Facebook Ads to Looker Studio (Data Studio): 2 ways to get your data [free templates included]

The Facebook Ads reporting interface isn't a great tool for monitoring your campaign performance, especially if you have to share it with your clients or stakeholders. Imagine switching tabs to see how your ads are doing.

In this article, we'll show you three ways to get Facebook Ads data into Looker Studio. It's a great tool for visualizing data and building interactive dashboards.

Key takeaways

• Exporting data into Google Sheets and then using the native Google Sheets connector for Looker Studio is great if you're getting data from a non-Google platform and building a one-off dashboard.
• A third-party connector like Supermetrics is ideal if you want to automatically bring cross-channel data into Looker Studio and leverage transformation capabilities to gain more in-depth insights.

Method 1: Importing data via Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a native connector provided by Google that can help you get data into Looker Studio. First, you'll need to get your data into a spreadsheet:

1. Go to your Facebook Ads Manager >> Select the reports or data you want to export >> download or export the data into a CSV or Excel format.
2. Import this CSV/Excel file into your Google Sheets spreadsheet. You can do all the data cleanups and transformations there. Then, just connect it to your dashboard.

This is also a way to get data from platforms other than Google, since all marketing platforms allow CSV export.

To connect Looker Studio to a Google Sheet:

1. In Looker Studio, click the Create a report button.
2. Click the Connect to data button.
3. Search for the Google Sheets connector, and click that.
4. Looker Studio will then prompt you to choose a spreadsheet from a list of your Google Drive files. If the spreadsheet contains multiple worksheets, Looker Studio will prompt you to choose a worksheet.
5. On the next screen, choose the fields you want to add to your report.
6. Click Create report.

This is a cost-effective method to get data, especially if:

• You want to get data from other marketing channels like Facebook Ads or LinkedIn Ads.
• You work with a small amount of data (that can still fit in your spreadsheets).
• Automation and real-time campaign monitoring aren't important to you. Sometimes all you need is a one-off dashboard to show your stakeholders how the campaigns are going.

Method 2: Importing Facebook Ads data into Looker Studio using Supermetrics

If you want to import a larger amount of data and/or bring all marketing data into Looker Studio automatically, then Supermetrics is for you.

Supermetrics makes it easy to collect, manage, and transform data from different sources in any analytics destination. If you want a working Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads dashboard, swipe our free template. Otherwise, follow these steps to get started.

1. Go to Looker Studio, click ‘Create’ >> ‘Report’
2. In the ‘Add data to report’ window, type ‘Facebook Ads by Supermetrics’ in the search bar.
3. To authenticate the connector, first select the Google account you want to use with Supermetrics. Then, select your Facebook Ads account. Depending on your needs, you can also choose other settings, including conversion window, report language, etc. Once you're happy with the settings, click 'Add'.
4. After you've done with setting up the Facebook Ads connector, you'll be directed to an empty Looker Studio dashboard. To visualize your data, select a chart. This could be a scorecard, a table, or a pie chart, etc. Then on the right side of the screen, you'll see a sidebar where you can select the dimensions (campaign name, ad set, date, etc.) and metrics (spend, impressions, clicks, etc.) you want to include in your report.

Using Supermetrics is a great option for you if you:

• Need live, up-to-date data for real-time campaign monitoring and quick decision-making, for example, during critical sales periods like Black Friday
• Work with large volumes of data that would exceed Google Sheets' row limits (10,000 rows)
• Prioritize automation and want to eliminate tedious manual exports and imports, freeing up time for analysis
• Need to combine data from multiple marketing channels, like Facebook Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Google Analytics 4, into a single, cohesive report.
• Want to leverage pre-built templates for quick and professional report creation in Looker Studio

3 free Facebook Ads templates for Looker Studio

To ease your report-building experimentation, browse through Looker Studio reports for Facebook Ads. When you find charts or graphs you like, note the metrics and dimensions used to build them. Or if the prebuilt report works for you, go ahead and use it whole.

Facebook Ads fatigue template

Ad fatigue is inevitable, but observant marketers catch it and take action before it becomes a problem. Use this Facebook Ads fatigue template to see which ads customers no longer respond to. Check out our Facebook Ads fatigue report template.

Facebook & Instagram Ads report template

Bring data from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger Ads all into a single report — something you can't do with the Facebook Ads interface. This template shows you standard performance metrics for ads and conversions alongside demographics and creative analysis. Check out our Facebook and Instagram Ads report template.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads comparison template

Understand how your Facebook Ads perform against your Google Ads with this template, which brings both datasets together, standardizes the data to make it comparable, and uncovers insights through visualizations. Check out our Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads template.

The final verdict—Which option suits you best?

The answer depends on your needs and preferences. For small teams, individual marketers, or those with very limited budgets and/or who want a one-off report, manual data export to Google Sheets is a cost-effective way. But if you want live data, automated dashboards, and cross-channel insights, then Supermetrics is a no-brainer. And if you want to jump-start with Facebook Ads reporting immediately, check out our free template.