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Google Launches Custom Columns In AdWords For Deeper Metric Segmentation

Advertisers can segment metrics at the campaign and ad group levels.

Ginny Marvin on December 10, 2014 at 11:00 am

Google has launched Custom Columns in AdWords, letting you segment existing column metrics to get more detailed insights based on your objectives.

For example, “By selecting an existing metric like clicks or conversions, and applying a segment like ‘Computers’ or ‘Mobile’, you can quickly create a new custom column that shows you ‘Computer clicks’ or ‘Mobile conversions.’”

You can add Custom columns at the campaign or ad group level. And, as with other columns, you can sort, filter, and download the data in the custom columns.

Advertiser reactions on Twitter have ranged from pleased,

Custom columns have arrived in #AdWords. See more detailed metrics without having to click a ton of buttons! pic.twitter.com/Q6HoEhxpsj
— Frederick Vallaeys (@siliconvallaeys) December 9, 2014

To exuberant,

Whoa! AdWords Custom Columns –> Conversions by Name. {Macklemore: This is Ef'n Awesome} #ppcchat pic.twitter.com/KUnvM4H15j
— James Svoboda (@Realicity) December 9, 2014

To nice, but not world rocking,

My take on custom columns – cool feature but nothing revolutionary – kind of like shared negative keyword lists. Agree? Disagree? #ppcchat
— Matthew Umbro (@Matt_Umbro) December 10, 2014

To thanks, but is that it?

So, @adwords custom columns are awesome. But why limit us to 5 saved column sets? Counterproductive! #ppcchat
— Melissa Mackey (@Mel66) December 10, 2014

My take is this is one of those features that proves pretty valuable from a time-management perspective, particularly as advertisers play with segmenting their data in different kinds of accounts and campaigns. James Svoboda pointed out the value of being able to see conversion break outs by newsletter sign-ups and actual lead form submissions, for example. Getting that data quickly in the interface can be a big bonus for management time.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin is Third Door Media's Editor-in-Chief, managing day-to-day editorial operations across all of our publications. Ginny writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, she has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.