A Google Data Studio Guide For Sources, Charts & Visualizations

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Google Data Studio is a tool that allows you to make graphical representations and reports of the changing data trends. It is one of the latest additions to the Google library (since 2016), and it can be very useful for someone who needs to analyze data and create presentations from several different sources.

Marketing professionals, developers, and other small and medium businesses have to maintain a regular check on the changing data and create reports from this data. And Google Data Studio is the perfect tool to do so. But what are the sources from where you can add data to Google Data Studio?

Let’s take a look at how you can add data to Google Data Studio to visualize and assess it.

Data Sources in Google Data Studio

It can be a nightmare to manually create reports from the data that needs to be updated regularly. But thankfully, Google Data Studio takes care of the issue for you. This cloud-based tool is dynamic in nature and can quickly update the data as it changes in the sources.

The first step in making a successful report is to connect it with the data sources. You can connect multiple data sources in Google Data Studio. These sources can range from social media platforms to software tools. This tool maintains a live data connection with the sources and will automatically add the updated data from these sources to your report.

Most people find it confusing to add data sources in the Google Data Studio. But all you need to do is something that is called a ‘data connector’.

Google Data Studio Connectors

To connect Data Studio data sources with your report, you need data connectors. These connectors can fetch data from different platforms, marketing softwares and other tools.

Initially, Google Data Studio could only add data from a limited number of sources but now you can connect Google Data Studio with almost 500 different connectors. This is all thanks to the different data connectors available in the market.

There are two major types of data connectors that you can use in the Google Data Studio:

Organic Data Studio Connectors

Google itself has made some different data connectors. They can link the Google Data Studio with different data sources such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Search Console, Google Sheets and Youtube among others. You can simply add data from other Google tools to make a thorough report or presentation. The best part is — these connectors are free and easy to use, as they have been developed by Google.

Paid Data Studio Connectors

If you are trying to use other sources, you might need to buy a data connector to use with the Google Data Studio. There are several connectors available that are built by third party partners such as Power My Analytics, Supermetrics and Windsor. Some of them are available for free and some need to be purchased before they can be used to connect with a particular data source.

Popular data sources:

• Social & Advertising Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Twitter, Google My Business, Bing, Amazon [Paid]
• Softwares: Mailchimp, Hubspot, Salesforce, Constant Contact [Paid]
• Other third party data sources: SEMrush, SE Ranking [Free]

Data sources can have different requirements, so you might need to read the instructions carefully before you can use the data connector to create an instance of the data source in Google Data Studio. Once you get the hang of it, you can add any available data source and make amazing reports and presentations.

Here is the complete list with the available Data Studio data sources.

5 steps to add a data source in Data Studio

1) Go to your data sources

2) Click at plus button “Create” and then “Data Source”

3) Select your data source (i.e. Google Analytics) from the list

4) Connect your account / property / view

5) Create a report using this data source

Tip: In case you have already started a report, you can add this new data source by opening this report and adding a new data source to it. More specifically go to the Menu > Resource > Manage added data sources > Add a data source > My data sources > Select the most recent data source.

How to use the Google Data Studio charts?

The best part of using Data Studio is the freedom to customize your reports and graphical representations. This easy-to-use tool lets you visualize the data and share it with your team members and stakeholders, and you can impress them with cool Google Data Studio charts.

If you are new to using this BI tool, you might not get how to use the available Google Data Studio charts, graphs and diagrams. But don’t worry we have created this article to help you grasp the different aspects of this amazing tool.

The Google Data Studio has a wide range of graphical elements — which are commonly called Google Data Studio Visualizations — which you can use in your reports. Let’s take a look at these.

Google Data Studio charts

To represent your data you need to add graphical elements or visualizations in your report or presentation. With the Google Data Studio you can include several different types of graphics. Once you have connected with the required data sources, you can add visualizations to show the numbers in your report.

Here are some of the commonly used visualizations in Google Data Studio:

Charts & Graphs:

If you want to make your report look professional you need to add Google Data Studio charts to represent your data. With Google Data Studio you can add different charts such as pie charts, bar charts, geo maps, etc.

You can also show the changing data trends with a graph in your report. The Google Data Studio allows you to show the data and statistics through different types of graphs such as line charts, time series, scatter charts, treemaps, and pivot tables, among others. All of these graphs can help you give your report or presentation a more charming design.

