About the Campaign Data Import for Google Sheets add-on

The Campaign Data Import for Google Analytics is a Google Sheets add-on that simplifies importing cost, click, and impression data from third-party advertising platforms into Google Analytics.

This tool helps you get a more complete view of your cross-channel advertising performance by combining data from platforms outside of Google with your Analytics data. This enables more comprehensive performance reporting and unlocks features like advertising budget analysis directly within Google Analytics.

This article explains how to install, configure, and use the add-on to prepare your data for import.

On this page

• Benefits
• How it works
• How to enable the add-on
• Create and manage data connections
• Schedule automatic data updates
• Upload data to Google Analytics
• Understanding the imported data

Benefits

The current manual process for importing third-party ad data requires you to download files, reformat them to match the Google Analytics schema, and then upload them.

The add-on simplifies this process by:

• Automating data preparation: Connect directly to your third-party ad accounts to pull data into a Google Sheet that’s automatically formatted for Google Analytics Data Import.
• Reducing manual errors: By automating the formatting, the add-on minimizes the risk of errors that can happen during manual data manipulation.
• Saving time with scheduling: Set up your data connections once and schedule them to automatically update daily.

How it works

The add-on simplifies the first three steps of the data import process: authenticating with third-party platforms, downloading the data, and reformatting it.

After you set up the add-on, it creates a Google Sheet with your campaign data formatted correctly. You will then need to download this file and upload it to your Google Analytics 4 property using the Data Import feature.

How to enable the add-on

Step 1 of 2: Install the add-on

You must install the add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace before you can use it in Google Sheets. Follow these steps:

1. Open a new or existing Google Sheet.
2. From the menu, click Extensions.
3. Click Add-ons, then select Get add-ons.
4. Search Campaign Data Import for Google Analytics.
5. Select the add-on and click Install.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to authorize the add-on.
7. After installation is complete, refresh your Google Sheet.

Step 2 of 2: Enable the add-on

To activate the add-on for the current sheet:

1. From the menu, click Extensions.
2. Select Campaign Data Import for Google Analytics.
3. Click Enable.

Create and manage data connections

After enabling the add-on, you can create connections to your third-party advertising platforms.

Create a new connection

1. In your Google Sheet, go to Extensions and select Campaign Data Import for Google Analytics.
2. Click Manage connections. A sidebar will open on the right.
3. In the sidebar, select a data provider from the dropdown list. A configuration dialog will appear.
4. In the dialog, configure the following settings:
   • Connection name (optional): Enter a name to help you identify this connection later.
   • Authorization: Click the button to connect to your ad platform account. You’ll be prompted to sign in and grant the necessary permissions.
   • Account selector: Choose one or more ad accounts from which to import data.
   • Date range: Select the time period for the data import. For example, last 30 days, last 90 days, or a custom range.
   • Row limit: Specify the maximum number of rows to import.
   • Mode:
     • Replace existing data in a sheet: Overwrites all data in the destination sheet with the new import.
     • Append/merge data: Adds new rows of data to the existing data in the destination sheet.
5. Click Next to create the connection.

Manage existing connections

Once you’ve created one or more connections, they will be listed in the "Manage connections" sidebar. For each connection, you have the following options:

• Import: Manually triggers an immediate data pull from the platform.
• Go to sheet: Navigates to the specific sheet containing the data for that connection.
• Delete: Removes the connection and its configuration.

Schedule automatic data updates

You can schedule the add-on to automatically pull data from your connections every day.

1. In the "Manage connections" sidebar, find the option to set a schedule.
2. Select the option to enable a daily data pull.
3. You can also choose to receive an email notification if a data import error occurs.

Upload data to Google Analytics

After enabling the add-on, it automatically creates a tab in your spreadsheet named “Consolidated Campaign Data”. This sheet combines the data from all your connections into a single, correctly formatted table.

The add-on prepares your data but doesn’t automatically upload it to Google Analytics. To upload data to Google Analytics:

1. In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data import.
   Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You must be signed in to a Google Account to open the property. You can change the property using the property selector.You must be an Editor or above at the property level to  connect an import source.
2. Create an import source connection and link your Google Sheets with the add-on installed.

Understanding the imported data

The add-on pulls data from each connection into a separate sheet and then merges it into the “Consolidated Campaign Data” sheet. This consolidated sheet is what you’ll upload to Google Analytics.

The data is formatted with the following required schema:

• campaign_id
• campaign_name
• source
• medium
• date
• impressions
• clicks
• cost