By: Isabel Balagat Aug 27/2025
For business owners and freelancers, tracking key performance metrics is crucial for making smart, timely decisions. But today, having data isn’t the problem; making sense of it all is the real challenge. With so many tools and platforms in your tech stack, how can you quickly gather meaningful insights from multiple sources?
That’s where Google Looker Studio comes in. Instead of spending hours piecing together spreadsheets or juggling multiple tabs, Looker Studio brings your most important metrics together in one place, so you can quickly spot meaningful trends and make confident, data-informed decisions.
Having data isn’t the problem; making sense of it all is the real challenge.
What Is Looker Studio?
Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is a free, user-friendly tool from Google that lets you create interactive dashboards and reports by connecting various data sources.
Compared to other business intelligence and data viz tools in the market like Tableau and Power BI, Looker Studio provides an accessible way to build interactive dashboards and reports without needing a technical background or a large upfront investment. If your business already relies on Google tools, Looker Studio is especially convenient and cost-effective.
What Can Looker Studio Do?
With the rich features available in the free version, the better question might be: What can’t Looker Studio do?
For most businesses, the free tier offers plenty to meet your reporting needs. You can create unlimited reports and dashboards to monitor campaigns and business metrics. If you require advanced capabilities like team workspaces, role-based permissions, enterprise-grade security and customer support, Google also offers a paid Looker Studio Pro version.
Here are some of the key features we love from the free version:
Wide Range of Chart Types
With tables, bar charts, pie charts, scorecards, geo maps, and more, Looker Studio covers most common visualization needs. Personally, line charts, bar charts, and pie charts cover most of our work. But if you need complex visuals like Sankey charts or tree maps, Looker Studio likely has you covered. See the full list here.
Flexible Data Connections
Connect directly with Google platforms (Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, etc.) and a variety of third-party sources to use real-time data in your reports. You can also extend your data sources by using third-party connectors like Supermetrics or Porter Metrics to bring in non-Google data from platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and more. Importantly, Looker Studio offers robust data access controls to keep your sensitive information secure.
Blended Data
One of our favourite features is the ability to combine data from multiple sources for a holistic marketing view. No more wrangling complex, manually exported Frankensteined spreadsheets.
For example, you can view your overall impressions, CTR, cost per thousand impressions (CPM), and other key metrics across different advertising platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, and Google Ads, all combined in a single dashboard. This makes cross-channel reporting efficient and clear.
No more wrangling Frankensteined spreadsheets
Interactive Controls
Add dropdowns, date range controls, checkboxes, and more to make your dashboards interactive. Unlike static PDF reports, you can explore data on the fly and customize views without recreating reports.
Date Range Comparisons
Easily compare different time periods to analyze trends and campaign performance. Want to know if this month’s results beat last month’s (or last year’s)? Looker Studio can show you at a glance with increase or decrease indicators.
Custom Calculated Fields
If you love spreadsheets, you’ll appreciate creating custom formulas in Looker Studio. Calculate metrics like conversion rates or cost per acquisition, or use custom text fields in your data tables for campaign categorization (e.g., Top, Mid, Bottom funnel).
Building Your First Dashboard
Here’s a simple guide to get you started:
Step 1: Sign in and start a new report
Go to Looker Studio and sign in with your Google account. Click “Blank Report” to create from scratch or browse free templates for a quick start.
Step 2: Connect your data
Select your data source, such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, or Google Sheets. For example, link Ads and Analytics to track your clicks and traffic.
Step 3: Add charts and visualize your data
Drag fields to add tables or charts. Try a scorecard for total conversions, a line chart for traffic trends, and a comparison date range to track progress.
Step 4: Make it interactive
Add filters and controls like date ranges, drop-down lists, or checkboxes (for example, to toggle between paid and organic traffic), or create calculated fields to track custom KPIs.
Step 5: Share and collaborate
Share your dashboard via a secure link, download a PDF version, or schedule automatic email reports to keep team members and clients updated.
In just a few hours (maybe longer if you fell into the rabbit hole of tinkering with data), you’ll have a professional, visual dashboard tailored to your business needs. Start with templates for even faster setup, then customize as needed.
Know Your Numbers Using Looker Studio
Looker Studio brings key metrics from multiple sources into one central platform, helping you make sense of your data through interactive reports and visuals.
This clarity empowers you to confidently make informed, data-driven decisions that drive your business forward. Finally, you can truly say, “I know my numbers.”
If you haven’t guessed, our agency loves Looker Studio and uses it extensively for both client work and internal processes. If you want help turning your data into clarity and insights, let’s talk.
About the Author
Isabel Balagat