Data is the lifeblood of any successful campaign. When you harness the power of data effectively, you gain the power to understand customer behavior, optimize your strategies and drive business growth with precision.
However, the volume of data you may end up generating can be staggering. This flood of information can make it incredibly challenging to extract meaningful insights. So, how do you sift through the noise to find the signals that truly matter? How do you turn overwhelming amounts of data into clear, actionable insights?
This is where Google Data Studio (now Looker Studio) comes in. This powerful tool gives you the ability to transform raw data into insightful reports, pulling from sources like Google Analytics, Google Ads and various third-party platforms to provide comprehensive insights.
Whether you’re tracking website performance, fine-tuning SEO campaigns or diving deep into customer analytics, Google Data Studio makes the complex simple and the overwhelming manageable.
To help you navigate its complexities, we’ve come up with this ultimate guide to teach you how to use Google Data Studio, in which we’ll discuss:
• What Is Google Data Studio?
• Why Use Google Data Studio?
• What Are the Benefits of Google Data Studio?
• How To Use Google Data Studio for the First Time: Getting Started
• How To Use Google Data Studio: Connecting Data Sources
• Visualizing Your Data on Google Data Studio
• Expert Tips To Improve Google Data Integrations
What Is Google Data Studio?
Looker Studio, formerly known as Google Data Studio, is a free data visualization tool that enables users to create customized dashboards and easy-to-understand reports. Within the tool, users can build interactive Google Data Studio reports from templates, enhance the visualization of data, apply their brand identity and more — all in a user-friendly way.
Google Data Studio was launched in 2016 as Data Studio as part of its Analytics 360 Suite with the goal of making data more accessible to everyone within an organization. Doing so enables these organizations to take fewer risks, make better decisions and achieve their goals.
Why Use Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio is a business intelligence (BI) tool capable of transforming raw data into visualizations that can be used to draw insights and strategic information for your business.
While its most well-known application is in marketing, Google Data Studio’s insights can be used in several key areas of your business operations, from sales pipeline tracking and revenue analysis to cash flow analysis as a financial Google reporting tool.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll be focusing on its applications in marketing, which can be condensed into three key areas:
• Analyzing large volumes of data
• Monitoring performance metrics
• Visualizing data
These capabilities create a powerful business analytics tool that centralizes your data into a single platform. It gives you a broad view of the performance of your digital marketing strategy as a whole and not in separate channels, providing key insights that you can use to support decisions.
What Are the Benefits of Google Data Studio?
As a Google reporting tool, Google Data Studio stands out in several key aspects. Its main advantage, however, is that it offers numerous features normally offered by paid tools packed in a single free tool. Therefore, it gives you greater control over your data.
Additionally, it provides a wide range of other benefits, including the following:
Makes Data Accessible to Stakeholders
Google Data Studio offers greater control and flexibility over your data with the ability to collate and integrate data from multiple sources. However, over the course of reviewing these reports, you may need to ask for input from other team members, account managers or decision-makers.
Unfortunately, the traditional way of asking for feedback can create unnecessary bottlenecks in your processes. This can include downloading files and creating new versions to incorporate any feedback from previous versions.
The shareability aspect of Google Data Studio reports democratizes data by simplifying access to your reports. Whether it’s team members, management or external stakeholders, everyone can have easy access to customized dashboards that highlight the metrics that matter most, ensuring you get quick feedback.
“Google Looker Studio brings together the kind of advanced reporting features you’d expect from premium tools, all within a single, no-cost platform,” said Ronnel Viloria, Thrive’s Senior Lead SEO Strategist.
“It empowers users to handle their data with incredible precision, making it accessible for everyone from beginners to seasoned data analysts — without the extra financial burden.”
Helps Tell Data Stories for Better Decision-Making
Data visualization is the cornerstone of impactful decision-making, going beyond just making information easier to digest. It is a strategic tool that empowers you to make better, faster and more informed business decisions by enabling you to:
• Save time interpreting raw data
• Uncover hidden patterns in the data
• Drive actionable insights
• Improve collaboration within your organization
Google Data Studio offers a wide range of tools to transform raw data into compelling narratives, making it easier to identify trends, patterns and anomalies. Data Studio’s flexibility allows you to create interactive reports and customizable dashboards to make informed decisions swiftly.
