Getting started with your Looker Studio reports
Looker Studio Reports
If you're creating a report in Looker Studio using the Metricool connector, there are a few key things you need to know to start off on the right foot.
Understanding how metrics and dimensions are organized, how they can be combined, and what types of data are available will help you build clean, useful, and error-free reports from day one.
The difference between dimensions and metrics
Before diving into data blocks, it's important to understand the two basic building blocks in Looker Studio:
Type | What it is | What it's for | Examples |
---|---|---|---|
Dimension | A category or attribute that breaks down the data | Organizes and groups the data | evolution date, Country, Post Text |
Metric | A quantitative value that can be measured or counted | Measures results or quantities | Followers, Clicks, Impressions |
📖 Quick example:
If you want to track your Instagram follower growth over time:
The dimension would be evolution date
The metric would be Instagram Evolution > Followers
💡 Check out the Looker Studio Quick Start Guide to learn the basics of how Looker Studio works.
How Metricool data is organized in Looker Studio
Just like inside Metricool, the data source fields in Looker Studio are grouped into four main blocks. Each block is identified by a "root", which is what appears before the > symbol in the field name.
Evolution
What it includes: Time-based metrics like followers, views, or clicks.
Best for: Time series charts and scorecards.
Key dimension: evolution date
Example field: Facebook Evolution > Followers
💡 You can combine multiple evolution fields in a single time-based chart, as long as they all use the evolution date dimension.
Demographics
Available for: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
What it includes: Audience data like age, gender, and country.
Best for: Demographic breakdowns and audience insights.
Example field: YouTube Demographics > Country Followers
Posts
What it includes: Info about your posts and how they perform.
Best for: Tables or lists of posts and stories.
Example fields: LinkedIn Posts > Clicks, Instagram Stories > Reach
Competitors
What it includes: Data on your competitors and their posts.
Best for: Benchmarking and external content comparisons.
Example fields: Facebook Competitors > Display Name, Fb Competitors Posts > Text
Ad data structure
Each ad platform has its own structure within the Metricool connector. Here’s a breakdown of which blocks are available depending on the level of analysis:
Block type | Meta Ads | TikTok Ads | Google Ads |
---|---|---|---|
Evolution | ✅ Meta Ads Evolution | ✅ TikTok Ads Evolution | ✅ Google Ads Evolution |
Campaigns | ✅ Meta Ads Campaigns | ✅ TikTok Ads Campaigns | ✅ Google Ads Campaigns |
Ads | ✅ Meta Ads | ✅ TikTok Ads Ads | — |
Keywords | — | — | ✅ Google Ads Keywords |
💡 If you’re working with Meta Ads and want to get the most out of your data, check out this guide:👉 How to analyze your Meta Ads campaigns
✅ Best practices for combining metrics and dimensions
To make sure your charts and tables work properly:
Don’t mix fields from different blocks: You can only combine metrics and dimensions that share the same root (everything before the > symbol). For example:
✔️ Instagram Posts > Likes with Instagram Posts > Comments
❌ Instagram Posts > Likes with Instagram Stories > Reach
❗The one exception: You can mix fields from the Evolution block, even if they’re from different social networks — as long as they share the evolution date dimension.
👀 Watch out for filters: If you apply a filter with a field from a different root than the rest of your chart or table, it can trigger a data incompatibility error. Make sure all elements — filters included — come from the same block.
Understanding these basics and how the data is structured will help you create clean, functional reports from the start. And once you’ve done it once, building new reports gets way easier.
Resources for Looker Studio
Template to streamline your reports. Access it here.
In this link you have the list of fields available in our Looker Studio connector.
You can find more information about this feature in this tutorial.
Updated on: 14/04/2025
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