Turning Daily PPC Reports Into Automated Slack Dashboards

From Hours of Manual Reporting to Automated Daily Slack Dashboards:
How a Canadian Clinic Streamlined PPC Campaign Tracking

Background

A private healthcare clinic in Canada, with four different locations, runs daily PPC campaigns to attract new patients. As an agency managing their account, we traditionally created monthly reports but the client wanted daily updates to track ongoing performance.

This meant:

Pulling data from Google Ads
Sending email updates or Slack summaries
Preparing metrics like cost, clicks, CPC, conversions, and calls

Manually, this process took 20 minutes per client, per day.
Over a month, that’s easily 10+ hours of repetitive reporting work, not including the risk of manual errors.

Problem Statement

Daily Client Demand: Even though monthly reports were the standard, the client wanted daily insights.
Limited Metrics, Quick View: Focus only on Spend, Clicks, Avg CPC, Conversions, and Calls — just enough to understand daily performance.
Day-to-Day Comparison: Client wanted to see whether results were improving or declining compared to the previous day.
Communication Flow: Sending email reports cluttered inboxes. Discussions around performance became scattered.
Agency Resource Drain: Repetitive reporting consumed analyst time that could be better used for optimization.
Cost Considerations: Tools like Zapier or Make.com could automate this, but they come with subscription costs per client. For an agency with multiple clients, this cost scales heavily.

Connecting Google Ads Script to Slack

To automate daily reporting, we first needed a communication bridge between Google Ads and Slack. The easiest, most secure, and cost-free way to do this was by using Slack Incoming Webhooks.

Step-by-Step Implementation

◉ Enable Incoming Webhooks in Slack
- From the Slack App Directory, select Incoming Webhooks.
- Click Add to Slack.
◉ Choose Target Channel
- Decide where the reports should be posted:
- Internal team channel (for monitoring)
- Client-facing channel (for direct visibility)
- In this case, we created a dedicated PPC channel where daily performance updates would be delivered.
◉ Generate Webhook URL
- Once the channel is selected, Slack automatically generates a unique Webhook URL.
- This URL acts as the destination for all automated messages.
- (Example: https://hooks.slack.com/services/…)
◉ Save & Configure
- We customized the name (e.g., incoming-webhook) and icon for branding consistency.
- Saved the integration to finalize the connection.
◉ Integrate Webhook into Google Ads Script
- Inside Google Ads Script, we added the Webhook URL: const SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL = 'https://hooks.slack.com/services/...';
- Every time the script runs, it collects campaign data → formats it → sends it as JSON payload to this URL.
- Slack then publishes the data neatly into the selected channel.

Key Takeaways

Solution Implemented

We designed a Google Ads Script that:

Extracts campaign-level metrics (Spend, Clicks, CPC, Conversions, Calls).
Compares yesterday vs previous day performance.
Formats the data into Slack-friendly tables + emoji indicators.
Pushes the update directly into a chosen Slack channel every morning at 7 AM.

This way:

Both the agency team and the client team see the data live in Slack.
Discussions can happen in one place, and data never gets buried in emails.
The script runs automatically, with no recurring software costs.

Code-to-Business Breakdown

CODE SNIPPET (LEFT)	EXPLANATION (RIGHT)
const SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL = 'https://hooks.slack.com/services/...';	Slack incoming webhook. Defines the destination channel where daily reports will appear.
const DATE_RANGE = 'YESTERDAY';	Ensures data is always pulled for the last full day, avoiding partial results.
metrics.cost_micros, metrics.clicks, metrics.conversions, metrics.phone_calls	Core metrics selected for reporting: Spend, Clicks, Conversions, and Calls.
UrlFetchApp.fetch(SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL, { ... })	Pushes the final formatted payload into Slack. This is what delivers the actual message visible to client/team.
pctDelta(nowVal, prevVal)	Calculates % change between yesterday and previous day, enabling quick “better or worse” comparisons.
' ' + header + '\n' + body + ' '	Wraps campaign-level results into a neat monospace table for Slack readability.

Resulting Slack Message

Overview (Spend, Clicks, Conversions, Calls, Avg CPC)
Day-over-Day Comparison with emoji indicators 📈📉
Campaign-level Table (aligned columns for clarity)

This transforms Slack into a live PPC reporting hub, replacing messy email chains.

Benefits

FOR THE AGENCY	FOR THE CLIENT
Saves 20 minutes per client per day	Daily transparency into ad spend and performance
Removes manual errors in reporting	Clear understanding of campaign effectiveness
Standardized reporting format for all clients	Instant discussions in Slack channels (no inbox overload)
Zero cost — no Zapier, no Make.com subscription fees	Easy to spot trends with comparisons

Challenges Faced & How We Solved Them

◉ GAQL Query Errors (e.g., invalid DURING operators, prohibited metrics like phone_calls)
- Fixed by restructuring queries and using only supported fields.
◉ Formatting Misalignments in Slack Tables
- Solved with custom padding functions (pad()) ensuring cost/clicks align neatly.
◉ Date Range Issues (LAST_2_DAYS vs explicit YYYY–MM–DD)
- Resolved by dynamically generating yesterday’s and previous day’s dates.
◉ Webhook Setup Errors
- Addressed by reconfiguring Slack app and replacing old deprecated webhooks.

Future Scope

Expand metrics (CTR, ROAS, CPA) only when needed.
Build multi-account rollups (agency dashboard).
Add Google Sheets sync for archival.
Enhance Slack formatting with blocks & charts (visual mini-reports).

Summary

Automated Slack reporting saves time, money, and errors.
Focused on 5 key metrics for clarity and speed.
Provides day-over-day performance comparisons.
Eliminates the need for paid automation tools.
Creates a shared discussion space with client teams.