New google ads custom view: how to create your own overview dashboard and optimize ppc performance

As a Google Ads manager, the first thing you see when you open the platform matters. Your overview should help you make faster, better decisions – not slow you down with noise, irrelevant cards and cluttered data.

With the new Custom View feature on the Google Ads Overview page, you can finally design your own dashboard and turn the default overview into a true PPC command center tailored to your workflow.

In this article, I’ll walk you through what’s new, why it matters for performance marketers, and how I personally recommend setting up your custom overview for maximum clarity and speed.

What is the new Google Ads Custom Overview?

Google has introduced a new “Custom View” setting directly in the Overview section of the Google Ads interface. Instead of being stuck with the standard cards and layout, you can now:

• Create multiple custom overview tabs  
• Turn individual cards on or off with a single toggle  
• Reorder cards via drag-and-drop  
• Save up to 5 different overview configurations

In other words: you decide what you see when you log in.

For performance-focused PPC managers, this is a big step toward making Google Ads feel less like a generic reporting tool and more like a personalized control room.

Why this update matters for Google Ads managers

If you manage multiple accounts or large budgets, you know the pain:

• You open Google Ads and are greeted with cards you never use.  
• Key metrics are hidden below the fold or split across multiple pages.  
• You waste time jumping between tabs, segments and reports just to answer basic questions.

The Custom Overview solves exactly that. It allows you to:

• Focus only on the metrics and dimensions that drive decisions  
• Reduce cognitive overload by removing irrelevant data  
• Build different views for different workflows (e.g. performance, reporting, optimization)  
• Spot trends and issues faster, without digging through endless menus

The result: more time spent optimizing, less time spent searching.

Key features of the Custom Overview

1. Create your own overview tabs

You’re no longer limited to a single overview layout. With Custom Views you can create separate tabs based on your needs.

Examples:

• Performance – for daily monitoring of core KPIs  
• Reporting – for top-level metrics you share with clients or stakeholders  
• Optimization – for surfacing insights that suggest actions  
• Testing – focused on experiments, A/B tests and new campaigns

You can name these tabs however you like: “Performance”, “Report”, “Optimize” – whatever matches your workflow and mental model.

This structure helps you separate “what I need to see every day” from “what I need to see when I’m planning changes” or “what I show in meetings”.

2. Turn cards on or off with one toggle

Not every card on the Overview is useful for every account.

Some examples:

• Day & Hour performance might not matter if your campaigns already have strict schedules.  
• Device breakdowns might be irrelevant if you’re already using automated bidding with little room for manual device adjustments.  
• Some recommendation or insight cards may be distracting instead of helpful.

With Custom Views, you can simply toggle off the cards that don’t add value and keep the ones that support your decisions.

This is especially powerful if you manage many accounts: you can standardize a clean, focused overview that surfaces only what truly matters.

3. Reorder everything with drag & drop

Once you’ve selected your cards, you can drag and drop them into the perfect order.

Best practice: Place the most critical metrics at the top so you can answer these questions within seconds of opening Google Ads:

• Are we hitting our main KPIs (conversions, CPA, ROAS, revenue)?  
• Are there any sudden drops or spikes in performance?  
• Which campaigns or networks need attention right now?  
• Are costs under control compared to targets and budgets?

You can then place supporting or “diagnostic” cards further down:

• Search terms, queries and categories  
• Devices, locations, audiences  
• Time-of-day or day-of-week performance  
• Insights that help explain changes

This way, your eyes naturally move from “What is happening?” at the top to “Why is this happening?” further below.

4. Save multiple configurations (up to 5 new views)

You can create and save up to five different custom overview views.

Some examples of how to use this:

• Daily Performance View  
 Focused on key KPIs, cost, conversions, ROAS, and any alerts or anomalies.

• Optimization View  
 Highlights search terms, audiences, placements, segments and insights that suggest actions (e.g. negative keywords, bid adjustments, creative changes).

• Client/Stakeholder View  
 Clean, high-level metrics and charts you can quickly reference in calls or screenshares.

• Testing & Experiments View  
 Focused on experiment performance, new campaign tests, new assets and incremental lift.

• Account Audit View  
 Useful for new accounts or monthly reviews: structure, top campaigns, wasted spend areas, search terms, placements and quality issues.

Instead of constantly reconfiguring your overview, you simply switch between these saved views depending on your task.

How to set up a high-performance Google Ads custom overview

Here’s a simple approach you can use as a starting point.

Step 1: Define your primary goals

Before you customize anything, be clear about what you optimize for:

• Lead generation: conversions, cost per conversion, lead quality signals  
• E‑commerce: revenue, ROAS, conversion value, average order value  
• Brand: impressions, share of voice, brand search volume, engagement

Your overview should make it obvious within seconds whether you’re moving toward or away from these goals.

Step 2: Choose the right cards

Select cards that help you:

• Monitor: Core metrics, trends, and alerts  
• Diagnose: Where performance is good or bad (campaigns, devices, locations, audiences)  
• Act: Insights that suggest clear next steps

Remove everything that is “nice to know” but doesn’t influence your decisions.

Step 3: Order by importance

At the top:

• Overall performance KPIs  
• Budget and spend vs targets  
• Major changes or anomalies

In the middle:

• Campaign and ad group performance  
• Network, device and location breakdowns  
• Search terms and queries

At the bottom:

• Insights, recommendations you actually use  
• Supporting data for deeper analysis

Step 4: Create separate views for separate workflows

Don’t try to put everything into one overview. Instead:

• One view for monitoring  
• One for optimization work  
• One for reporting and communication

This keeps each view clean and focused.

How this helps with agency workflows and client management

For agencies and in-house teams, the Custom Overview can improve both efficiency and communication:

• Faster daily checks: Open your “Performance” view and know in 30 seconds if anything needs urgent action.  
• Clearer client calls: Use a clean “Reporting” view as a visual guide instead of jumping around the interface.  
• Better team alignment: Standardize views across accounts so everyone looks at the same structure and KPIs.  
• Less training overhead: New team members can quickly understand what matters by looking at the custom overview tabs.

This is not just a UX improvement. Done right, it becomes a process improvement.

My take on the Custom Overview update

I love this update because it moves Google Ads closer to how professionals actually work:

• Less noise, more signal  
• Less generic data, more personalized dashboards  
• Less time clicking, more time optimizing

As Google Ads becomes more automated and more complex at the same time, having a clear, custom overview is critical. It’s how you stay in control, spot issues early and make smart decisions fast.

If you manage Google Ads accounts and haven’t tried the new Custom View on your Overview yet, now is the time to set it up and turn your default dashboard into a true PPC command center.

Want to stay ahead of new Google Ads updates?

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