Note: Google Data Studio is now known as Looker Studio.

Before you upload data from Google Sheets to Looker Studio, you need to make sure two things:

• You pulled data correctly into Google Sheets. 
• The data you pulled into Google Sheets is in the correct format.

Because this is going to affect your data visualization and data analysis in Looker Studio.

If you feed garbage to Looker Studio, you will get garbage. Garbage in, garbage out.

Example of an incorrectly formatted data table in Google Sheets

Following is an example of an incorrectly formatted data table in Google Sheets:

The data table is not formatted correctly because of the following reasons:

1. The date in Google Sheets is not compatible with Looker Studio date format.
2. The data in Google Sheets is not using the correct data types.
3. There is an empty row at the very top and in the middle of the data table.
4. The data table has an empty column.
5. The data table contains totals.
6. The column headers are missing.

#1 The date in Google Sheets is not compatible with Looker Studio date format.

For example, the field ‘Order Date’ is not of type ‘date’. And some of the dates are not even valid (for example, 27/1/2021).

That is because the American date format begins with the month and ends with the year (MM/DD/YYYY). 

In most of the world (including the UK), the day is written first and the year last (DD/MM/YYYY). 

So, you must ensure that all your dates begin with the month and end with the year (MM/DD/YYYY). 

For Looker Studio, you should consider formatting your dates in the (YYYY-MM-DD) format. So the year is written first and the day last. Though it is not compulsory, it is good practice.

How to format dates for Looker Studio

Step-1: Select all of your dates data (in the American format):

Step-2: Navigate to Format Menu > Number > More Formats > Custom Date and Time:

Step-3: Select the year-month-day format from the available options in the list and then click on the ‘Apply’ button:

As soon as you click on the ‘Apply’ button, all of your dates will automatically be converted into this new format which Looker Studio understand:

The correct way to format your data fields is by selecting all the data in your field and making sure it is of the correct data type from the ‘Format’ menu.

#2 The data in Google Sheets is not using the correct data types. 

For example:

2.1 Number data should be of type ‘number’

‘Transaction ID’ is a number, and its data type should be ‘number’. To change it, you can navigate to Format Menu > Number > Number.

2.2 Text data should be of type ‘Plain text’

Customer Name is text, and its data type should be ‘Plain text’.

You can navigate to Format Menu > Number> Plain text to change it.

2.3 Currency data should be of the type ‘currency’ 

For example, if your currency is US dollars, then all currency data should be displayed in US dollars (and not as numbers):

#3 There is an empty row at the very top and in the middle of the data table.

If the Google Sheet contains empty rows, it could create miscalculations in many of the formulas.

It can also lead to a null value or empty space in the Looker Studio graphs if the selected cell comes under the range of the graph.

Now, imagine a scenario where you have a bar graph for each row and multiple empty spaces in the graph.

You won’t be able to get complete information, and hence, empty rows must be deleted.

Another major drawback of having the top row empty is that Looker Studio considers the first row as a header; if it is empty, it will not add the data source.

#4 The data table has an empty column.

There should not be empty columns in the Google Sheet.

It can lead to an empty space in the graphs in Looker Studio.

#5 The data table contains totals.

There should not be subtotals or grand-totals in your data table.

This can be considered an additional row and inflate the overall calculation in Looker Studio reports.

#6 The column headers are missing.

Each column must have a header, and these headers must be meaningful, unique and self-explanatory.

If the headers are empty, the data will not be added to the data source, and you won’t be able to add a chart or table to the Looker Studio report.

Example of a correctly formatted data table in Google Sheets

Following is an example of a correctly formatted data table in Google Sheets:

Best practices to follow while working on Google Sheets and Looker Studio

1. Make sure your data table starts from cell A1, right in the top upper left corner.
2. Don’t add extraneous data in the same worksheet, like adding notes or other tables, charts, etc. 
3. Each dimension and metric should be mentioned with proper headers.
4. A data type should be defined for each column based on its type.
5. There should not be any empty rows or columns.
6. There should not be any total, grand total, or summary rows.

Once you follow these best practices, you should not get any issues while creating the Looker Studio reports.

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2. How to extract data from Excel or CSV file into Google Sheets
3. How to extract data from Google Ads to Google Sheets
4. How to use Supermetrics for Google Sheets Add-on
5. Connect and transfer data from Google Sheets to BigQuery
6. Sending data from Google Search Console to Google Sheets
7. Supermetrics Queries for Google Sheets – Tutorial
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10. Learn to export Facebook ads data to Google Sheets
11. Understanding Aggregation in Google Sheets