Your reports don’t have to be one-dimensional, either! With the seemingly endless customization options available, you can create an engaging and visually appealing Google Data Studio dashboard and tailor reports based on your preferences and needs.
“Looker Studio’s advanced filtering tools are a game-changer for creating custom views that hone in on the metrics that matter most. By tailoring data to specific business goals, it becomes much easier to reveal insights that drive strategic decisions and support targeted growth,” Viloria said.
“With Google Looker Studio, users gain instant access to up-to-the-minute insights, allowing for quick, informed decisions that keep their business agile and competitive in a fast-paced market.”
Intuitive and Easy To Use
One of Google Data Studio’s most attractive features is its intuitive design, which makes it accessible to users of all skill levels. Its clean and user-friendly interface makes it easy to get started on the platform, regardless of your skill level in data visualization or design.
The platform comes with a drag-and-drop functionality, which, combined with pre-built Google Data Studio templates and a wide range of visualization options, simplifies the process of building insightful reports. These functionalities reduce the steep learning curve that is often associated with advanced data visualization and manipulation tools.
Coexistence With the Google Ecosystem
If your data is already housed within the Google ecosystem — think Google Analytics, BigQuery and Google Sheets — then Data Studio fits perfectly into your workflow.
With its integration with other Google apps, you can effortlessly pull data from these sources, reducing friction in data management. This saves you a lot of time in collecting and transforming diverse datasets into dynamic, real-time reports without complicated setups or third-party applications.
How To Use Google Data Studio For the First Time: Getting Started
Are you ready to begin using Google Data Studio? Just open this link to gain access to Looker Studio: https://lookerstudio.google.com/. Remember, you have to sign in to your Google Account before you can begin using the app.
If you see the screen below, then it means you’re not logged in:
Image 1. Google Data Studio (now Looker Studio) landing page.
1. Once you’re on the Looker Studio homepage, click on USE IT FOR FREE to get started. You will be redirected to the login page.
2. On the login page, sign in with your email address and password if you already have an account and click Next. If you don’t have one, click on Create account.
3. After signing in/creating an account, you will be redirected to the Looker Studio home page.
Image 2. Google Data Studio (now Looker Studio) home page.
Creating Your First Report
Looker Studio offers an intuitive interface that makes it easy for even first-timers to get accustomed to. To begin, there are three things that you can do on the home page:
• Create a report
• Connect data sources for your reports
• Use the explorer
Let’s begin by discussing how to create your first report in the following Data Studio tutorial:
Building From Scratch
1. On the left side of your screen, click on + Create.
2. Choose Report from the drop-down menu.
3. Alternatively, as a first-time user, you can also click on + Create new report under the bar graph icon if the list of recent Google Data Studio reports is empty.
You will then be prompted to add a data source for your report (more on this later). These can be sourced from other Google Apps like Google Analytics, BigQuery or Google Sheets, or third-party apps from Data Studio-supported connectors.
Image 3. The main screen after creating a blank report.
Should You Use Pre-Made Google Studio Templates or Build From Scratch?
Data processing and building your Google Data Studio dashboard from scratch can take a significant amount of time. The good news is that with Looker Studio, you don’t need to start from a blank page.
With a wide assortment of ready-made Google Data Studio templates, you can select a dashboard that closely aligns with your reporting requirements. Although templates may not fit your needs perfectly, you can spend a shorter amount of time customizing templates and aligning them with your dataset than starting with a blank report.
How To Use Google Data Studio: Connecting Data Sources
There are three terms related to data that you may encounter while working with Google Data Studio: data sets, data source and data platform. Although they are all related terms, they do not all mean the same thing.
• Data Set: A collection of data that contains values for specific variables. Typically, data sets are tables within a database or spreadsheet structured data.
