Reporting management

Getting started with your Data Studio reports

Updated last week

If you're creating a report in Data 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 Data 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 Data Studio Quick Start Guide to learn the basics of how Data Studio works.

How Metricool data is organized in Data Studio

Metricool doesn’t include data from the current day—it only shows information up to the previous day. On the other hand, Data Studio can display current-day data if the social networks provide it. Also, keep in mind that Data Studio uses the London time zone by default (GMT/UTC+0), while Metricool shows data based on the time zone set in your account. This might cause slight differences if you’re in a different region.

Just like inside Metricool, the data source fields in Data 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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

  1. 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

  1. 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.

Additional resources

  • Template to streamline your reports. Access it here.

  • In this link you have the list of fields available in our Data Studio connector.

  • You can find more information about this feature in this tutorial.

  • 📹 How to Make Advanced Social Media Reports with Metricool + Looker Studio [Step-by-Step Guide] — EN · ES · FR · DE

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