How to build Microsoft Advertising dashboards in Metabase
Microsoft Advertising is Microsoft's advertising platform for search ads on Bing and Copilot, plus the Microsoft Audience Network. Metabase is where you turn that marketing data into shared, trustworthy dashboards. This guide covers two complementary paths: a lightweight API + CLI route that pulls scoped exports with the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API and loads a CSV into Metabase with the Metabase CLI, and a durable pipeline route that syncs Microsoft Advertising daily stats into a database so you can build dashboards anyone can read.
How do you connect Microsoft Advertising to Metabase?
Most teams combine both routes: use API exports and CLI uploads for a fast first pass, then move recurring marketing reporting to a warehouse-backed model.
Live data in, quick analysis out
Pair the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API with the Metabase CLI. Script a scoped export to CSV, then load it into Metabase as a ready-to-query table and model.
- Quick lookups such as "show me spend, clicks, and conversions by campaign"
- Loading a Microsoft Advertising export into Metabase in seconds
- Spot-checks and one-off analyses without a warehouse
- Great for exploration, not governed recurring reporting
- Use read-only API credentials scoped to reporting endpoints
- CSV uploads are snapshots — refresh or move to the pipeline for history
Durable dashboards with history
Sync Microsoft Advertising daily stats and entities into a database or warehouse with a connector, custom pipeline, or API, then point Metabase at it.
- Microsoft Advertising reporting that marketing leaders depend on
- Joining Microsoft Advertising data with CRM, revenue, or product data
- Long-run trends for spend, clicks, and conversions by campaign and roas by campaign and network
- You own the refresh schedule and the rollup grain
- Sync daily aggregates and entities — not raw event streams
- Metric definitions must be consistent across channels and teams
What can you analyze from Microsoft Advertising data in Metabase?
- Spend, clicks, and conversions by campaign — built from campaign daily stats and the related campaigns, ad groups, keywords data your sync exposes.
- ROAS by campaign and network — built from campaign daily stats and the related campaigns, ad groups, keywords data your sync exposes.
- Search-term performance and wasted spend — built from campaign daily stats and the related campaigns, ad groups, keywords data your sync exposes.
- Device and network mix — built from campaign daily stats and the related campaigns, ad groups, keywords data your sync exposes.
- Budget pacing against monthly targets — built from campaign daily stats and the related campaigns, ad groups, keywords data your sync exposes.
Which Microsoft Advertising dashboards should you build in Metabase?
Campaign performance
Where spend goes and what it returns.
- Spend by campaign by week (stacked bar)
- Conversions and conversion value (combo)
- ROAS by campaign (bar)
- Cost per conversion trend (line)
Budget pacing
Whether the month's budget lands where it was planned.
- Month-to-date spend vs. budget (progress)
- Daily spend run rate (line)
- Projected end-of-month spend (number)
- Pacing by campaign (table)
Efficiency signals
The health metrics behind the headline spend.
- CTR by campaign and ad group (table)
- CPC and CPM trends (line)
- Impression share or frequency (line)
- Wasted spend: high-cost, zero-conversion segments (table)
Acquisition economics
How paid spend converts into customers and revenue.
- CAC by channel by month (bar)
- New customers attributed per channel (bar)
- Blended vs. channel ROAS (combo)
- Spend share vs. revenue share by channel (table)
How do you use the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API with the Metabase CLI?
Pair the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API with the Metabase CLI for fast, hands-on analysis. A short export script covers scoped lookups and summarized exports; the Metabase CLI's upload command loads CSV data into Metabase and creates a ready-to-query table and model.
Example workflow
- Script an export of last month's campaign daily stats with spend, clicks, and conversions by campaign.
- Export the result as CSV, keeping stable IDs, channels, campaigns, and dates.
- Run
mb upload csvto load it into Metabase as a table and model, then build questions and dashboards on top.
Be honest about the limits
- Scripted API exports are excellent for exploration, not scheduled reporting.
- A CSV upload is a snapshot; refresh it with
mb upload replaceor move to the pipeline for real history. - Daily stat rows per campaign are required for pacing and trend cards — a one-off export only supports snapshots.
mb upload csvneeds an uploads database configured under Admin → Settings → Uploads.
How do you set up Microsoft Advertising API access and the Metabase CLI?
