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Looker Studio (now Data Studio)

Looker Studio, now called Data Studio again, is Google's free tool for building reports and dashboards from Google Ads, GA4 and other data sources.

How it works

You connect a data source, such as Google Ads, GA4, a Google Sheet or BigQuery, and build charts and tables on it in a drag-and-drop editor. A report can blend related sources and add calculated fields, so ad spend can sit next to the store’s own orders. You can share a report with individual people, a team or the public.

A report queries its source and keeps the results only in a temporary cache; extracted data sources are the exception. Google Ads data refreshes every 12 hours, and you can’t change that rate. The Google Ads connector also has limits: a manager account can report on up to 50 sub-accounts per data source, and Auction insights fields have returned no data since September 2024.

Our guide to a Google Ads dashboard in Looker Studio covers what to put on a store dashboard. If a spreadsheet or a dedicated tool might suit you better, see spreadsheets, Looker Studio or a reporting tool.

Where you see it

In April 2026 Google renamed the tool back to Data Studio, and it now opens at datastudio.google.com. The old address, lookerstudio.google.com, redirects there.

Not to be confused with

  • BigQuery Data Transfer Service — loads Google Ads data into BigQuery on a schedule, so the store keeps its own copy and history. Data Studio only displays what a source returns.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “The campaign table on our dashboard lists every campaign in the account.” Right: campaigns, ad groups and other entities with zero impressions in the period don’t appear in a Google Ads data source.
  • Wrong: “This morning’s budget change is already on the dashboard.” Right: Google Ads data refreshes every 12 hours, so the dashboard can lag the account by up to half a day.

Sources

  • Welcome to Data Studio (Google Cloud documentation) — a no-cost tool, blended data, calculated fields, sharing; the April 2026 return to the name Data Studio and the new address. Checked 2 October 2026.
  • Connect to Google Ads (Google Cloud documentation) — zero-impression entities, 50 sub-accounts per data source, Auction insights fields. Checked 2 October 2026.
  • Manage data freshness (Google Cloud documentation) — cached query results, the fixed 12-hour refresh for Google Ads. Checked 2 October 2026.
  • Introduction to the BigQuery Data Transfer Service (Google Cloud documentation) — scheduled loads into BigQuery, Google Ads as a source. Checked 2 October 2026.