Pulling data out of Google Ads should be quick. With the current UI, it is, as long as you know where each report actually lives and which segment to apply before you hit download.
This guide walks through the three CSVs you need to run a meaningful account audit: Campaign Performance, Search Keywords, and Search Terms. These are standard reports. No API access, no special permissions, no third-party tools. The whole process takes about 10 minutes once you know the path.
It also covers the one step almost every other guide skips: applying the Day segment, which is what turns a static snapshot into trend-aware data.
The Day Segment: Read This First
By default, Google Ads exports give you one row per entity. One row per campaign, one row per keyword, with totals for the date range you picked. That's fine for a quick look, but it hides everything that matters about direction.
Apply the Day segment and the export changes shape. A 30-day pull of 10 campaigns produces 300 rows instead of 10, with one row per campaign per day. That's what makes it possible to see your CPA was $28 on March 1 and $42 on March 30, instead of just seeing the average.
Without it, you get an audit. With it, you get an audit plus trajectory. Every export below includes the Day segment. Don't skip it.
Export 1: Campaign Performance Report
This one shows how spend, conversions, and impression share are trending across every campaign in the account.
- Sign in at [ads.google.com](https://ads.google.com).
- In the left navigation panel, click Campaigns.
- Click Campaigns again in the sub-menu that appears. This opens the campaign performance table.
- In the upper right corner, click the date range dropdown (it shows your current range, e.g., "Apr 1 to Apr 30"). Select Last 30 days, then click Apply.
- Above the statistics table, click the Segment icon. Hover over Time, then click Day. The table will expand to show one row per campaign per day.
- Above the statistics table, click the Columns icon. Verify these columns are present (add any that are missing):
- Campaign
- Campaign type
- Campaign status
- Budget
- Bid strategy type
- Cost
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- Avg. CPC
- Conversions
- Cost / conv.
- Conv. rate.
- Optional but valuable: Impr. (Top) %, Search impr. share, Search lost IS (budget), Search lost IS (rank).
- Click Apply to update the table.
- Above the statistics table, click the Download button (the arrow icon).
- In the dropdown, select .CSV.
- Rename the file something clear, like `campaigns-last30days.csv`.
That's the first one done. The Search Lost IS columns are the ones that tend to surface the biggest dollar findings, so don't leave those off if you're running a real audit.
Export 2: Search Keywords Report
The keyword export is where Quality Score lives, along with the three QS sub-components (Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Experience) that tell you why QS is what it is.
- In the left navigation panel, click Audiences, keywords, and content.
- Click Search keywords in the sub-menu.
- Set the date range to Last 30 days using the date range selector in the upper right corner.
- Above the statistics table, click the Segment icon, hover over Time, and click Day.
- Click the Columns icon and verify these columns are present (add any missing):
- Campaign
- Ad group
- Keyword
- Match type
- Keyword status
- Quality Score
- Exp. CTR
- Ad relevance
- Landing page exp.
- Cost
- Clicks
- Impressions
- CTR
- Avg. CPC
- Conversions
- Conv. rate
- Click Apply.
- Click the Download button, then select .CSV.
- Rename the file, e.g., `keywords-last30days.csv`.
One thing to know: Quality Score is a current snapshot. Google reports today's QS on every row, even when you've segmented by Day. That's expected behavior, not a data error. The parser handles it transparently.
Export 3: Search Terms Report
Heads up: this is the export where most guides have the navigation wrong. In the current UI, **Search Terms is not under Keywords anymore**. It's under Insights and reports, accessed through the Campaigns section.
- In the left navigation panel, click Campaigns.
- In the sub-menu, under Insights and reports, click Search terms.
- Set the date range to Last 30 days.
- Above the statistics table, click the Segment icon, hover over Time, click Day.
- Click the Columns icon and verify these columns are present:
Search term, Match type, Campaign, Ad group, Keyword, Cost, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Conversions.
Optional: **Added/Excluded**, **Cost / conv.** - Click Apply.
- Click the Download button, then select .CSV.
- Rename the file, e.g., `search-terms-last30days.csv`.
If you've been following an older guide that told you to go to Keywords → Search terms, that path no longer exists in the current UI. The correct path is Campaigns → Insights and reports → Search terms.
Troubleshooting
- "I don't see a Day option in the Segment menu." You're probably on a view that doesn't support time segmentation, like a summary card or chart. Make sure you're in the main statistics table view.
- "My Search Terms report has very few rows." Google withholds search terms that didn't meet a minimum activity threshold, for user privacy reasons. This is expected. Export what's available.
- "I don't see Quality Score columns." Quality Score only exists for Search keywords. Display and Performance Max campaigns don't have it. If your account is mostly PMax, the QS columns may be blank or missing for those campaign types.
What to Do With Your Files
You now have three CSVs. Upload all three to [Kindling](#).
The parser auto-detects which file is which based on the columns. No renaming or reformatting required beyond what you've already done. Currency symbols, percentage signs, comma-formatted numbers, and Google's `--` placeholder cells all get handled automatically.
Most accounts finish analyzing in under 60 seconds. The Search Term Waste findings, including your top wasted-spend search terms with dollar amounts attached, are free. No payment, no account access, no card on file required to see what's costing you.
Upload your three CSVs and get your free audit.
[→ Start free audit](#)
Jered Sanchez
Jered is the founder of Panther City Data. He's spent fifteen years turning messy data into software people actually enjoy using. Marketing degree, engineering brain, design obsession.