Google Data Studio reporting: Nine features your clients will dig

30-second summary:
Clients and senior management want insights and not data
As SEOs and digital marketers we spend hours swimming in data but how do you get smart about your reporting?
Alex Medawar helps you use Google Data Studio features to transform boring and confusing data into meaningful, presentable, and interactive reports your clients will love
Google Data Studio is a powerful and versatile reporting tool that can be used to create insightful and visually appealing reports for your clients.
The "old school" way of reporting and sharing analytics with clients typically entails the long and tedious process of manually downloading analytics and search data, then filtering and formatting the data in a spreadsheet, creating visuals from scratch, and typing out insights.
A few hours later, you have a bunch of data that you then have to make presentable and easy-to-understand for clients.
With Google Data Studio, you can easily create reports that are visually appealing and easy to understand.
You can even match all your colors and fonts to give your reports a more polished look.



It's easy to see, whether you're an agency or freelancer, that the old way of reporting is not only time-consuming, but it's also prone to extra confusion and questions from clients.
So much so, that you may even limit reporting altogether to top clients or retainers above a certain threshold.
Google Data Studio offers a much easier and faster way to create and even automate reports.
With Google Data Studio, you have a free and versatile dashboard to transform boring and confusing data into meaningful, presentable, and interactive reports your clients will love.
With Google Data Studio, you can easily create reports that are visually appealing and easy to understand. You can even match all your colors and fonts to give your reports a more polished look.
This way, you can spend more time on strategy and analysis, and less time on data crunching.
1. Report on almost anything
First and foremost, google data studio allows you to connect to a variety of data sources, including google sheets, google analytics, and google ads.
Focusing on google analytics data, Google Data Studio gives you the ability to report on almost anything you can think of from your client's website.
This includes website traffic, conversions, ecommerce transactions, and even custom events.
The possibilities are endless!
Featured Google and partner connectors
Google Ads
Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Youtube Analytics
Facebook Ads
Google Trends
TikTok
SEMRush
Mailchimp
DCM (Campaign Manager 360)
SA360
DV 360 (Display and Video)
And 600+ more
2) Add custom graphs and charts that impress
Another great feature of google data studio is the ability to create custom graphs and charts.
This can be extremely helpful in conveying complex information in an easy-to-understand visual format.
Your clients are sure to appreciate being able to see the data that they care about most presented in a visually appealing way.
Create interactive and filterable reports">reports
Another great feature of google data studio is the ability to create interactive and filterable reports.
This means that your clients can easily filter the data that they want to see and interact with the reports in a way that makes sense for them.
This is a huge step up from traditional reporting!



3) Seamlessly share and control access
Gone are the days of having to send large and unwieldy Excel files back and forth between you and your clients.
With google data studio, you can easily share reports with your clients in just a few clicks. You can also limit what data your clients have access to, so that they only see the information that is relevant to them.
Google data studio offers a variety of ways to share reports with your clients.
Reports can be easily exported as PDFs, images, or they can be shared directly through google drive. This makes it easy for your clients to access their reports from anywhere, at any time.



With just a few clicks, you can share your reports with anyone, privately, or through a link, without having to worry about large file sizes or compatibility issues.
Need to give someone edit access? No problem.
Google Data Studio makes it easy to add and remove users from your reports.



Don't sweat the price - it's free!
One of the best things about google data studio is that it's free to use!
Your clients won't be billed to access their reports, no matter how often they view or download them.
This makes google data studio an extremely cost-effective solution for report creation and sharing.
4. Utilize done-for-you templates
Google data studio offers a variety of templates that you can use to create your reports.
These templates are great for getting started, or for creating reports in a hurry.
All you need to do is select the template that you want to use and then customize it to match your needs. It's really that simple.
There are currently over 100 templates available, with more being added all the time.
Whether you're looking for a simple report template or something more complex, google data studio has you covered.
Templates include:
Google Ads Search Performance
YouTube Channel Report
All-in-one Search Console
Ecommerce Revenue
Facebook Ads Performance
And a whole lot more!
5. Add custom branding for you (and your clients)
One of the best things about google data studio is that you can easily add your own branding to your reports.
This is a great way to make your reports stand out and to show your clients that you're serious about your business.
With google data studio, you can easily add your own logo, color scheme, and even custom fonts. This makes it easy to create reports that are truly unique and that reflect your brand.



6. Answer questions ahead of time with built-in insights
It's not always possible to be available to answer your clients' questions 24/hours a day. But with google data studio, you can be!
Google Data Studio offers the ability to add built-in insights to your reports.
Worried about your clients not understanding something?
With google data studio, you can add text or video annotations to your reports. This is a great way to explain complex concepts, or to provide additional information that might be helpful to your clients.
7. Make your reports stand out with powerful cross-channel comparisons
Get the whole picture with a 360-degree view!
Google data studio gives you the ability to see all of your data in one place.
This is a great way to get a complete picture of your business, and to identify any potential areas of improvement.
Easily connect to multiple sources of data, including google ads, google analytics, google search console, facebook, and more.
You can then use this data to create reports that show how your business is performing across all channels.
This is a great way to identify any areas of improvement, and to make sure that your clients are getting the most out of their data.
8. Save time by automating your reporting process
Emails, texts, and social media posts can be a great way to keep your clients up-to-date on your business. But what if there was an easier way?
You can easily automate and schedule reports.
This is a great way to make sure that your clients always have the most up-to-date stats.
Embed on your website
Google data studio makes it easy to create reports that can be embedded on your website.
There are a number of reasons why embedding a google data studio report on your website can be beneficial for your clients.
First, it can help to increase transparency and trust.
By displaying reports on your website, you're giving your clients easy access to all of the data they need in one place under your brand name.
Second, assuming your client is sharing your report with relevant stakeholders, they will be sharing your website link instead of a Google link.
This can in turn, improve traffic to your website and increase the likelihood that they will return.
9. Get important feedback from your clients
Additionally, by embedding a Google form survey url at the end of your google data studio report, you can gather important feedback from your clients.
This can help you to identify any areas of improvement and ensure that you're providing the best possible service to your clients.



Final thoughts
This is a powerful reporting tool that can be used to create stunning reports for your clients.
By taking advantage of the features and tips listed above, you can create reports that are truly unique and that will impress your clients.
Alex Medawar is Senior Media Manager at Performics and creator of Alex Medawar.com. As a seasoned digital media expert, Alex Medawar focuses on B2B paid search campaign management and strategy for global brands in the tech space. Utilizing a data-driven approach, Alex believes that both small businesses and large enterprises alike can speak to their audience and drive results within the digital media landscape.
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