How to Connect Your AdWords and Google Analytics Accounts – And Why You Should

Lauren Owens - June 10, 2015

AdWords and Google Analytics… two great tools that, like chocolate and peanut butter, are supremely better together. When you link your AdWords and Google Analytics accounts, you are able to get almost omniscient power over your marketing data – not only can you see how your ads are performing from a click basis (AdWords territory), but what is going on once a user leaves the AdWords environment and enters Google Analytics territory (aka your website). This data can help you to improve both your ads and your website, which can, if done correctly, lead to higher conversions.

We’ll save those lofty designs for another post, and tell you precisely how you can go about linking your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts.

To get started, you’ll need Edit permission in Google Analytics and Administrative access in Google AdWords.

All set? OK!

In Google Analytics, select the Admin Tab:

Under property, select the account you wish to link and select AdWords Linking:

From there, select the AdWords account you want to link. Make sure to choose the correct AdWords account for the property you’re linking:

When you press “Continue” you will be taken to the Link Configuration section. Here, you will want to enter a title that will help you to identify your group of AdWords linked accounts. This should be something general and not specific to any individual campaign:

Then, select “Share my Analytics data with linked AdWords accounts” and click “Link Accounts.”

Once your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts are linked, you will be able to:

• Create remarketing lists within Google Analytics to be used in remarketing campaigns within Google’s Display Network.
• View AdWords click and cost data alongside site engagement metrics, such as bounce rate and time on site. This will not only save you time, but give you a better understanding of how your ads are performing – not just from a CPC perspective, but a user engagement standpoint. Then, you can start to consider how to create ads – and landing pages – that better connect with your target audience(s).
• Import Goals from Analytics into AdWords, enabling you to gain a more global perspective on your campaigns, which can help you make better decisions moving forward.