Google Ads and Meta Ads Report CSV Cleanup

Campaign reports change their column names and number formats depending on how they were exported. This page explains how to line them up.

Covers: Google Ads, Meta Ads · Last updated

How it works

Same idea as the email normalizers. You export a report from Google Ads Editor, the Google Ads interface or Meta Ads Manager, open it in the matching tool, check the detected mapping and download a cleaned CSV. It does not connect to your ad accounts or ask for access tokens, and it does not replace the Google Ads or Meta APIs.

Why reports never match

An export reflects whatever columns, breakdowns, currency and language were active at the time. Combine reports taken at different times or by different people and the headers and number formats stop matching.

  • Google Ads: Campaign can appear as Campaign name, Impressions as Impr., and Avg. CPC as CPC. Costs may be written like $12.34 or 12,34 €, with a comma or a period as the decimal separator depending on locale.
  • Meta Ads Manager: Campaign name versus Campaign, Amount spent (USD) versus Amount spent (EUR), Link clicks versus Clicks (all), and CTR (all) versus CTR. A breakdown by age and gender changes the column set altogether.

What you get back

Both tools match known header variants to a fixed schema and normalise currency and percentage formats. Columns they do not recognise stay in a mapping table, so nothing is dropped silently.

  • Google Ads CSV Normalizer: Campaign, AdGroup, Keyword, MatchType, Clicks, Impressions, Cost, Conversions, CTR and CPC. It detects whether a comma or a period is the decimal separator before converting cost values to plain decimal numbers.
  • Meta Ads CSV Normalizer: Campaign, AdSet, Ad, Spend, Reach, Impressions, Clicks, CTR and Results. It strips currency symbols and codes from spend values, and a column literally named Results passes straight through whatever the campaign objective.

A typical run

Export the same period from both platforms and normalise each file. Then run the results through the CSV data profiler to catch empty columns and implausible values before you build a chart or pivot table. If you tag landing page links, the UTM builder keeps campaign parameters consistent across both platforms.

What it does not do

Matching headers does not reconcile the metrics. Each platform defines conversions, attribution windows and reach its own way, so Google Ads and Meta Ads figures are not directly comparable even when the columns line up. If your accounts use different currencies, convert them yourself. Google Ads and Meta are trademarks of their respective owners; HowToToolkit is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.

Tools used in this integration

Frequently asked questions

Does it replace the Google Ads or Meta APIs?
No. It is a one-off cleanup tool for CSV exports you already have. It does not connect to your accounts.
How are different currency formats handled?
The Google Ads tool detects whether a comma or a period is the decimal separator, and the Meta Ads tool strips currency symbols and codes. In both cases cost values become plain decimal numbers. Amounts are not converted between currencies.
What happens to columns it does not recognise?
They stay in the mapping table, defaulted to ignore, and you can assign each of them to a target field.
Is my campaign data uploaded?
No. Parsing and remapping run in your browser, so the CSV stays on your device.