Setting up a Report in Google Data Studio

Here is a small guide on how to get started in creating a Google Data Studio report, all the basics you need to know and where to find it.

But first of all, we must clarify a basic question.

What is Google Data Studio?

Data Studio is a Data visualization tool that allows you to create customized reports with data provided by Analytics, Ads, Search Console  or any tool that can be linked to Data Studio through its connectors.  The tool allows us to integrate the data in interactive dashboards and reports that you can share on real time and with which better business decisions can be made in the short and long term.

With the theoretical part already finished, it is time to enter the practical part and the one that interests us the most.

Create a Data Studio

Once we get to the Data Studio home page we will see a series of templates already created for different situations or tools, with pre-set metrics. But if we want to create a custom report from scratch we have two options, select the "Empty report"or go to the top left, where you will see a button with a plus sign to the left that says "create".

Selecting this option will display a drop-down menu which will allow us to choose between three different options.

1. ReportGoogle Data Studio: As its name suggests, it will be used to create a blank report from scratch. This is the main function of Google Data Studio.
2. Data Source: Before adding data to a report it is necessary to create its data source. But this step can be done once inside the report itself. This would simply be adding a new data source, something we will get to in the next step.
3. Explorer: The explorer option is ideal if you only want to visualize a table with a specific data, it would not be necessary to create a whole report for it. All you would have to do afterwards would be to configure the dimensions and metrics you want to see and analyze the data quickly. We must remember that this type of report is temporary except if it is saved. They cannot be shared as such but you can export the data to an existing report. This option is very new so it is still under development.

To create a blank report we will select the Report option. We must not forget to give this report a name before continuing.

Once it is created, we will be asked to connect a data source, if we already have data sources inserted we will only have to select one from the list shown on the right, otherwise we will have to create it ourselves in the add option.

Create a Data Source

To create a data source we will need to use one of the Data Studio connectors.

As we mentioned at the beginning, these connectors allow us to link the Data Studio tool with data from different platforms, either from Google itself such as Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Search Console or external tools that have a connector such as Bing Ads, SEMRush, Sistrix.

We must remember that many times to use connectors that are not developed by Google, i.e., are developed by third parties, it can involve us a extra costThe company that developed it will require a payment to the company that developed it. cost varies depending on connector and intended use. Although there is a small section of Open Source connectorsThese are connectors developed by the community altruistically and at most they can ask you for a cost for data storage on servers, unfortunately lately. many of these open source connectors have disappeared and can no longer be found.

For this example we have chosen the free Google Ads connector, as it is the one we use on a daily basis in our agency.

Once the data source is connected, we will see the content of the data source separated between Dimensions (in green) and Metrics (in blue color). A dimension is the category of the data. While a metric measures the value of the same dimensions. You could say that a dimension has metrics but a metric has no dimensions.

For example: A dimension would be the name of a campaign, while a metric could be the cost or clicks of that campaign.

If necessary custom dimensions and metrics can be modified or addedHowever, if you are not the owner of the data source you will have to request access as administrator to the owner of the data source. We must also keep in mind that if we modify the type column we can change dimensions to metrics and vice versa.

After checking that all the data we are going to need exists within the data source we want to use, we just need to connect it to the report by clicking on the blue button of "Add to report"Once this action is done, we can start using all this data in our report.

Once this last step is completed, we would have everything we need to start working with a new report.

What now?

As mentioned above, we already have the data connected to our report and a blank canvas to work on. use the Data Studio editing tools to add the data to be analyzed and format them as desired.

From Geotelecom If you have never seen a Google Data Studio report, we recommend starting with the insert functionIn the navigation bar of Data Studio, you will find a multitude of options among which we can highlight the possibility of adding various graphs, texts, images or videos with which there are endless possibilities. Remember that when inserting a graph or table with data, we will have to define dimensions and metrics that are going to be used and try to make these data of interest to us.

Now it's up to you to get creative and start playing with the Google Data Studio tool. What would you like to see next from Google Data Studio - a more in-depth user guide to the Google Data Studio tool itself with practical examples? Leave us a comment and we will take it into account for future publications.