If you're new to digital marketing and you're starting out campaigns on various channels, then you know how important it is to track performance across channels. For instance, you might find some channels are driving traffic to your website but not as many conversions, or the other way around where some "hidden gem" channels are not driving as much traffic but producing significant conversions. Having a clear channel report linked from Google Analytics 4 to Looker Studio will help you access all the significant insights you need to help optimize your campaigns across channels. In this article, we will show you a step-by-step guide to creating a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Channel Report in Looker Studio!
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How to Create a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Channel Report in Looker Studio
Section 1: Create a Blank Report
Step 1: Navigate to lookerstudio.google.com
Step 2: Select "Blank Report"
Step 3: Connect the Data Source
1. Select Google Analytics.
2. Select your Google Analytics account and property (GA4) and click "Add".
Step 4: Click on "Insert" to add elements to your report
Through this tab, you'll find all the elements that you can include in your report, such as tables, charts, scorecards, shapes, texts, images, and more.
Step 5: Customize your elements
Step 6: Add more space to your report
1. Click on "Page" and select "Current Page Settings
2. Click on "Style" and increase the Height
Section 2: Create a Channel Performance Overview Report
In the first section here, we will begin with creating a top-level channel performance overview report.
Insert Scorecards for Customer Journey Metrics
Step 1: Insert a "Scorecard" element and duplicate it a few times
A scorecard showcases a single metric.
Step 2: Select the metrics relevant to your entire customer journey
Click on each element and set the metrics that showcase your entire customer journey. For example, we can showcase the Sessions (traffic), Page views (visibility), Event count (soft KPIs, i.e. add to carts, checkouts, visits on key pages, etc), and Conversion (hard KPIs, i.e. sale, form completion, etc). If you want the data to be more specific, you can apply filters on the event count and conversions and report on exactly the actions you want to see on the report.
Step 3: Apply a "Comparison date range"
Select the metrics and select a comparison date range from the dropdown: Previous period.
Step 4: Insert a "Date range control"
Step 5: Select the date range you'd like to view in the report
Now that you have set the date range, you will see some indicators that show the comparison of performance from the current date range to the previous period. For instance, if you're looking at a weekly report, it will compare the results to the previous week; if you're looking at a monthly report, it will compare the results to the previous month.
Insert Table for Top-Level Channel Performance
Step 1: Insert a "Table" elemen
Step 2: Select the Dimension "Session default channel grouping" and select the Metrics you'd like to showcase
The table will follow the same structure as the scorecards, so we will select the same metrics following the customer journey.
Step 3: Click on "Chart" and select "Table with Heatmap"
With the heatmap, we can quickly and easily see the concentration of each metric across the channels. So we can know which channels are performing and generating the most traffic, views, soft KPIs, and hard KPIs.
Step 4: Add a "Comparison date range" to the previous period
Step 5: Show the "Summary row" to see the aggregation of the metrics
The completed table will show the top-level performance of the channels that drive all the different metrics on your website. The table also features a Delta column that shows the performance of each channel in comparison to the previous period, and a summary row for the overall channel performance.
Insert Pie Chart for Channel Acquisition Overview
Step 1: Insert a "Pie chart" element
You can change the style from a Pie chart into a Donut chart by clicking on the "Chart" dropdown and selecting the relevant chart style.
Step 2: Change the Dimension to "Session default channel grouping" and the Metric to "Sessions"
Step 3: Duplicate the same chart 2 more times and change the Metrics of each chart into "Event count" (or soft KPI of your choice) and "Conversions" (or hard KPI of your choice)
The three pie charts will help you understand the contribution of the different channels to your bottom line. The first pie chart is relevant to where the traffic is coming from, the second pie chart is relevant to which channels are driving key actions, and the third pie chart is relevant to which channels are generating conversions. From here, you can understand which channels are driving traffic but not actually generating conversions, and which channels generate very little traffic but drive a lot of hard KPIs and business outcomes percentage-wise.
Section 3: Create a Channel Performance Deep Dive Report
After creating the top-level performance report, we want to deep dive into every specific channel's performance.
