Building reports from several different sources never looks like an easy task; in fact, many campaign managers avoid it. In the information revolution era, data is a huge asset for organizations, and most business decisions are derived from the information available to us. Therefore, it is important that you get to know Google’s tool called Data Studio, one of the most useful tools that will make it easier for you to build reports for your clients.
In this guide, I will explain how, using Google’s tool – Data Studio, you will generate a simple and easy-to-read report that automatically pulls data from a variety of digital platforms, through which you can also share insights and conclusions with others.
So what actually is Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio is a free tool that allows you to connect to a wide range of digital platforms simultaneously, pull data from them, and create dynamic reports. All this happens in a smooth user experience with no technical knowledge required.
Advantages of Data Studio:
- A free tool, important isn’t it?
- You can create customized reports according to client needs.
- Building the report is done conveniently and quickly using Drag & Drop.
- A real-time system allows real-time data updates.
- You can interface with any Google product at no cost, unlike other digital platforms that require payment via a third party (Supermetrics) – more details below
How to get started with Google Data Studio?
- Go to the Data Studio website
- Choose a template
- Connect a data source
- Choose the graph/chart suitable for you
- Choose the metrics important to you in building the report.
- Share the report 🙂
Choosing a template:
After entering Data Studio, we will need to choose the template we want to work with. The system provides a wide variety of templates to choose from; of course, you can build the report from a blank template. For beginners, it is recommended to work with a built-in template.
The beauty of these reports is that you can change colors, fonts, and texts as needed. You can also import ready-made templates from other sources.
Connecting a data source:
After selecting a template (in our case we will choose a blank template), the system will ask us which data source we want to connect to the report. As mentioned at the beginning, Data Studio offers a wide variety of data sources that can be connected to our report.
For this example, we will choose Google Analytics.
Getting to know the toolbar:
The next screen that will appear after connecting the data source is a blank page from which we will start building the report. Before building the report, let’s review the toolbar:
- Generic side menu – You can change page settings, copy – paste, change the page grid, add data sources, etc.
- Add a data source to the report, add charts/graphs, and add filters to the report.
- Embed buttons, add an image, create objects, create a text box, and customize page design.
- Refresh page buttons, share, view button which switches to view mode (how others will see the report if you share it).
Choosing a graph/chart to display the data:
The first step is to choose how we want to display the data. By clicking on “Add a chart”, a huge variety of options will open up.
The most common options:
- Table
- Scorecard
- Time series
- Bar
- Pie
For this example, we will choose Table:
After dragging the table to the center of the page, we get this:
So what have we done so far?
Selecting Dimensions & Metrics:
We will select the dimensions and metrics that we want to show in the table:
1. Dimension – The subject of the story – for example: the names of the pages we have on the site
2. Metrics – Tell the story – for example: the number of new users on each page and the number of views we have on each page.
Date selection – You can change the date range for displaying data as needed.
Adding filters – You can filter the data in the table. For example – show only data for the home page.
Styling the report and table:
There is an endless amount of options for styling the report, it all depends on the client’s needs and your creativity.
Here are a few small things that will improve the report’s look:
- Click on THEME and select a theme
- Add a text box and logo to the report
– To style the table, click on “Style” and then a panel will open allowing you to style the table; you can change the font, colors, and font size
And here is an example of a completed report:
Final Step - Sharing the Report
After finishing building the report, we’ll want to send it to the client or just share it with a colleague.
Click on the “Share” button in the toolbar (introduced at the beginning of the guide), and then the following window will open:
Enter the details and choose the permission you would like to give: view/edit.
Before sending the report, it is important to check against the existing data in the data source, because data in Data Studio might be filtered and may not always display everything that exists.
So what are the advantages for us and for the client?
1. Building the report is done only once. If we want to add data from additional platforms we can easily create a new page and add the data there.
2. The client receives a dynamic report, meaning all data is visible and relevant to the point in time they choose to view it.
3. The data in the report can be filtered by different time periods (according to client needs) and the data will change accordingly.
Congratulations! You have created your first report in Data Studio. It’s important to mention that this guide is very basic and presents a very small part of the options that Data Studio offers.
How to connect data from Facebook using Supermetrics:
Supermetrics is a company that creates products that allow you to connect dozens of platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more, and pull the data directly into Excel, Google Sheets, and Data Studio. Supermetrics is the number one time and money saver for digital advertising agencies. The system is very popular and is considered an industry standard today. In this part, we will explain how to connect data from Facebook Ads to Data Studio.
Connecting data using Supermetrics:
Step One:
Go to the Supermetrics website and choose the plan we want to purchase. Note that each package offers a limited number of connections:
Step Two:
Choose the connection we want to make to Data Studio, in our case we will choose Facebook Ads.
After purchasing, we will receive the license which looks like this:
Step Three:
Go into Data Studio and select the Facebook Ads connector to Data Studio.
Select an ad account from which we want to pull the data:
Fourth and final step:
Create a table, select “Facebook Ads” as the data source, and place the metrics and dimensions we want to see in the table.
And here is a table showing the number of impressions for Facebook campaigns:
Summary - Google Data Studio and Supermetrics
In this guide, we started learning Google’s free reporting system – Google Data Studio, and an external data connection system named Supermetrics. There are many more options and tools in these systems that can be expanded upon. The more you explore these systems, the more you will master and discover efficient options for preparing reports.
Always remember to start by knowing what you want to present, and only then start building the report.
Good luck!
A bit about me
Guy Ben Shabat, 26 years old, specializes in digital campaign management across a variety of digital channels.
