Looker Studio: Frequently Asked Questions and Common Errors

Updated 2 months ago

Get help with Looker Studio

In this article, you'll find answers to frequently asked questions about Looker Studio, plus a list of common issues and how to solve them step by step. Perfect if you're troubleshooting or just want to build reports with more confidence.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Which Metricool plan includes the Looker Studio connector?

The Looker Studio connector is available on the Advanced and Custom plans (not available for white label accounts). You can check all our plans here.

I don't need more brands—can I add Looker Studio to a Starter plan?

The Looker Studio connector is not available as an add-on. Upgrading to a higher plan gives you access to advanced features and the ability to connect more brands if needed.

How do I access the Looker Studio connector?

Access is granted through the API Key or Token, which you'll find in your account settings. See full details in this article.

Only the owner of the Metricool account can view the API Key or Token. If you share this key, it gives full access to all connected brands.
The best practice is to share the specific report in Looker Studio and manage permissions for each collaborator there.

Looker Studio lets you share reports in view-only or edit mode, either by email or by link. Check Google's official guide here.

Can I combine data from different brands in one report?

Yes! You can do this using Looker Studio's data blending feature.

What's the difference between metrics and dimensions?

Dimensions are descriptive categories (e.g. date, campaign name).
Metrics are numerical values you can sum, count, or average (e.g. clicks, impressions).

If you're just getting started, check out our Getting Started with Looker Studio Reports guide.

What are calculated fields and what are they for?

Calculated fields are custom formulas you can create within your report to build new metrics or modify existing ones. Super useful for percentages, classifications, or combining data.
Learn more about them here.

How do I regenerate my API token?

If your API token has been compromised or you need to rotate it for security, you can regenerate it from your Metricool account settings. This is available for Advanced and Custom plans.

Regenerating your token immediately invalidates the previous one, so you'll need to update it in all your active integrations (Looker Studio, Zapier, custom API scripts, etc.).

👉 See Regenerate your API connection token for the complete guide.

⚠️ Common Issues (and How to Fix Them)

Data doesn't appear in Looker Studio (even though the connection is fine)

🔍 Possible cause: The data isn't available yet in Metricool, so Looker Studio can't display it either.

✅ Solution: Log into your Metricool account and check if the brand's data is visible there.
If it's missing, contact support via chat to request a manual data sync.
Once the data appears in Metricool, refresh your Looker Studio report and the data should load correctly.

The data doesn't match what I see in Metricool

🔍 Possible cause 1: The data aggregation method isn't set correctly (this often affects the followers metric).

✅ Solution: Check the aggregation method used in your chart or table in Looker Studio.
🔗 Read this article to understand how the followers metric works in Looker Studio

🔍 Possible cause 2: There may be differences in the date range or a custom filter applied in Looker Studio.

✅ Solution: Check the date selector in your Looker Studio report and compare it with the one you're using in Metricool.
Also double-check if there are custom filters applied to the chart or page.

📝 Note: Metricool doesn't include data from the current day—it only shows information up to the previous day. On the other hand, Looker Studio can display data from the current day if data is available from the social networks. Also, keep in mind that Looker Studio uses the UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) time zone by default, while Metricool displays the data according to the time zone set in your account. This may cause small differences if you are in another region.

Images (like post previews) don't show up in Looker Studio

🔍 Possible cause 1: The data isn't available in Metricool either. If the images don't show in Metricool, the data might not be fully synced yet.

✅ Solution: Contact our support team via chat to request a manual sync.
Once the images appear in Metricool, refresh the Looker Studio report to display them there too.

🔍 Possible cause 2: Looker Studio doesn't have permission to display external images. If you can see the images in Metricool but not in Looker Studio, your browser likely needs permission to load that content.

✅ Solution: Allow image display by following these steps:

Find a link or placeholder where an image should appear in the report.
Click the link or image element. A pop-up will ask for permission.
Click "Allow" to enable external image loading.
Refresh the Looker Studio page—images should now display correctly.

📝 Note: This permission may be requested again if you open the report in a different browser or in incognito mode.

Filtering by "Brand Info > Brand Name" doesn't change LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram metrics

🔍 Possible cause: The connector includes two separate "Brand Name" fields. The one inside the Brand Info group is purely informational—metric queries ignore it, so selecting a brand from that field doesn't filter anything and the report keeps showing the aggregated data for all brands.

✅ Solution: Use the Brand Name field that appears outside the Brand Info group instead, either as a dimension in your table/chart or as your filter control. This field is linked to the metric queries, so Followers, Clicks, Demographics, and other metrics break down correctly by brand.

Besides the cases listed above, you can also check the Troubleshooting common connector errors collection for short help articles on specific errors, with step-by-step instructions.

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