Custom dimensions in Google Ads allow advertisers to simplify reporting and campaign management by categorizing campaigns and adding multiple layers of information to reports. Custom dimensions can group campaigns by product lines and departments, allowing advertisers to view performance summaries and details at different levels. This helps streamline naming conventions and provides more tailored reporting compared to just using labels.

1. What are Custom
Dimensions in
Google Ads?
If you’re an advertiser who manages large,
complex accounts, or if you’re in charge of an
elaborate naming system, chances are that you’re
looking for a way to simplify the process.
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Google Ads: What are Custom Dimensions?
If you’re an advertiser who manages large, complex accounts, or if you’re in charge of an elaborate
naming system, chances are that you’re looking for a way to simplify the process. By using Google Ads
custom dimensions, you’ll be able to do exactly this – streamline your campaign naming systems and
reporting efforts.
n this guide, we’ll show you how to use Google custom dimensions and achieve this level of campaign
management simplicity and efficiency.

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What Are Custom Dimensions?
In Google Ads, custom dimensions add more information to your
campaigns to help tailor business reports. As an alternative to
labels, custom dimensions can hold multiple layers of
information, allowing you to view summaries or deep-dive into
details, including however many pivot points you define.
Don’t be confused with Custom Dimensions in Google Analytics.
Custom Dimensions in Google Ads able you to append the
annotations in your campaigns to report on categories and sub-
categories aligned with your business structure and goal. And it
is also slightly different from Labels in Google Ads.

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What Are Custom Dimensions?
• Let’s look at the difference between labels
and custom dimensions:

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Why Use Custom Dimensions?
Google Ads custom dimensions help advertisers create campaign categories and reporting data
summaries for each of these categories.
Here’s an example to show you how you should do this properly.
Similar to a traditional department store, retailers organize their marketing strategies and efforts into
separate product lines within larger departments. Within every product line, the retailer has a separate
campaign for non-branded and branded marketing. They also have campaigns ready for certain
promotions.

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Why Use Custom Dimensions?
During the campaign reporting, keyword level and ad group are useful tools for decision making. The
retailer will also need a way to view and compare overall performance at a product line-level. To
accomplish this, the retailer will create a “Product line” custom dimension, then associate each campaign
with a particular product line such as, “laptops,” “headphones,” “mobile phone chargers,” etc.

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Why Use Custom Dimensions?
• For example, reports are able to display the overall performance for every product line:

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Why Use Custom Dimensions?
• For a more in-depth and more detailed look, the retail can segment the “Product line” report by each
campaign:

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Adding a Secondary Custom Dimension
Secondary dimensions offer additional details. You’ll find them attached to the primary custom
dimensions you’ve applied to your ad groups or campaign.
For instance, every retail product line is owned by a retail department. That means a retailer is able to
expand its “Product line” dimension, simply by adding a secondary custom dimension called
“Department.”

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Adding a Secondary Custom Dimension
At this stage, the retailer can then enter a value such as “Accessories” and “Electronics” for all of their
secondary dimensions.

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Adding a Secondary Custom Dimension
While reports are able to display each product line’s overall performance, they’re also able to show the
overall performance for every department.

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What If Custom Dimensions Are Not Appearing In Your
Account?
It appears to be in limited beta at the moment so your best bet is to ask your Google representative if
you have one. If not then you see it pop up in your accounts! When it does appear, you can find it under
‘Tools & Settings’.

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Wrap Up
When appropriately used, custom dimensions have the power to simplify your campaign management
and data analysis processes. As such, they are a vitally important asset in the PPC manager’s toolkit.
Dissimilar to labels, Google Ads custom dimensions are specifically designed to be applied to and remain
consistent for the long-haul. Your secondary dimensions provide you with the opportunity to include a
hierarchical structure to your campaign reporting while allowing you to drill down from department, all
the way to your product line.

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Wrap Up
When you get familiar with this feature, you’ll soon see that it can improve your campaigns, saving you a
lot of time, money, and frustration along the way.

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Thank You!
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