• Data Source and Connectors: In Google Data Studio, connectors enable you to connect to your underlying data. When you connect to your data, a data source is created, which represents a specific instance of a connector. This lets you configure the fields and options provided by the connector used to create that connection instance.
• Data Platform: The data platform is the overarching system or infrastructure that manages, stores and processes data from multiple sources. It is the backend technology that supports the data processing pipeline.
Take a look at the following screenshots:
How To Add Data Sources
There’s one key piece of information that you have to keep in mind before adding a data source. The location where you connect and create your data source will determine how it can be accessed in future reports:
• Data sources created within the report are embedded in the report. To edit this data source, you will need to access the report first and edit it from there. Anyone with access to the report can also edit the data source and modify its connection.
• Data sources created from the home page are reusable, which means you can use the same data source in multiple reports. This helps you create and share a consistent data model across your entire organization. However, only those with whom you’ve shared the data source can edit it. Meanwhile, only the owner of the data source can modify the connection.
Now, let’s discuss adding data sources to your reports. There are three main ways to do this. One is by creating a Blank Report, which will prompt you to add data before you can start building your report, as shown in Image 3 above.
The second one is by integrating a data source inside an existing report. For instance, if you’re working with Google Data Studio templates, you can edit the existing report and add your own data source by following the steps in this Data Studio tutorial:
1. Open your existing report.
2. On the menu bar, click on Resources and then Manage added data sources.
2. If you have existing data sources you want to add to the report, you can select them from the list and add them to your report. Otherwise, click + ADD A DATA SOURCE.
4. Select a connector from the list and choose the data set you want to add to your report.
5. Once you’ve selected the data you want to integrate, click Add.
Alternatively, you can skip step #2 if you have no existing data sources and only want to add a data source. Just select + Add Data below Resources on the menu bar.
Finally, you can add a data source through the Google Looker Studio homepage.
1. In the Recent section, click on Data sources, then + Create new data source.
2. Choose a connector from the list.
3. Grant the necessary permissions and choose the exact data set you want to add to your report.
4. Once you’ve chosen a data set, click Connect on the top-right corner of the window.
At this point, you have two options for using this new data source: Create Report, which will take you to your Google Data Studio dashboard so you can customize your report, or Explore, a tool you can use to play around with various elements of your report without affecting any of your data sets or current settings.
How To Combine Multiple Data Sources
In many cases, you’ll need insights from more than just one data source to get a complete picture of your business operations. With Google Data Studio, you can effortlessly combine multiple data sources to create unified reports. This is especially useful when you’re pulling data from various platforms like Google Analytics, Google Ads and external third-party sources such as Facebook Ads or CRM tools.
To merge this information and view it in a single report, you can use a feature called Data Blending. Data blending allows you to combine related data from different sources based on a common field (such as a date or campaign ID). This helps you compare and analyze data from multiple sources side by side, giving you more meaningful insights.
Let’s walk through the steps on how to use data blending in your report in this Data Studio tutorial:
1. Inside your report, follow the process for adding data to your report. Repeat the process until you’ve added all the data sources you want to blend.
2. From the toolbar, click + Add a chart and select the type of chart or table you will use to display the blended data.
Note: For the full discussion on visualizing your data through tables and charts, click here.
3. Once you’ve added the chart, click on it and navigate to the Data section.
4. Next to your data source, click the drop-down menu and select Blend Data.
5. At this point, Google Data Studio will prompt you to choose another data source to blend with the original one. 6. Select the second data source you’ve added to your report.
6. Choose a common field among your data sources to link the data together.
Once you’ve linked your data, you can then customize the fields displayed on the chart by adding metrics and any other value you would like to present in your report. You can even create calculated fields to extract even more insights from the blended data.
You can refine the appearance of your chart by adjusting metrics, dimensions or filters in the Data section. This will help you focus on the specific insights you want to highlight.
Then, after you’ve completed all customizations and refined your report, set your preferred sharing options to make your data more accessible to your team.
Visualizing Your Data on Google Data Studio
Now, the question is: What is Google Data Studio able to offer in terms of visualizing your data? The answer: plenty.
