Introduction to Search Ads 360 (new experience) Hybrid: Concept + Task
Learn how to navigate the Search Ads 360 (new experience) interface — account hierarchy, performance views, and the tools available at every account level.
Select your account (view account hierarchy) Conceptual
Use the navigation bar to search for or select any manager account, sub-manager account, or client account within the Search Ads 360 (new experience) account hierarchy.
In the navigation bar, the breadcrumb highlights the item you're currently viewing and shows where you are within the account hierarchy.
Account types and product icons Reference
Client accounts are always preceded by a product icon. Manager accounts and sub-manager accounts are not associated with a product icon.
Overview page Conceptual
The Overview page gives you a comprehensive picture of your performance data at a glance. Here you can investigate key metrics at every level. Open the Summary and Insight cards to analyze significant performance changes.
Experience hub Conceptual
The Experience hub keeps you up to date on all the latest enhancements and upcoming changes to Search Ads 360 (new experience). Access it from the page menu when you're viewing a sub-manager account.
- What's new Find details about new features or upcoming updates that haven't yet launched to your account.
- What's changed Learn how to navigate to features that have moved or been redesigned in the new experience.
- What's available See the rollout status of new features for your specific account and region.
Page menu How-to / Tutorial
Use the page menu to jump between performance summary cards (such as the Overview page) and data tables (such as Campaigns or Ad groups). The pages available depend on your current account level and account type.
Once you make a selection in the navigation bar, you'll see its performance data in the page menu and main content area.
Campaigns panel How-to / Tutorial
The campaigns panel appears when you select a client account. It lists all campaigns in that account and allows you to navigate directly to any campaign without leaving the current page.
- Click the arrow icon or account menu icon to expand the campaigns panel.
- By default, the panel shows enabled and paused campaigns.
- To see removed campaigns, click the three-dot icon (⋮) within the panel.
- Click the arrow or account menu icon again to collapse the campaigns panel.
Create new items How-to / Tutorial
To create a new item — such as a campaign, ad group, keyword, or ad — click the plus button (+). The options shown depend on your current account level and the page you're viewing.
Performance table Reference
The performance table shows data for the item you selected in the page menu or campaigns panel. Use the table to view the results of a search, filter metrics, or create a report to download.
Table toolbar reference Reference
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Search | Search the table to find specific campaigns, ad groups, or other items by name. |
| Layers | See the currency used by each client account in a cross-account view. |
| Segment | Split your data into rows and isolate exactly what you want to see. |
| Saved views | Create your own custom views and save them so you can easily return later. |
| Columns | Add or remove columns to customize which metrics appear in the table. |
| Reports | Run a report by an attribute to analyze and better understand your data. |
| Download | Download the table to various formats or a web query. |
| Expand | Expand the table so it takes up most of the page and hides the top bar. |
| Three-dot (⋮) | Create automated rules or bulk upload edits. |
| Arrow up (∧) | Hide the chart and show only the table. |
Performance chart Conceptual
The performance chart provides a visual representation of the metrics displayed in the table. Use the chart toolbar to customize your view.
- Change metrics Select which metrics appear as lines in the chart.
- Chart types Switch between Time series (trends over time) and Summary (aggregated totals) views.
- Expand chart Expand the chart to take up most of the page for a more detailed view of performance trends.
Date range How-to / Tutorial
Use the date range selector to choose the time period for the data displayed in your table and chart. You can also use it to compare performance across two different time periods side by side.
Main toolbar Reference
The main toolbar provides access to your Search Ads 360 (new experience) tools for tracking and managing your account.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Reports | See a list of your saved reports and run new report types. |
| Tools and settings | Access shared library options, conversion tracking data, and bulk action tools. |
| Sync | Search Ads 360 (new experience) syncs automatically with Google Ads accounts. The sync icon only appears for other advertising platforms (Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo! Japan, Baidu). |
| Refresh | Refresh the data on the screen. |
| Help | Learn more about how to use Search Ads 360 (new experience). |
| Notifications | Read messages you have received about your account. |
| Switch products | Switch to a different Google Marketing Platform product while staying signed in. |
Quick reference — numbered UI elements Reference
Use this table to identify elements in Search Ads 360 (new experience) screenshots and interface diagrams. Numbers correspond to callout markers used in this article and related documentation.
