How to Build Dashboards in Looker Studio: A Beginner‑Friendly Guide for Small Businesses
Why Looker Studio Is Essential for Small Businesses
Looker Studio, formerly Google Data Studio, is a free reporting tool that connects directly to GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, and other data sources. It turns raw data into visual charts, tables, and scorecards that anyone can understand. To see how this fits into your broader digital strategy, start with The Ultimate Guide to GA4 and Web Analytics for Small Businesses.
Benefits of Looker Studio dashboards:
- Easy to read and interpret
- Fully customizable
- Automatically updated
- Perfect for tracking leads and conversions
- Ideal for Google Ads and SEO reporting
- Great for sharing with team members or clients
For Edmonton businesses competing in service-based industries, dashboards help you quickly identify what's working and what needs improvement.
Step 1: Connect Looker Studio to GA4
Before you can build a dashboard, you must ensure your data is flowing correctly. If you haven't completed your initial configuration yet, follow our guide on How to Set Up GA4 Properly.
To connect the two:
- Click Create and go to Report
- Choose Google Analytics as your data source
- Select your GA4 property
- Add it to the report
This connection allows Looker Studio to pull in your website data automatically.
Step 2: Add Scorecards for Key Metrics
Scorecards give you quick numbers. These should be the first elements on your dashboard. These metrics reflect the basic health of your site, which we discuss in detail in GA4 Events, Conversions, and Custom Dimensions Explained.
Recommended scorecards:
- Total website users
- New vs. returning users
- Total conversions
- Conversion rate
- Total sessions
- Average engagement time
- Event count (for key actions like form submissions or phone clicks)
These metrics help you understand your overall website performance instantly.
Step 3: Add Charts for Traffic and Engagement
Visual charts help you see trends over time.
Useful charts to include:
- Time series chart for total users
- Time series chart for conversions
- Bar chart for top landing pages
- Pie chart for device breakdown (mobile vs. desktop)
- Table for top traffic sources
These charts help you understand how users find your website and how they behave once they arrive.
Step 4: Add a Conversion Table
This is one of the most important parts of your dashboard. By visualizing How to Track Form Submissions in GA4 alongside your phone call data, you get a full view of your lead generation.
Create a table that shows:
- Event name (e.g., form_submit, phone_click)
- Total event count
- Conversion count
- Conversion rate
- Page path (where the conversion happened)
This helps you identify your highest-performing pages and lead sources.
Step 5: Add Google Ads Performance (If Applicable)
If you run Google Ads, connect your Google Ads account to Looker Studio.
Recommend widgets:
- Cost
- Clicks
- Impressions
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Cost per conversion
- Conversions by campaign
- Search terms report
This gives you a clear view of your ad performance without logging into multiple platforms.
Step 6: Add Search Console Data for SEO Insights
Search Console helps you understand how your website performs in Google search.
Useful SEO widgets:
- Top queries
- Top pages
- Impressions vs clicks
- Average position
- CTR (click-through rate)
For Edmonton businesses, this helps you see how well you rank for local keywords like "web development Edmonton," "SEO Edmonton, " or "Google Ads management Edmonton."
Step 7: Customize Your Dashboard Layout
A clean layout makes your dashboard easiest to read.
Tips:
- Group related metrics together
- Use consistent colours
- Add section headers (Traffic, Conversions, SEO, Ads)
- Keep the most important data at the top
- Avoid clutter; it is better to be simple
A well-organized dashboard saves time and improves decision-making.
Step 8: Share or Schedule Automatic Reports
Looker Studio allows you to:
- Share dashboards with your team
- Schedule automatic email reports
- Create client-friendly versions
- Export snapshots for presentations
This makes reporting effortless and consistent.
Final Thoughts
Looker Studio is one of the best tools a small business can use to understand its website and marketing performance. With a well-built dashboard, you can track real conversions, identify high-value traffic sources, and make smarter decisions based on clear, visual data. For Edmonton businesses competing in dense markets, this level of insight can dramatically improve your marketing ROI.
Need help navigating your digital strategy? At Alberta Web Craft, we specialize in helping businesses build high-performing websites that rank. Whether you need an SEO audit or a full site build, we’re here to help you own your piece of the internet.