Month-end is here, your bookkeeper wants the Google Ads numbers, and the screen is full of charts with no obvious place to download anything.
To export Google Ads data to Google Sheets, open the page that holds the table with your numbers and set the date range and columns. Then click the download icon for that table and choose Google Sheets or a file format such as Excel CSV or CSV. Google Ads Help names that path as the download icon, then Download.
The first run takes about ten minutes. You pick the completed month, confirm which campaigns are in the table, and keep the handful of columns that tell you what the money did.
After that, Google can email the same report on a schedule, so the next month costs you almost nothing. Search terms come out as their own file, and your own lead and sales records are the check on every total.
Key Takeaways
Open the page with the numbers, set the date range and columns, click the download icon, then pick Google Sheets, Excel CSV or another format.
A full calendar month in the date range keeps one month comparable with the next, and the basic campaign table needs no paid reporting tool.
Search term, Keyword and Match type are different fields, and Google may leave out low-volume queries for privacy reasons.
Google Ads conversions are the actions your account counts, so compare them with your leads, bookings or sales before you change a budget.
Get last month's numbers into a spreadsheet in about ten minutes
The export itself is short. What takes the time is choosing the right table and the right dates, so do those two things before you touch the download icon. This order works for a monthly review.
- Open the page with your numbers: For campaign results, open Campaigns in Google Ads. Google says the download icon sits with the statistics table on whichever page you are viewing.
- Set the date range: Choose the last completed month, such as October 1 to October 31, not "last 30 days," so the file lines up with your books.
- Check the scope: Make sure the account, the campaigns and any filters match what you want to report. A filter left on from last week can hide half the spend.
- Add your columns: Use the Columns control to match the layout in the next section.
- Download: Click the download icon, choose Download, then pick Google Sheets, Excel CSV, CSV or another format.
Google lists the formats as Excel CSV, CSV, TSV, PDF, XLSX, XML and Google Sheets, and it also offers options to open the report in Report editor, email it or schedule it. The steps are in Google's guide to downloading reports.
Pick the format by what happens next. Google Sheets puts the data straight into a spreadsheet you can share with a link. A CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Sheets and makes a tidy attachment for a bookkeeper.
Name the file by month, for example `google-ads-2026-10.csv`, so the folder sorts itself and nobody asks which version is current.
When the file opens, check three things before anything else: the date range, the account name and that the totals row is there. If any of them is off, go back to the table, fix it and download again. Re-exporting costs a minute; a review built on the wrong month costs a meeting.
See cost, clicks and conversions together with a simple monthly layout
A plain campaign table is enough for a first review. Google describes the columns it offers, and for a basic monthly report these are the ones worth keeping: Campaign, Impressions, Clicks, Cost, Conversions, Conversion rate, Cost / conv. and, where you have set conversion values, Conv. value.
| Column | What it shows | Worth keeping when |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Which campaign each row belongs to | Always |
| Impressions | How often your ads showed | You want to see reach month to month |
| Clicks | How often people clicked | Always |
| Cost | What the account spent | Always |
| Conversions | The actions your account counts as conversions | Always |
| Conversion rate | Conversions divided by eligible ad interactions | You compare campaigns of different sizes |
| Cost / conv. | Total cost divided by conversions | Always |
| Conv. value | The sum of the values assigned to conversions | Your conversion actions have values set |
The two definitions that cause arguments are the last two ratios, and Google states both. Conversion rate is conversions divided by eligible ad interactions. Cost / conv. is total cost divided by conversions. Conv. value is the sum of assigned conversion values, so it tells you something only if your conversion actions carry values.
If you need a layout that the main table does not offer, build one in Report editor. Go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Report editor, choose Custom, then Table. Drag in Campaigns as the rows and metrics such as Clicks, Cost and Conversions as the columns, set the date range in the upper-right corner and save the report. Google covers the steps in its guide to the Report editor.
Keep the column order the same every month. Your bookkeeper stops re-learning the file, and a change in any number stands out right away.
Stop repeating the export by sending the report to your inbox
Once you have a layout you like, you do not have to rebuild it every month. The same download menu has a Schedule option that emails the report on a repeating basis. You choose how often it runs and in what format, and Google does the rest.
To set it up, click the download icon, select Schedule, choose the frequency and format, add any optional settings and click Schedule. Google says scheduled reports can go to account users who have direct access to view reports, so confirm the recipient list before you save. Google's guide to scheduled reports walks through the same steps.
A monthly routine you can repeat
- 1
Step 1
Open the saved or scheduled report and confirm the date range is the month that just ended.
- 2
Step 2
Check the account name, the campaign scope and the totals row.
- 3
Step 3
Save the file with a month in the name, such as google-ads-2026-10.csv.
- 4
Step 4
Send it to your bookkeeper or drop it into the shared review folder.
- 5
Step 5
Compare cost, clicks, conversions and Cost / conv. with the month before.
Timing is worth knowing if you rely on the email arriving at a set hour. Google says reports for an individual account begin running at 1:00 a.m. in the account's time zone, and reports for a manager account begin at 5:00 a.m. Its page on scheduled report times has the details.