| # | UI Element | Location | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Navigation bar | Top of page | Navigate the account hierarchy; search for accounts and items |
| 2 | Breadcrumb / Page menu | Left sidebar | Shows current position in hierarchy; navigate between pages |
| 3 | Campaigns panel expand arrow | Left sidebar | Expands the campaigns panel for the selected client account |
| 4 | Account menu icon | Left sidebar | Alternative way to expand or collapse the campaigns panel |
| 5 | Campaigns panel | Left sidebar | Lists all campaigns in the selected client account |
| 6 / 7 | Campaign count indicator | Top of campaigns panel | Shows the number of enabled/paused campaigns vs. total campaigns |
| 8 | Plus button (+) | Table toolbar | Creates a new item at the current account level |
| 9 | Performance table | Main content area | Displays performance data for the selected item |
| 10 | Table link | Table rows | Navigate to details for a specific campaign, ad group, or item |
| 11 | Add filter | Table toolbar | Filter the table to specific data subsets |
| 12 | Table toolbar | Above the table | Access search, segments, saved views, columns, reports, download, and more |
| 13 | Performance chart | Above the table | Visual representation of the metrics in the table |
| 14 | Chart toolbar | Chart header | Change chart metrics, chart type, or expand the chart |
| 15 | Date range selector | Top right | Select a time period or enable period comparison |
| 16 | Main toolbar | Top navigation bar | Access reports, tools and settings, refresh, help, and notifications |
What it is / how it works
Step-by-step how-to guides
Lookup tables and indexes
└─ Setup & Basics
└─ Getting Started
└─ Account Navigation
└─ ▶ UI Navigation Guide
└─ [Related] Create a campaign
└─ [Related] What's new in SA360 (new experience)
- Terminology standardization: Agency → Manager account, Advertiser → Sub-manager account, Engine account → Client account — aligned across 40+ articles
- Section sequencing: Mirrors actual user workflow (select account → view overview → use features)
- Consolidation: Reduced 6 separate UI stub articles into 1 authoritative orientation article
- Reference vs. task separation: Toolbar items classified as reference (not tasks) to enable scannable lookup
Primary audience: Existing SA360 advertisers migrating from the legacy UI
User journey stage: Orientation (post-sign-in, pre-task)
Core user question: "I know the old SA360 — where is everything in this new version?"
Content gap filled: No migration-specific orientation content existed at launch. This article was built from scratch based on early access to the new UI and SME interviews.
DITA/XML component structure: Content is organized following DITA-aligned XML authoring patterns — each topic is a discrete, self-contained unit that can be reused across articles without duplication or content drift.
Numbered reference system: UI elements 1–16 are a standalone reference module, embeddable in any SA360 (new experience) article referencing the interface.
Account type cards: Reusable content block used in 8+ downstream articles.
Toolbar reference table: Single source of truth for all toolbar documentation — other articles link here rather than repeating definitions.
Content model applied: Topic-based authoring enables component reuse across product updates.
Deploying a single article across 51 markets required a multi-layered editorial pipeline — not simply translation. The workflow involved:
- SME review cycles: Product managers and UX leads validated UI element naming and feature behavior across two review rounds before content was finalized — ensuring technical accuracy across all markets at scale.
- Legal approval chain: Localized content passed through Google's legal review queue to confirm that regulatory and compliance language (particularly for Yahoo! Japan and Baidu markets) met regional standards.
- Localization handoff protocol: Content was structured in a single-source model, enabling the L10n team to work from one canonical source rather than 6 fragmented stub articles — reducing translation overhead and consistency risk.
- Launch gate: Final publication was coordinated with the SA360 product launch timeline — requiring version-controlled staging and a signed-off content readiness checklist across all markets before go-live.
This article was the foundational orientation document for the Search Ads 360 (new experience) launch. Without it, advertisers managing campaigns across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo! Japan, and Baidu — simultaneously, in a newly redesigned interface — had no single source of truth for navigation. The documentation strategy prioritized:
- Speed to comprehension: Users should orient in <5 minutes without reading the full article linearly
- Cross-platform parity: All four advertising platforms documented with equal depth and consistent formatting
- Terminology governance: New naming conventions established in this article set the standard for the entire SA360 help content catalog going forward
- Scalable structure: The numbered callout + reference table pattern became a documentation template reused across 12 subsequent SA360 UI articles