One of the biggest advantages of using Google Data Studio is that it offers endless possibilities for creating visually compelling charts and custom reports that turn your data into actionable insights.
Basic Chart Types
Data Studio includes a variety of chart types that allow you to present data in different ways depending on your needs:
• Time Series: Great for tracking trends over time, this chart helps you visualize changes in data, such as website traffic or revenue over the past month or year.
• Bar Charts: Perfect for comparing categories, bar charts give you an easy-to-read snapshot of performance across different segments.
• Pie Charts: Ideal for illustrating proportions, pie charts let you break down a whole into its components, such as showing the percentage of traffic coming from different channels.
• Geo Maps: Use geo maps to visualize data based on geographic locations, like where your customers are coming from or where sales are the highest.
• Scorecards: These help you track key performance indicators (KPIs) at a glance, displaying metrics like total sales or the number of leads generated.
• Scatter Charts: Perfect for analyzing relationships between variables, scatter charts allow you to plot individual data points to spot patterns or outliers.
• Bullet Charts: Useful for tracking performance against a target, bullet charts help you visualize progress toward your goals, such as sales targets or conversion rates.
• Combo Charts: Combine multiple chart types, such as bar and line charts, into a single view to compare different metrics on the same scale.
Adding Interactive Elements
One key feature that sets Google Data Studio apart is its ability to include interactive elements, allowing viewers to engage with the data in real-time. Adding these interactive features makes your reports dynamic, allowing for tailored experiences when you use this Google reporting tool.
• Filters: Filters give viewers control over what data they see. You can add filters to allow users to segment reports by specific criteria, such as location or device type.
• Date Range Selectors: Date range selectors enable viewers to adjust the period displayed, making it easy to focus on specific time frames that matter most to their analysis.
10 Expert Tips To Improve Google Data Integrations
Leveraging automation and visualization tools, ensuring proper data formatting and using connectors for advanced analytics can unlock powerful insights and streamline workflows. Master these practical strategies to make the most of your data ecosystem and ensure your Google Data Studio integrations are smooth and hassle-free.
1. Use Consistent Field Names Across Platforms
Ensure that fields with the same data (e.g., Data, Campaign Name or User ID) have consistent names across all your platforms. For instance, if you’re pulling data from Google Ads and Facebook Ads, make sure the “Date” field in both sources is aligned. This will make it easier to blend the data without running into issues like mismatched dimensions.
2. Take Advantage of Calculated Fields
If you’re pulling data from multiple sources and need specific metrics that aren’t provided directly, use calculated fields. Google Data Studio allows you to create custom metrics by combining different data points.
For example, if you want to calculate Return on Ad Spend (RoAS), you can create a calculated field that divides total revenue by ad spend. This flexibility helps you extract more meaningful insights from your data without manipulating the original datasets.
3. Filter Data at the Source Level
One of the best practices when working with multiple data sources is to filter out irrelevant data before importing it into Google Data Studio. By applying filters at the source level, such as segmenting by location, device type or campaign, you can reduce the amount of unnecessary data in your reports. This will not only help speed up report performance but also keep your visualizations cleaner and more focused.
4. Use Google Sheets for Easier Real-Time Updates
If you frequently work with Excel files or CSVs, consider uploading these files into Google Sheets. By doing so, you can easily update the data in real-time without having to re-upload files each time.
Google Data Studio integrates seamlessly with Google Sheets, ensuring that any changes you make in the sheet are instantly reflected in your reports. This is a simple way to automate data refreshes and keep your reports accurate.
5. Set Permissions Carefully for Reusable Data Sources
When creating reusable data sources, it’s important to carefully set permissions. Share these sources only with people who need access, and ensure that the correct editing privileges are granted. Misconfigured permissions can lead to unauthorized changes or unintentional data edits, which can make it difficult to maintain data consistency.
