AdAce AdsAds dashboard: what to show, what to avoid and how to build one
A useful ads dashboard answers one question: is the money working? It shows spend, results by the event that matters to you, cost per result, a trend against the previous period, wasted spend and whether tracking is healthy. You can build it in each platform, in Looker Studio, in a spreadsheet or in an all-in-one tool. Pick by how many platforms you run and who needs to see it.
What should an ads dashboard show?
Start with six blocks. First, spend for the period. Second, results by the event that matters, such as leads, purchases or booked calls, not every action the platform counts. Third, cost per result, which is spend divided by those results. Fourth, a trend against the previous period, so you see direction and not only a number. Fifth, wasted spend: campaigns or search terms that cost money without results. Sixth, tracking health: a dashboard is only as honest as the events behind it.
Keep the top row small. Four or five numbers a client can read in ten seconds beat thirty charts. Put detail below: by campaign, by ad, by day. If you run several platforms, show each one with its own definition of a result and add a combined view only where the results mean the same thing.
Every platform has a built-in view. Google's Help Center describes custom dashboards in Google Ads with scorecards, charts, tables and notes. Meta's Help Center describes Ads Reporting, where you can create, customize, share, export and schedule reports and add breakdowns and filters. These are free to use and always close to the source, but each shows only its own platform.
The next step is a tool that pulls several platforms into one place. Looker Studio is free of charge, according to Google. It has Google-built connectors, including Google Ads, and connectors built by third parties for other sources such as Facebook Ads. Third-party connectors are priced by their makers, and many are paid, so check each listing before you count on a free setup. Looker Studio also has a paid Pro tier; Google's documentation describes it as adding enterprise support and compliance.
Spreadsheets work for small accounts. Meta lets you export reports as XLSX or CSV, and Google Ads lets you download reports too. The cost is your time: someone has to export, paste and check formulas every week. All-in-one tools remove that work and add cross-platform views, alerts and client sharing, usually for a subscription. Compare them on the checklist below.
Dashboard options compared
| Option | Setup time | Google and Meta together | Cost model | Sharing with clients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads dashboards | Short, inside Google Ads | No, Google only | Included with the account | Google says dashboards can be saved and shared |
| Meta Ads Reporting | Short, inside Ads Manager | No, Meta only | Included with the account | Report links work only for people with access to the ad account; otherwise export a file |
| Looker Studio with connectors | Medium: build pages and map fields | Yes, with a Google Ads connector and a third-party connector for Meta | Looker Studio is free; third-party connectors are priced by their makers and are often paid | Share with people or by link, per the report's sharing settings |
| Spreadsheet with exports | Short to start, ongoing weekly work | Yes, by manual paste | Free tools, but your time | A shared sheet or a PDF you send |
| All-in-one ads tool | Short: connect accounts | Yes, built in | Usually a subscription; compare plans | Depends on the tool; check links, hiding spend and revoking access |
A checklist for choosing
How many platforms do you run? One platform: use its native view. Two or more: you need a combined view or a routine to build one.
Who reads it? You, a team or a client? Clients want a few clear numbers, not a login to learn.
What is a result for this business? If it is a qualified lead or a booked call, the dashboard must count that event, not a generic conversion.
Who keeps it correct? A free dashboard that breaks silently costs more than a paid one that is maintained.
Can you hide spend? Agencies often show results without cost, or the other way around.
Mistakes that make a dashboard misleading
- Mixing platform-attributed conversions. Each platform counts conversions with its own rules and attribution window, so adding Google and Meta conversions together can count one customer twice. Show them side by side, or label the total as conditional.
- Counting every action as a conversion. Link clicks, page views and purchases are different things. Choose the result that matches the goal and report that.
- Vanity metrics. Impressions, reach and likes are fine for context, but they do not tell you whether the budget earned anything.
- Mixing currencies and time zones. Accounts in different currencies or time zones need conversion with dated rates and a note about day boundaries, or the totals mislead.
