My step-by-step blueprint for using Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio)
Get the FREE ebook on Looker Studio (75 Pages)
Yes I want the FREE ebook
Last Updated: November 27, 2022
Note: Google Data Studio is now known as Looker Studio.
Following are some best practices for creating a report in Looker Studio:
#1 Understand who your report is meant for
Before you create and send any report always ask yourself the following three questions:
Why I am reporting, what I am reporting? I am reporting because …..
How does this affect the recipient(s)? I am presenting this report to the board of directors because ……
What actions recipient(s) should take on the basis of this report? I am presenting this report so that he takes this action ………
For example, when you choose to report ‘bounce rate’ to a CEO, what actions do you want him to take?
Do you want him to optimize the marketing campaigns and reduce the bounce rate?
Do you want him to fire the marketing manager because he is responsible for bringing crappy traffic to the website?
If you can’t think of any action that the CEO should take on the basis of the bounce rate then why you are reporting him the bounce rate?
As we move up in an organization hierarchy (esp. in big companies) we tend not to bug senior management with minute details.
Minute details are for the managers (because they have to manage the campaigns) or for the colleagues (because they are directly working on optimizing the campaigns).
So we should avoid presenting tactical dashboards (like copy-paste versions of Google Analytics screenshots) to senior management and present them only business bottom line impacting insight, possibly in a few lines of plain English.
I can’t put enough stress on the importance of simplicity. If your reports are not easy to understand then they won’t have any impact. It is as simple as that.
Stay away from using industry jargon and ambiguous words as much as possible.
If you can’t avoid using a technical term then explain it first each time you use it. Do not assume people already know about it because you trained them once.
It took me several days before I could successfully retain the definition of a bounce rate in my memory when I first started to play with web analytics.
So these technical terms are not as easy to remember as you may think esp. for the people who know little to nothing about web analytics.
Present less fluff and more substance. If your reports are ten pages long then no one is going to read them let alone take any action.
#3 Use a report template whenever you can to create a new report
If you create a new report from scratch then you would need to spend a lot of time creating the layout and format of your report.
You would need to spend a lot of time creating and bringing individual report components (like tables, scorecards, charts, etc) together in a way that is visually appealing and at the same time make your report meaningful and easy to understand.
However, if you use a report template, then you just need to do two things (most of the time):
Change the data source
Do some minor cosmetic changes to the report (like change the name of the report, add your company logo, etc).
#4 Avoid pulling data directly from a data platform into your reports
A rookie mistake that most Looker Studio users make is pulling data directly from a data platform into Looker Studio and then trying to manipulate it there.
Wasting time and money on buying and using Looker studio connectors.
Looker Studio is not meant for data manipulation. It is not a spreadsheet or data warehouse.
It is especially true for large data sets.
Manipulating data in a spreadsheet (like Google Sheets) or data warehouse (like BigQuery) is much easier than manipulating data in Looker Studio.
When you choose to manipulate data in Looker Studio, you make it unnecessarily hard to use.
That is why we first pull the data from a data platform into a spreadsheet or data warehouse and manipulate the data there, and only after that use that data in Looker Studio.
I pull data from Google Analytics, Facebook ads, Google Ads etc., into Google Sheets. Then manipulate the data before sending it to Looker studio.
I may use BigQuery. But most of the time, Google Sheets works just fine.
I do not buy and use ‘N’ connectors to pull data from ‘N’ data platforms.
I don’t need to worry about whether a data platform specific connector is available or working correctly.
I am already a long-time user of Zapier, which is like a swiss army knife for connectors.
Zapier provides 5k+ integrations. So I would unlikely ever need to buy a connector.
#5 Avoid charting data for the current day in your reports
By default, Looker Studio uses UTC standard time.
If your data set doesn’t use UTC, you may see discrepancies when charting data for the current day (due to differences between UTC and your timezone).
Such discrepancies increase significantly when you live farthest from London (like in Australia, New Zealand, etc.) where the time difference between UTC and your timezone is pretty big.
So if you live in Australia and you pull the data for the current day (from the data set which uses a different timezone say ‘UTC’) in Looker Studio, it may not show you any data for ‘today’.
Moreover, I don’t see any real benefit of analyzing an incomplete data set. So avoid charting data for the current day in Looker Studio.
#6 Avoid using functions and calculated fields in your reports
Using functions in calculated fields can greatly increase the load time of your reports in the Looker Studio.
Even using calculated fields can greatly increase the load time of your Looker Studio reports.
I don’t do data blending in Looker studio.
If I want to blend data, it would either be in Google Sheets or BigQuery.
If you want to manipulate data, do it in Google Sheets or BigQuery. Do not use Looker studio for that purpose.
#7 Distribute related charts across multiple pages
By default, a Looker Studio report is made up of only one page. But you can add multiple pages to a Looker Studio report. Additional pages provide a mechanism to reduce the complexity of any given page.
It could be tempting to add all of your charts and other components onto one page.
However, spreading out your report across multiple pages helps in minimizing the complexity of any given page. It makes your report much easier to consume.
#8 Using Connectors
Looker Studio reports allow you to connect to multiple data sources and collect and combine data in a single report. This way you can analyze your marketing activities across various platforms and channels.
This is done by using Looker Studio connectors that provide a mechanism to pull data from the specific data platform
There are 22 Google connectors and 683 partner connectors. You can also create your own connector if you want
You can easily connect to various data platforms by simply providing the necessary connection parameters and credentials.
#9 Adding date range to reports
Adding a date range control to your reports gives the report viewers more accessibility as they can select the date range for which they wanted to view the performance.
You can add date range control to your report by following the steps below.
Step-1: In the Looker Studio report toolbar, click on ‘Add control’.
Step-2: Select the date range control and place on the reporting canvass.
#10 Adding data controls to reports
Data control play a very important role in Looker Studio if you have similar reporting features spread across different accounts. For example, you can have a single Looker Studio report for multiple websites that uses Google Analytics or Google Ads. A data control gives your report viewers freedom to check the performance of various data sources
You can add date range control to your report by following the steps below.
Step-1: In the Looker Studio report toolbar, click on ‘Add control’.
Step-2: Select the data range control and place it on the reporting canvass.
"How to use Digital Analytics to generate floods of new Sales and Customers without spending years figuring everything out on your own."
Here’s what we’re going to cover in this training…
#1 Why digital analytics is the key to online business success.
#2 The number 1 reason why most marketers are not able to scale their advertising and maximize sales.
#3 Why Google and Facebook ads don’t work for most businesses & how to make them work.
#4 Why you won’t get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing Google Analytics.
#5 The number 1 reason why conversion optimization is not working for your business.
#6 How to advertise on any marketing platform for FREE with an unlimited budget.
#7 How to learn and master digital analytics and conversion optimization in record time.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and BeyondSECOND EDITION OUT NOW!
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma
Founder, OptimizeSmart.com
Over 15 years of experience in digital analytics and marketing
Author of four best-selling books on digital analytics and conversion optimization
Nominated for Digital Analytics Association Awards for Excellence
Runs one of the most popular blogs in the world on digital analytics
Consultant to countless small and big businesses over the decade
Get the FREE ebook on Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) (75 pages)
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of all the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.