook Ad performance

Now you should have a table full of data about your Facebook Ads performance. You can use Google Sheets features to analyze and visualize your data. Take a look at our advanced data visualization tips to help you get the insights you need.

Import your Facebook Ads data into Sheets

Finally, there’s one last way to connect Facebook Ads to Sheets. This is the simplest method — it’s pretty old school with no automatic data refreshing. This means that although it’s free and easy to do, it’s the least flexible option. Here’s how it works.

In your Facebook Ads account, click ‘Reports’ in the top right corner. Then select ‘Export table data.’ Next you’ll have the option to download a .csv or an Excel file. Choose the file type you want and click ‘Export.’ Now it’s ready to import into Google Sheets. In the ‘File’ menu click ‘Import’ select the file you just downloaded from Facebook Ads and you’re all set. Just remember that as there’s no automatic update, you need to follow this process every time there’s a change to your data set.

Facebook & Google Sheets FAQs