Pinterest advertising cost data is coming to Google Analytics

Integrating Pinterest advertising data into Google Analytics is a strategic step forward for advertisers. By centralising information on costs, impressions and clicks, you gain a unified view of your media investments and can compare Pinterest’s performance with your other channels. However, this new feature requires precise configuration to avoid tracking errors and duplicate spending.

Why import Pinterest costs into Google Analytics?

Traditionally, Pinterest Ads Manager reports have remained isolated. Marketers had to juggle multiple interfaces to analyse their performance. Now, thanks to data import, Google Analytics becomes the control tower for your acquisition strategy.

This allows you to consolidate your cost and revenue KPIs into a single dashboard. Gone are the days of juggling multiple interfaces: now, all performance data is aggregated directly in Google Analytics, giving you a clear and comprehensive view of your investments. You can also measure the ROI of your social ad campaigns much more accurately. By integrating Pinterest data with other advertising sources, you can link your spending to your conversions and get an accurate reading of the profitability of each lever. Finally, this integration allows you to optimise your budget allocation between Pinterest, Meta and Google Ads. By comparing the performance of each platform on a consistent basis, you can identify the most effective channels and reallocate your budgets accordingly.

In other words, this feature is not limited to simply making reporting easier. It streamlines the management of your advertising investments and helps you make faster, more reliable and more profitable strategic decisions.

Preparing for your move: the essential checklist

Before starting the import, ensure that the foundations are solid. First, create both a Pinterest business account and a Pinterest Ads account. In Google Analytics, ensure that you have Editor access.

When it comes to labelling, consistency in UTMs is crucial. It is essential to configure utm_source and utm_medium, while utm_campaign and utm_id are strongly recommended. An example of good practice would be:

• utm_source = Pinterest
• utm_medium = paid

These rules ensure consistent tracking and correct attribution in Analytics.

Step-by-step import process

Once the preparation phase is complete, it is time to move on to integrating Pinterest data into Google Analytics. The process is relatively simple, but each step must be carried out accurately to avoid errors.

• Create a new data source. To do this, go to your Google Analytics interface, then to the Admin section. Next, select Data Import, choose Cost Data, and finally click on Pinterest. This is where you define the framework within which advertising information will be injected into your reports.

• Establish the connection with Pinterest. You will need to authenticate using your Pinterest Ads credentials to authorise synchronisation between the two platforms. This authorisation is essential, as it allows Google Analytics to directly access data from your Pinterest advertising campaigns.

• Configure the data. First, you must select the Pinterest advertising account to connect. Next, carefully align your source and medium values with those defined in your UTM settings. This step is important: if your UTMs do not match, your data may be fragmented or your reports distorted.

• Check and import. Google Analytics automatically suggests field mappings between Pinterest and your Analytics property. Take the time to check each match, apply any filters you may have (for example, to exclude certain campaigns) and set up your import schedule. You can choose a daily update to ensure you have the most up-to-date view of your performance.

In practice, the first execution of the connector takes approximately 30 minutes. The data then becomes visible in your reports within 24 hours. This means you can quickly analyse your Pinterest spending alongside your other media levers. This availability speeds up your budget decisions and allows you to react more quickly.

Points to note in order to avoid errors

The reliability of tracking depends above all on rigour. Importing Pinterest costs into Google Analytics may seem straightforward, but it requires uncompromising configuration to ensure consistent reporting. The first rule is that the connector is definitive. If you need to change your advertising account or adjust your UTM settings, you will have to delete it and then recreate a new one. It is therefore best to prepare your UTM structure and campaign scope in advance. Another essential point: do not blindly trust the automatic mapping offered by Analytics. While it simplifies setup, it can also lead to association errors or missing fields. Take the time to check each correspondence (source, medium, costs, clicks, impressions, conversions) to ensure the quality of your data and the reliability of your analyses.

Another key point concerns manual imports that have already been made. If you used to import your Pinterest costs via external files, be sure to delete them before activating the connector. Otherwise, you risk creating duplicates, which will skew your analyses and artificially inflate your advertising spend. Finally, after deploying the connector, set up a systematic consistency check. Compare the data from Pinterest Ads Manager with that from Google Analytics for the last seven days. Verify that the expenditure, impressions and clicks match. This post-integration monitoring is a key step in confirming the reliability of the system. It also ensures that your decisions are based on accurate figures.

The arrival of Pinterest costs in Google Analytics heralds a new era for marketers. By centralising all media data, you gain visibility, accuracy and efficiency in managing your campaigns. However, this advance requires rigorous configuration to avoid the classic pitfalls associated with UTMs and duplicates.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Social Ads agency to activate these levers as soon as they are launched and maximise the impact of your campaigns.