Tables & Pivot Tables

You can use tables in order to analyze your data in more detail. The columns of a table represent one dimension/metric, while the rows are the actual values of your data.

Example: The breakdown of your marketing channels’ performance

Scorecards

Scorecards are used to present key performance indicators for your business. You can use scorecards in order to underline the difference in performance (Δ% / Δ) vs previous year or period.

Example: Your unique keywords that are ranked on Google over months

Time Series

Time series charts display changing trends in your data over a period of time. You can use them in order to understand your KPIs performance in shorter and longer periods. Tip: Make sure to use date drill-down dimensions in your charts, so you can easily analyze the performance per day/week/month/quarter/year.

Example: Your unique keywords that are ranked on Google over months

Bar Charts

You can use bar charts in order to showcase the comparisons among different categories. With the usage of bars (Data Studio offers six different default bar charts), you can easily identify the top performing ones.

Example: Top selling brands and categories of your ecommerce

Pie Charts

Pie charts show your data in a circular graphic, which is divided into slices. There are two pie charts available in Data studio, the doughnut chart and the whole circle.

Example: Your sales breakdown is based on marketing channels, countries and device categories

Maps

A map chart shows the performance of your KPIs across different geographic areas. You can use the geolocation dimensions in order to drill down from city / metro area to region / country.

Example: Visits from specific geolocation areas (countries, regions, metro areas) where you serve your clients

Line Charts

Line charts are used to show changes in your data changes over time along with another dimension. You can visualize your data using either lines or bars (or both).

Example: Impression share of your competitors (vs yours) over time

Area charts

Area charts use shaded areas to show the volume of data represented by the lines. You can use them in order to spot trends for more than one dimension over time.

Example: Organic traffic breakdown from search engines.

Scatter Charts

Scatter charts display values for two variables of a data source. You can use this combo chart in order to find out correlations between 2 metrics for up to 3 dimensions.

Example: Your ranked keywords of 1st page on search results based on their volumes and their position.

Bullet Charts

Bullet charts are used to show how your KPIs are performing against your targets. With these charts you can set your own targets manually.

Example: Average load time of your website on desktops / mobiles compared to industry benchmarking

Gauge Charts

Like bullet charts, gauge graphics depict the difference between your actual performance and your target. This chart type is often used in executive dashboard reports to display key business metrics.

Example: Transactions and revenue KPIs of your e-shop against your targets

Treemaps

Treemap charts provide a hierarchical view of your data, breaking down your KPI into blocks. You can easily spot patterns based on the size of each block.

Example: Top generic keywords of your website based on the organic search traffic

Other Diagrams:

Sometimes you might even need to make a diagram to show the processes in your reports. You can add a waterfall chart, a candlestick chart, or customize your own graphical element. When you are making a report you would see all the available diagrams in the toolbar, and you can simply add them to your work.

While there are several graphical elements available in the tool, sometimes you might not find what you are looking for. But you might find the best visual element to represent your data in the elements created by other users.

Community Visualizations

The Google Data Studio Community works to add more and more features and visualizations to make it easier to use the tool. You can also become part of this growing community and work along with others to continue making stunning visual representations of data.

The Google Data Studio Community Visualizations enable you to customize your own graphical elements. You can use Javascript and CSS libraries to create a graphical element with the style elements of your choice. You can then add this visualization to the gallery.

You can also find the community visualizations made by other members in the Community Visualizations gallery, and use them in your reports however you please.

The experience of using Google Data Studio is made even better by the wide range of visualizations available in the tool. You can take your pick from both the built-in visualizations and the graphical elements created by other users through Community Visualizations. Below you will find the list of community visualizations that are published on Data Studio Gallery:

Community visualization examples

1. Funnel Chart (by Power My Analytics)
2. Radar Chart (by Clickinsight)
3. Lighthouse Gauge (by James Buckley)
4. Data Target Card (by Anvil Analytics)
5. Website Heatmap (by Data Bloo)

How to add charts to Data Studio report

It might seem hard at first, but adding and editing charts is very simple. All you have to do is to:

1. Open your report in edit mode
2. Go to the top in the toolbar and click “Add a Chart”
3. Select the type of chart
4. Add the metrics and dimensions you want to display in the chart
5. Make the appropriate changes in style tab in order to follow the look & feel of your report
6. Adjust the chart to your report by increasing / decreasing its size

And you are all set! You can now pick one of the 13 preset chart types (or even a custom community visualization) and give life to your presentations.