Image Link Data Type in Google Data Studio

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

The ‘Image Link’ data type is used for those fields which contain clickable images. 

If you want to display clickable images in the data table of a report then you would need to use a field of the ‘Image Link’ data type.

Follow the steps below to use the ‘Image Link’ data type in Looker Studio:

Step-1: Navigate to your Looker studio account and then click on the ‘Create’ button:

create button 1

Step-2: Click on the ‘Data Source’ option to create a new data source schema:

Create data source 1

Step-3: Find and click on the Google Sheets connector:

Google sheets 1

Step-4: Select your Google Sheets data source:

Google sheet name

The selected Google Sheets data source contains the following data:

new schema 1

This data source contains a field called ‘Product Images URL‘ which contains the URLs of product images. Such type of field is called an image field.

Step-5: Click on the ‘Connect’ button at the top right-hand side:

connect 2

Your new data source schema is going to look like the one below:

Product sheet 2

Step-6: Change the data type of the ‘Product Images URL‘ field from ‘URL’ to ‘Image’:

change data tupe to image

Step-7: Click on the ‘ADD A FIELD’ button to create a new calculated field:

add afield 1

Step-8: Name the new calculated field ‘Clickable Images‘ and then define it like the one below:

clickable image

Here I have used the ‘HYPERLINK‘ function which returns a hyperlink.  But in our case, this function is used to return clickable images. 

Following is the syntax of the ‘HYPERLINK’ function:

    HYPERLINK(URL, Link Label)

URL‘ refers to the full URL of the link location. In our case, it is the ‘Product Pages’ field. This field contains the full URL of the link locations.

Link Label‘ refers to the text or image to display as the link. In our case, it is the ‘Product Images URL’ field which is an image field. This field contains all the images which I want to make clickable.

Step-9: Click on the ‘Save’ button and then click on the ‘All Fields’ button in order to navigate back to the data source schema editor:

all fields 1

You should now see the new calculated field of type ‘Image Link’:

image link data type 1

Step-10: Click on the ‘Create Report’ button to create a new report from the data source schema:

create report 1

Step-11: Click on the ‘Add to report’ button:

Add to report

Looker Studio will automatically create a new table in your report:

product report 1

Step-12: Drag and drop the following fields one by one from the ‘Available Fields’ section to the ‘Dimensions’ section:

  • Clickable Images
  • Product Cost
add field

Step-13: Remove the ‘Record count’ metric by clicking on the cross button next to it:

remove record

Your data table is now going to look like the one below:

report image 1

Step-14: Re-size your data table so that you can see all the product images

Step-15: Click on the ‘View’ button (on the top right-hand side of your screen) to view your report in the view mode:

view report 2

In view mode, your data table is going to look like the one below:

View report 1

If you now click on an image (book cover), you would be redirected to the corresponding link location. That’s how you can add clickable images to the data table in your report.

  1. Looker Studio Alternative – Whatagraph
  2. Looker Studio Parameters explained with examples
  3. Looker Studio Number Formats / Data Types
  4. How to Change Language in Looker Studio
  5. Looker Studio Date Format and Time Explained
  6. Looker Studio Tutorial with FREE PDF ebook
  7. Looker Studio Functions, Formulas Tutorial
  8. How to work with the Boolean field in Looker Studio
  9. Looker Studio Page Navigation Tutorial
  10. Understanding Report Editor in Looker Studio
  11. Best practices for creating a report in Looker Studio
  12. How to share reports in Looker Studio
  13. Seven methods to create a new report in Looker Studio
  14. Looker Studio Report Tutorial
  15. How to invite people to view or edit a report in Looker Studio
  16. How to share the link of your report in Looker Studio
  17. Schedule email delivery of a report in Looker Studio
  18. How to download Looker Studio report as PDF
  19. How to embed a Looker Studio report on a website
  20. Guide to Data Types in Looker Studio
  21. Image function in Looker Studio
  22. Image data type in Looker Studio
  23. Looker Studio Geo Map – Latitude Longitude
  24. Why You Should Avoid Using Functions and Calculated Fields in Looker Studio
  25. Looker Studio Calculated Fields Tutorial
  26. Working with the Text data type in Looker Studio
  27. The Data Set Configuration Error in Looker Studio
  28. Data Source Fields in Looker Studio – Tutorial
  29. Refresh data source schema fields in Looker Studio
  30. Looker Studio Data Sources – Tutorial
  31. Looker Studio Dimension vs Metric
  32. How to filter by email in Looker Studio
  33. Looker Studio – Sharing Data Sources (aka data source schema)
  34. Field editing in reports – Looker Studio
  35. Data Source Version History in Looker Studio
  36. Community Visualization Access in Looker Studio
  37. Understanding Data Source Credentials in Looker Studio
  38. Understanding Data Freshness in Looker Studio
  39. How to create and configure a data source in Looker Studio
  40. Looker Studio Aggregation Explained
  41. How to Edit a Calculated Field in Looker Studio
  42. Formula Rejection in Looker Studio
  43. Doing Basic Maths on Numeric Fields via Calculated Fields

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