Microsoft Advertising Reporting APIAPI
- Transport
- REST API — scripted export to CSV
- Auth
- OAuth access token + Microsoft Advertising developer token
- MCP status
- Announced June 2026 — read-only partner pilot; the public waitlist hasn't opened yet
- Best for
- Scoped exports and one-off analyses
Metabase CLIofficial
- Install
npm install -g @metabase/cli- Auth
mb auth login- Load data
mb upload csv --file data.csv- Requires
- An uploads database (Admin → Settings → Uploads)
# 1) Submit a report request (Reporting API v13, REST)
curl -X POST "https://reporting.api.bingads.microsoft.com/Reporting/v13/GenerateReport/Submit" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MSADS_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
-H "DeveloperToken: $MSADS_DEV_TOKEN" \
-H "CustomerId: $CUSTOMER_ID" \
-H "CustomerAccountId: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d @campaign-performance-request.json
# 2) Poll GenerateReport/Poll with the returned ReportRequestId,
# then download and unzip the CSV it links to.
# 3) Load it into Metabase
mb upload csv --file microsoft-ads-campaign-daily.csv --collection root# Install the Metabase CLI
npm install -g @metabase/cli
# Log in (opens your browser; requires Metabase v62+)
mb auth login --url https://your-metabase.example.com
# Load a campaign-daily-stats export — creates a table AND a model
mb upload csv --file microsoft-ads-campaign-daily-stats.csv --collection root
# Refresh that same table later from a new export
mb upload replace <table-id> --file microsoft-ads-campaign-daily-stats.csvCan you generate a Microsoft Advertising dashboard with AI?
Yes. Use the prompt below with any assistant that can write and run scripts against the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API and the Metabase CLI. It works end to end: if Microsoft Advertising tables already exist in Metabase it analyzes those; otherwise it pulls scoped, summarized data from the API, loads it with mb upload csv, then builds the dashboard and caveats any metric that needs missing history.
Create a polished Metabase dashboard for Microsoft Advertising advertising analytics.
Work end to end: get the data into Metabase if it isn't there yet, then build.
Goal: Help marketing and growth leaders understand spend, ROAS, CTR, CPC, budget pacing, and acquisition cost by campaign and channel from Microsoft Advertising data.
Step 1 — Find or load the data:
- First, check what already exists in Metabase (search for microsoft-ads tables and
models). If durable Microsoft Advertising data is already present — synced from a warehouse
or uploaded earlier — use it and skip to Step 2.
- If nothing is there, pull a scoped, summarized export from the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API (write and run a short export script):
campaign daily stats, plus campaigns, ad groups, keywords.
Prefer daily aggregates over raw events. Write each result to a CSV,
then load it with the Metabase CLI — run "mb upload csv --file <export>.csv" so
each upload creates a table and a ready-to-query model. Use "mb upload replace
<table-id> --file <export>.csv" to refresh an existing table instead of creating
duplicates.
Step 2 — Inspect before querying:
Do not assume exact table or column names. Inspect available fields, channels,
campaigns, dates, and whether daily history exists before creating trend or
pacing cards.
Important:
- Build on whatever data is present; don't claim Metabase connects natively to
Microsoft Advertising — it reads a database or CLI-uploaded tables.
- Never try to load raw event or click streams into Metabase; use daily
aggregates, campaign-grain stats, and entity tables.
- Only compute rates (CTR, conversion rate, ROAS, CAC) when both numerator and
denominator exist — and state the attribution model when reporting conversions.
- Exclude test campaigns and internal traffic from headline cards, and keep
currency consistent when spend spans accounts.
- A single CSV is a point-in-time snapshot: only build trend cards if there is a
usable date column or multiple periods have been uploaded.
Dashboard title: Microsoft Advertising Advertising Overview
Sections:
1. Executive summary: Spend this month; Conversions; ROAS; CAC; Budget pacing
vs. plan.
2. Campaigns: Spend, clicks, conversions, and ROAS by campaign by week.
3. Efficiency: CTR, CPC, and cost-per-conversion trends; wasted-spend table.
4. Pacing: Month-to-date spend vs. budget; projected end-of-month spend.
5. Acquisition: CAC and new customers by channel, joined to revenue where synced.
Filters: Date range, Channel, Campaign, Country, Device, Segment.
Output: Build the dashboard if you have permission; otherwise provide the exact
questions, SQL, model definitions, and layout. Include caveats for any metric
that cannot be calculated from the available data.How do you sync Microsoft Advertising data into a database or warehouse?
For dashboards that need history and reliability, land Microsoft Advertising daily stats and entities in a database first, then connect Metabase to that database.
Connector options
- Managed ETL — use a connector when one covers the objects you need.
- Custom pipeline — use the Microsoft Advertising Reporting API for control over grain, fields, and refresh cadence.
