1. Looker Studio is now called Data Studio
Anyone searching for Looker Studio now ends up in the Data Studio help centre. On 13 April 2026, Google announced that it was renaming Looker Studio to Data Studio; the paid edition Looker Studio Pro is accordingly now called Data Studio Pro. According to the announcement, all existing reports, data sources and users will be transferred to the new environment without any action on your part. In its documentation, Google describes Data Studio as a free tool. The free version is sufficient for an SME dashboard.
2. Which sources to connect
Data Studio connects to data sources via so-called connectors. Google provides its own connectors for Google Analytics, Google Ads, Search Console, YouTube Analytics, Google Sheets, BigQuery as well as Excel and CSV files, among others. There are also third-party connectors.
Three sources are enough to start with:
- Google Ads for spend, clicks and conversions from paid search.
- Google Analytics 4 for visits, channels and enquiries on the website.
- Search Console for organic clicks and impressions from Google Search.
The list of Google connectors contains none for Meta or LinkedIn. If you want to include these channels, use a third-party connector or regularly export the figures to a Google Sheet that Data Studio then reads. Which services are suitable for this and what they cost is described in the article Supermetrics vs. Windsor.ai.
This order prevents you from building charts before it is clear which question they answer.
3. The five KPIs that are enough
A dashboard for senior management should fit on one screen. For most B2B companies, these five KPIs cover the essentials:
- Ad spend in the period, from Google Ads and other channels where applicable.
- Enquiries, i.e. the conversions that genuinely represent someone getting in touch.
- Cost per enquiry, calculated as spend divided by enquiries. Whether the value is good depends on your own calculation; the lead calculator provides a starting value.
- Organic clicks from Search Console, as a measure of how many visits come without an advertising budget.
- Website conversion rate, i.e. the share of visits that turn into an enquiry.
Each KPI gets a comparison with the previous month or the same period last year. The first page needs nothing more. You can add detail pages for individual channels later.
4. How to build the report
Create a new report in Data Studio and add the three data sources one after the other. For each source, you need at least read access to the respective account.
At the top of the page go a date range filter and the five scorecards. Below that, a line chart showing enquiries over time, broken down by channel. A small table with the most important campaigns or search terms completes the page.
For cost per enquiry, you need to combine data from two sources if the enquiries come from Analytics and the costs from Google Ads. Data Studio calls this blending (“Blend”) and, according to its documentation, allows up to five data sources in one blend. The blend only works via matching values, such as the same date or the same campaign name. It is often simpler to take costs and conversions directly from Google Ads, provided that only genuine enquiries count as conversions there.
5. Typical mistakes
Figures do not match. Google Ads and Google Analytics count conversions according to different rules. So do not place enquiries from both sources side by side as if they had to be the same. Decide which source applies to which KPI and state this in the report. If the basic measurement is already shaky, a tracking analysis is the first step.
Data seems out of date. According to Google, data from Google Ads, Google Analytics and Search Console is refreshed every 12 hours by default. If you compare the previous day's figures in the morning, you should know this before assuming there is an error.
Incorrect sharing settings. Data sources can run with the owner's credentials or with those of the viewers. With owner's credentials, everyone you share the report with can see the data, even without their own access to the account. Google advises sharing such reports only with trusted people.
Too much on one page. A dashboard with twenty charts will no longer be opened after two weeks. Five KPIs that everyone understands are worth more.
New channels are missing. Visits from ChatGPT and other AI assistants should not disappear under “Other” in the dashboard. How to capture these visits in Analytics is shown in the article GA4 measures AI traffic.
6. Checklist
- Write down three questions beforehand that the dashboard should answer.
- Initially connect only Google Ads, Analytics 4 and Search Console.
- Limit the first page to five KPIs with a comparison period.
- Define for each KPI which source it comes from.
- Check the figures once against the original accounts.
- Check whether data sources run with owner's or viewer's credentials.
- Schedule a fixed date on which the dashboard is reviewed together.
7. Conclusion
A simple marketing dashboard with Data Studio is free and can be built in one afternoon if you limit yourself to three Google sources and five KPIs. It replaces gathering figures from several accounts and creates a shared basis for decisions. One limitation: the dashboard is only as reliable as the measurement behind it, and channels outside Google need an additional connector or a regular export. If you have not checked your data basis, you should start there before building charts.
8. Frequently asked questions
Is Looker Studio still free?
Since April 2026, Looker Studio has been called Data Studio. In its documentation, Google describes Data Studio as a free tool. There is also the paid edition Data Studio Pro with additional features for collaboration and administration.
What is the difference between Looker Studio and Data Studio?
It is the same tool under a new name. In April 2026, Google renamed Looker Studio back to Data Studio and announced that existing reports and data sources would be carried over without any action on your part.
Can I display Meta and LinkedIn data in Data Studio?
Not via a Google connector. It is possible via third-party connectors or by regularly exporting the figures to a Google Sheet that Data Studio uses as a source.
How often is the data in Data Studio refreshed?
According to Google, data from Google Ads, Google Analytics and Search Console is refreshed every 12 hours by default. The data freshness can be set for each data source.
Which KPIs belong in a marketing dashboard?
For most B2B companies, ad spend, enquiries, cost per enquiry, organic clicks and the website conversion rate are sufficient. A comparison period is important so that changes become visible.