If the person who receives the email is a bookkeeper rather than an account user, use the download route instead and forward the file yourself. That keeps account access limited to the people who need it.
Pull search terms as their own file so you can see what people typed
Search terms are not a column you add to the campaign table. They are a separate report with its own export, and mixing them up is the quickest way to hand over a file that answers the wrong question. Google defines the three fields precisely: the Search term is the phrase a person entered, the Keyword is the advertiser keyword that matched it, and the Match type describes the relationship between the two.
Open Search terms in your account, set the same completed month, and use the same download icon. Give the file its own name, such as `google-ads-search-terms-2026-10.csv`, so it never gets mixed up with the campaign file.
Google may leave out low-volume queries from this report for privacy reasons, so the rows will not always add up to every click you paid for. The definitions and the privacy note are in Google's guide to search terms. To read the file once you have it, our walkthrough of the Google Ads search terms report covers reading the rows.
Catch the mistakes that make a good export misleading
A clean download can still tell a wrong story. The usual causes are small and easy to fix, and each one is worth a glance before the file leaves your hands.
Check before you send the file
Confirm it is the completed month you meant, not a rolling window.
Campaigns for campaign totals, Search terms for what people typed.
Cost, Conversions and Cost / conv. should all be present.
Look at every campaign and the currency, not just the one you opened first.
A scheduled report should reach only people who need it, in a format they can open.
The bigger question is what the conversion number stands for. Conversions are the actions your account is set to count, and that may not be the same as a lead you could quote or a sale you could invoice. Compare the Google Ads totals with your own lead log, booking calendar or sales records before you decide anything. When the two differ, the cause is usually in how conversions are counted or which actions are included, and it deserves a look before you move budget.
If you also keep website numbers in a spreadsheet, sending Google Analytics data to Google Sheets puts both views side by side.
When the file is ready for a review, the part that changes spending is reading Cost, Conversions and Cost / conv. by campaign across several months. If you want help turning that into decisions, our pay-per-click work covers reviewing where the money goes.
Decide whether the ten-minute export is all you need
For a basic monthly review, you can do this alone. The export needs no paid reporting platform, and a plain campaign table with the right date range and columns is enough to start. Run it once, set up the schedule, and see whether the numbers answer the questions you actually have.
Paid help earns its place when the file does not answer the business question. Examples are which conversions count as leads or sales, why Google Ads totals differ from your CRM or booking records, which campaigns produce qualified opportunities, and how to run a repeatable monthly review that changes spending.
If you are handing the account to someone else, that calls for a bigger export than this one; the list of what to export from Google Ads before switching agencies covers it.
Can you export your Google Ads data?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. Where does the download icon sit when you want your campaign numbers?
2. Cost / conv. is calculated how, according to Google?
3. You need a list of the phrases people typed. Which report do you export?
Frequently Asked Questions About Exporting Google Ads Data to Google Sheets
How do I export Google Ads data?
Open the page with the table you need, set the date range and columns, click the download icon, choose Download, then pick a format such as Google Sheets, Excel CSV or CSV.
Can Google Ads export to Google Sheets?
Yes. Google Sheets is one of the options on the download menu, along with Excel CSV, CSV, TSV, PDF, XLSX and XML.
Can Google Ads email reports automatically?
Yes. Click the download icon, choose Schedule, then set the frequency and format. Reports can go to account users who have direct access to view reports.
What is the difference between a keyword and a search term?
A keyword is the term an advertiser adds to target an audience. A search term is the phrase a person actually entered, and its Match type describes how the two relate.
Which columns should I keep for a monthly review?
Campaign, Impressions, Clicks, Cost, Conversions, Conversion rate and Cost / conv. Add Conv. value if your conversion actions have values.
Why are some search terms missing from my export?
Google may leave out low-volume queries from the Search terms report for privacy reasons, so the rows may not account for every click.
The Bottom Line
The export lives on the table itself. Set a completed month, keep the columns that show cost, clicks and conversions, click the download icon, and pick Google Sheets or a file format. Search terms are their own export, and a scheduled report can send the same layout to your inbox every month.
Done once, this gives you a report you can repeat in minutes, a file your bookkeeper can open and a habit of checking Google's numbers against your own records before you act. That check is the step that keeps a spreadsheet from steering spending in the wrong direction.
If the file still leaves questions about which conversions count, why the totals differ from your records or what to change next month, Web Leveling can help through our Google Ads management work. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas, and we will tell you if the basic export already does the job. Send us what your report is showing, and we will help you read it.
Terms
Google Ads export words in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Statistics table. The table of results on a Google Ads page, which you can customize with columns, segments and filters.
Report editor. The Google Ads tool for building a custom report with the dimensions and metrics you choose.
Conversion rate. Conversions divided by eligible ad interactions, as Google defines it.
Cost / conv.. Total cost divided by conversions.
Search term. The phrase a person entered when they searched.
Match type. The relationship between a search term and the keyword that matched it.