- MCP + CSV — use this for quick exploration and one-off slices.
Sync campaigns, ad groups, and daily stats with the Airbyte Bing Ads source (Airbyte-certified) or Fivetran's Microsoft Advertising connector. Fivetran's dbt_ad_reporting package unions it with Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok into one cross-channel model.
Notes
- Decide the rollup grain first (daily per campaign/channel is the workhorse) — it drives warehouse cost and every trend card.
- Land raw entity tables first, then build clean Metabase models on top.
- Normalize channel, campaign, ad-group, date, spend, impressions, clicks, and conversions fields.
How should you model Microsoft Advertising data in Metabase?
Core tables
| Table | Grain | Key columns |
|---|---|---|
microsoft_ads_campaign_stats | one row per campaign per day | campaign_id, stat_date, impressions, clicks, spend, conversions, revenue, network, device |
microsoft_ads_campaigns | one row per campaign | id, name, campaign_type, status, budget, time_zone |
microsoft_ads_search_query_stats | one row per search query per ad group per day | search_query, campaign_id, ad_group_id, stat_date, impressions, clicks, spend, conversions |
Modeling advice
- Build a clean
ad_performance_dailymodel with common columns across tools, so multi-channel dashboards don't fork definitions. - Separate entity tables (campaigns, audiences, pages) from daily time-series rollups.
- Exclude test campaigns and internal traffic from headline metrics; keep channel and campaign as explicit columns.
- Use stable IDs for campaign, channel, and user joins; display names change.
Which Microsoft Advertising metrics should you track in Metabase?
| Metric | Definition | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | Conversion value divided by ad spend, per campaign or channel. | State the attribution model next to the number. |
| Customer acquisition cost | Spend divided by new customers acquired in the period. | Decide blended vs. paid-only CAC once. |
| Cost per click | Spend divided by clicks — the price of attention. | Compare within a channel, not across channels. |
| Click-through rate | Clicks divided by impressions per campaign or ad. | A creative-health signal, not a business outcome. |
| Cost per lead | Spend divided by leads or signups generated. | Define what counts as a qualified lead first. |
What SQL powers Microsoft Advertising dashboards in Metabase?
These assume a cleaned analytical model in a warehouse (PostgreSQL dialect). Adjust table and column names to match your pipeline.
The core paid-performance trend.
SELECT
campaign_name,
date_trunc('week', stat_date) AS week,
ROUND(SUM(spend), 2) AS spend,
SUM(conversions) AS conversions,
ROUND(SUM(conversion_value) / NULLIF(SUM(spend), 0), 2) AS roas
FROM ad_performance_daily
GROUP BY 1, 2
ORDER BY 2, spend DESC;Efficiency signals across the account.
SELECT
channel,
date_trunc('month', stat_date) AS month,
ROUND(100.0 * SUM(clicks) / NULLIF(SUM(impressions), 0), 2) AS ctr_pct,
ROUND(SUM(spend) / NULLIF(SUM(clicks), 0), 2) AS cpc,
ROUND(SUM(spend) / NULLIF(SUM(conversions), 0), 2) AS cost_per_conversion
FROM ad_performance_daily
GROUP BY 1, 2
ORDER BY 1, 2;Spend joined to newly acquired customers.
WITH monthly_spend AS (
SELECT
channel,
date_trunc('month', stat_date) AS month,
SUM(spend) AS spend
FROM ad_performance_daily
GROUP BY 1, 2
),
monthly_customers AS (
SELECT
acquisition_channel AS channel,
date_trunc('month', acquired_at) AS month,
COUNT(*) AS new_customers
FROM customers
GROUP BY 1, 2
)
SELECT
s.channel,
s.month,
ROUND(s.spend, 2) AS spend,
COALESCE(c.new_customers, 0) AS new_customers,
ROUND(s.spend / NULLIF(c.new_customers, 0), 2) AS cac
FROM monthly_spend s
LEFT JOIN monthly_customers c
ON c.channel = s.channel AND c.month = s.month
ORDER BY 1, 2;What are common mistakes when analyzing Microsoft Advertising in Metabase?
Related
Related analytics
Related dashboards
Related integrations
FAQ
Does Metabase connect natively to Microsoft Advertising?
Should Metabase replace Microsoft Advertising?
Should I sync every Microsoft Advertising click or impression event?
Can I compare ROAS across ad platforms in Metabase?
ad_performance_daily model with consistent channel, spend, and conversion columns. Just label the attribution caveat: each platform self-reports conversions under its own attribution model, so cross-channel ROAS comparisons are directional, not gospel.