- Reading unfinished days. Platforms keep recalculating recent days. Mark them as preliminary instead of presenting them as final.
- No tracking check. If the pixel or tag is broken, results drop and the dashboard blames the ads.
How to choose and build yours
- Write down the one result that matters for each client, such as a qualified lead or a booked call.
- Check tracking before you build anything. Confirm the event fires and that it counts once per person.
- Choose the dashboard layout: a top row of spend, results, cost per result and change versus the previous period, then detail below.
- Pick the tool from the table. Start with native views if you run one platform; move to Looker Studio, a tool or a spreadsheet when you need both.
- Add a wasted spend view and a tracking health note, so problems are visible before the client sees them.
- Decide the audience. Create a client view with only what they need, and hide spend if that is your agreement.
- Review the dashboard monthly. Remove numbers nobody used and fix definitions that drifted.
Limits and caveats
- What AdAce Ads does. Its client overview lists a client's accounts with spend, clicks, conversions and cost per result plus totals. It sums spend only in one currency or converts with dated exchange rates, shows conversions across platforms as a conditional total with the reasons they are not strictly comparable, and flags accounts in different time zones. Totals include only imported campaigns.
- Results by the event that matters. AdAce Ads counts results by the client's key event, then by the event the ad set optimizes for, and labels mixed result types instead of adding them up.
- Honest data. Daily numbers are collected each night. When some days are unknown the total is marked partial, and days the platform may still recalculate are marked preliminary: up to 28 days for Meta and 3 days for Google. Period comparison shows both values and the change, with warnings when periods are not like for like.
- Sharing and plans. A shared dashboard is a private link that clients open without signing in. You choose ranges of 7 to 90 days, can hide spend and campaigns, set an expiry of up to 365 days and revoke it instantly. The Free plan includes one ad account with the full dashboard and client reports; shared live links are part of the Pro and Max plans. Ad spend is paid to the platform directly, and AdAce Ads adds no fee on it.
- No dashboard fixes bad tracking. If events are wrong, run a tracking audit first.
Sources and further reading
- Google Ads Help: Create and edit dashboards
- Meta Business Help Center: About Meta Ads Reporting
- Meta Business Help Center: Create a visualization in Ads Reporting
- Google Cloud: Looker Studio remains free of charge
- Google Cloud: About connectors, data sources, and credentials
- Looker Studio Help: Ways to share your reports
- Marketing dashboard: one client overview across Google and Meta
- Google Ads dashboard for clients: a shared live link, no sign-in
- Results and cost per result by the event that matters
- Daily performance of campaigns, ad groups and ads
- Period comparison: previous period, month or year
- Find wasted ad spend
- Conversion tracking audit
Common questions
What should an advertising dashboard include?
Spend, results by the event that matters, cost per result, a comparison with the previous period, wasted spend and a tracking health check. Add detail by campaign and ad below that.
Is Looker Studio free for an ads dashboard?
Google says Looker Studio is free of charge, and Google Ads has a Google-built connector. Connectors for other sources, such as Facebook Ads, are built by third parties and are priced by their makers, so check each one.
How do I build a Google and Facebook ads dashboard?
Choose the one result that matters, check tracking, then use Looker Studio with a Google Ads connector and a third-party Meta connector, a spreadsheet with exports, or an all-in-one tool. Show each platform with its own definition of a result.
Why shouldn't I add Google and Facebook conversions together?
Each platform counts conversions with its own rules and attribution window, so one customer can be counted twice. Show them side by side or label any total as conditional.
Can I share an ads dashboard with a client?
Yes. Google Ads dashboards can be shared, Meta report links work for people with access to the ad account, and Looker Studio reports can be shared with people or by link. AdAce Ads offers private live links that clients open without signing in.
What is the difference between a dashboard and a report?
A dashboard is a live view you check often. A report is a snapshot for a period that you send or keep. Many teams use both.
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