Understanding User Acquisition by Google Ads Ad Groups
Tracking which Google Ads ad groups are bringing in new users is crucial for optimizing your advertising spend and understanding the effectiveness of your campaign structure. This analysis helps you identify which ad groups are most effective at acquiring new users, allowing you to make data-driven decisions about your advertising strategy. We'll show you how to create this report in Google Analytics 4.Basic Report Structure
- Report Type: Free Form Exploration
- Primary Dimension: First User Google Ads Ad Group ID
- Secondary Dimensions: First User Campaign Name, First User Ad Group Name
- Metrics: New Users, Average Engagement Time, Conversions
- Visualization: Table format with optional bar chart
Steps to Create the Report
- Open GA4 and navigate to Explore section
- Click the Blank template to start a new exploration
- Under the Dimensions click the + button and search for First User Google Ads Ad Group ID, First User Campaign Name, and First User Ad Group Name, check the checkbox beside them and click Confirm
- Under the Metrics click the + button and search for New users, Average engagement time, and Conversions, check the checkbox beside them and click Confirm
- Drag First User Google Ads Ad Group ID to the Rows section
- Drag First User Campaign Name and First User Ad Group Name as secondary dimensions to the Rows section
- Drag New users, Average engagement time, and Conversions to the Values section
- Set your desired date range in the report settings
- Optional: Add a filter to exclude null Ad Group IDs
Important Dimensions and Metrics
- First User Google Ads Ad Group ID: Unique identifier for each ad group that first brought users to your site
- First User Campaign Name: Name of the campaign associated with the user's first visit
- First User Ad Group Name: Readable name of the ad group for easier identification
- New Users: Count of first-time visitors from each ad group
- Average Engagement Time: How long users from each ad group typically engage with your site
- Conversions: Number of conversion events completed by users from each ad group
Actionable Insights
- Identify ad groups with high new user acquisition but low engagement time to optimize ad messaging for better audience targeting
- Focus budget allocation on ad groups that show both high new user counts and strong conversion rates
- Use the performance data to restructure underperforming ad groups or pause those with poor user quality metrics
- Compare ad group names and performance to identify patterns in messaging that resonate with quality users
Answers Similar Questions
- Track Google Ads ad group performance in GA4
- Monitor new users by ad group in Google Analytics
- GA4 ad group acquisition report setup
- Google Analytics 4 ad group user tracking
- How to analyze ad group user quality in GA4