6. Clean Your Data Before Importing
Cleaning your data before importing it into Google Data Studio can save you time and frustration later. Look out for duplicates, missing values or formatting inconsistencies that could disrupt your reporting. Preparing your data beforehand ensures smoother Google Data Studio integrations while avoiding errors or inaccurate visualizations in your final report.
7. Regularly Audit Your Data Sources
As your reports evolve, it’s important to audit your data sources periodically. Ensure that the data sources you’ve connected are still relevant and accurate. If a particular data source is no longer in use, removing it from your report can help improve performance and reduce clutter. Regular audits help maintain data integrity and ensure that your reports are always pulled from the most reliable sources.
8. Pre-Aggregate Data Before Importing To Improve Performance With Large Datasets
For large datasets, it’s a good idea to pre-aggregate your data in the source before importing it into Google Data Studio. This reduces the load on your report and can significantly improve performance, especially when dealing with complex queries or high-volume data. By summarizing your data at the source, you reduce the amount of information Google Data Studio needs to process, making your reports faster and more responsive.
9. Limit Data Source Refresh Frequency
When creating real-time reports, be mindful of how often your data sources are set to refresh. Pulling live data from APIs too frequently can place unnecessary strain on your data sources, slowing down both your report and the data source itself.
Set your refresh intervals wisely based on the criticality of real-time updates. Doing so will ensure your reports stay up-to-date without overloading your system.
10. Embed Reports in Websites
Google Data Studio allows you to embed interactive reports directly into your website or blog, making it easy to share dynamic insights with your audience. To use this feature, simply click on the Embed Report option in Data Studio to generate HTML code that you can place on any web page.
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Thrive’s team of seasoned experts is here to help you harness your data’s true potential. We employ data-driven marketing techniques designed to turn raw data into strategic insights, guiding your business toward smarter decisions and better results. Whether it’s optimizing your campaigns, improving audience targeting or refining your marketing strategy, we ensure that your data works for you — driving measurable growth and long-term success.
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Google Data Studio Frequently Asked Questions
IS GOOGLE DATA STUDIO EASY TO LEARN?
Yes, Google Data Studio (Looker Studio) is relatively easy to learn, especially for users familiar with Google tools like Google Analytics or Google Sheets. It features an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface and offers pre-built templates to help beginners get started. With a little practice, most users can create basic dashboards and reports, while Google’s extensive help resources and tutorials can guide you through more advanced functions.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOGLE DATA STUDIO AND GOOGLE ANALYTICS?
Google Analytics is a tool for tracking and analyzing website traffic and user behavior, offering insights into your website’s performance. Google Data Studio, in contrast, is a data visualization tool that lets you take data from Google Analytics and other sources to build customized, interactive dashboards and reports. While Google Analytics gathers and processes data, Data Studio focuses on displaying that data in a visually compelling way.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOOGLE LOOKER STUDIO?
Google Looker Studio, previously Google Data Studio, helps users transform raw data into engaging reports and dashboards. It enables data from multiple sources to be visualized in one place, making it easy to share insights and monitor metrics in real time. This tool is especially useful for business intelligence, allowing teams to make data-driven decisions across marketing, sales and other functions.
CAN I USE GOOGLE DATA STUDIO FOR FREE?
Yes, Google Data Studio is free to use. It offers robust functionality for creating, sharing, and customizing data visualizations without requiring a paid subscription. However, premium features, such as increased data processing capabilities, may be available in Google’s other business intelligence offerings, like Looker.
WHAT TYPES OF DATA SOURCES CAN I CONNECT WITH GOOGLE DATA STUDIO?
You can connect Google Data Studio (Looker Studio) to various data sources, including Google Analytics, Google Ads, BigQuery, Google Sheets and other third-party sources like social media platforms, CRMs and SQL databases. Additionally, Looker Studio supports many third-party connectors, allowing integration with hundreds of other platforms.
HOW SECURE ARE MY DATA SOURCES IN GOOGLE DATA STUDIO?
Google Data Studio adheres to Google’s rigorous security standards. Data access permissions can be configured to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to specific reports and data sources. Additionally, it respects data-sharing settings established within connected data sources like Google Analytics and BigQuery.