Customize Existing Elements to Deep Dive Channel Performance
Step 1: Navigate to Page and click "Duplicate page"
Step 2: Click on Manage Pages and rename the first page as "Channel Performance Overview" and the second page as "Channel Performance Deep Dive"
Step 3: Change the Dimension of the existing table and charts to "Session source"
Step 4: Insert a "drop-down list"
Step 5: Change the control field from "Session source" to "Session default channel grouping"
Insert Column Chart for Trend Lines
Step 1: Insert a "Column chart" element
Step 2: Select the Dimension and Metric
In the first column chart, select "Month" as Dimension and "Sessions" as Metric. In the second and third column chart, select "Event count and Dimensions" as Metrics.
Step 3: Sort the month in an ascending order
The chart will be sorted in ascending order by month from January to December.
Step 4: Customize the report further through the "Style" tab
For example, we added 12 bars to represent 12 months, selected show data labels, and changed the color of the chart.
Step 5: Select the date range to see the trend lines
When you select the date range, the chart will display the trend lines of your website performance within the selected time range.
Step 6: Use the drop-down list to drill down on specific channels
Now, all the elements that are on our current report show the overall performance from all channels. In order to drill down on specific channels, we can use the drop-down list (deselector) at the top and select to view the performance of specific channels.
For example, we will select "Organic search" to narrow down the report only to organic search. This means that all the metrics on the report, such as the sessions, views, event counts, and conversions are all coming only from the organic traffic. You can also see on the table which search engines are driving organic traffic, the pie chart narrowed down only to organic search, and the trend line for this specific channel. You can select other channels to narrow down the report to another specific channel.
Frequently Asked Questions on Creating a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Channel Report in Looker Studio
Is it possible to create custom channel groupings in Looker Studio?
No, you cannot create custom channel groupings directly within Looker Studio. Custom channel groupings must be defined in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) first. Once you have set up your custom channel groupings in GA4, you can then use them in Looker Studio reports. To see the updated groupings in Looker Studio, you will need to refresh your data source after making changes in GA4. You can follow our tutorial on how to create custom channel groups in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) here.
Can I filter data in my GA4 Channel Report?
Yes, you can apply filters in Looker Studio to focus on specific traffic channels, time periods, or user segments, allowing for more targeted analysis. In your report, click on the chart or table you want to filter. Then, select the "Add a filter" option. Choose the dimension you want to filter by, such as "Default Channel Grouping," and set the conditions (e.g., include or exclude specific channels). Once you’ve defined your filter criteria, apply it to see the updated data in your report.
What are some best practices for creating GA4 channel reports in Looker Studio?
Here are some best practices for creating GA4 channels reports in Looker Studio:
Define clear objectives for the report and consider the metrics and dimensions you want to include in the report
Choose the right visualizations for your data
Use clear naming conventions for all visualizations and metrics
Use filters or segmentations to focus on specific channels
Take advantage of Looker Studio features such as blending data sources, creating calculated fields, and using date range controls to enhance your analysis
Keep your report layout clean and organized. Avoid clutter by limiting the number of metrics displayed at once
Use annotations or callouts to emphasize important findings or trends in your data
Schedule regular updates to your reports to reflect the latest data
Can I integrate other data sources with GA4 in Looker Studio?
Yes, Looker Studio allows integration with various data sources. You can blend data from different sources, including GA4 and other platforms like Google Ads, Google Sheets, or any other supported data source. This feature enables you to create comprehensive reports that combine metrics from various channels.
To blend data:
Add your GA4 data source and any other data sources you want to blend.
Create separate tables for each data source to ensure they are displaying correctly.
Select the tables, right-click, and choose "Blend Data."
Modify the blended data source to rename dimensions and metrics as needed.
You can also export data from other platforms into Google Sheets and then connect that sheet to Looker Studio. This method allows you to manipulate and prepare your data before visualizing it alongside GA4 data. For one-off reports or specific datasets, you can manually upload CSV files into Looker Studio. This is useful for integrating data that may not have a direct connector.
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