How To Connect Google Looker Studio and GA4?

Struggling to connect Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Looker (Data) Studio? Despite being two of Google’s most powerful data tools, successfully linking them can be tricky, but it’s possible with the right guidance. In this article, we’ll look at how to connect GA4 and Google Looker (Data) Studio to unlock all the power these two tools offer. By combining GA4’s powerful user behavior tracking capabilities with Looker Studio’s powerful data blending, you can create more meaningful reports and make better decisions based on the insights they provide.

Table of Contents:

1. Google Looker (Data) Studio and GA4: Connection Options
   • Option 1
   • Option 2
2. Tips to Connect GA4 and Google Looker (Data) Studio
   • Pro Tip
3. Limits of the Google Analytics 4 Connector
4. Why is It Important to Connect GA4 to Looker Studio?
5. Final Thoughts

Before we start, let us clarify a few points:

• Google Data Studio is currently known as Google Looker Studio
• In this article, we will show you free and quick ways how to connect these tools (without third-party connectors (e.g., Supermetrics)
• We suggest two options on how to connect GA4 to Looker Studio; you may choose the one that suits your goals

Google Looker (Data) Studio and GA4: Connection Options

To maximize results, we suggest learning and using the two connection options for creating this link. Let us view each of them in detail.

Option 1

This is a quick way to create a report in Looker Studio and, at the same time, connect it to GA4. All you need to do is to follow six steps:

1. 1. Visit the Looker Studio page and select ‘USE IT FOR FREE’

1. 1. To log in, enter your Google login and password

Please, keep in mind that you need to log in to your Google Analytics account, which has edit-level access to your Google Analytics 4.

1. 1. On the homepage of Looker Studio, select ‘Blank Report’

1. 1. After entering the report, select the necessary data source (in our case, it’s Google Analytics); choose it from the data source menu

1. 1. Next, authorize if you haven’t done it before

If you authorized to Google before, you’ll see accounts at this stage:

1. Choose the necessary account and GA4 property and press ‘Add’

Congratulations, you’ve connected GA4 and Looker Studio! Now you can create the report with the necessary graphs and tables.

Option 2

Choose this option if you want to create a Google Analytics data source at the account level in Looker Studio and use it in other different reports.

The first and the second steps are similar to option 1.

• • On the homepage of Looker Studio, select ‘Create’

• • Then choose ‘Data Source’

• • Choose Google Analytics from the data source menu

• • Next, you can Authorize if you haven’t done it before; but we will go further and show you what to do when you were authorized before; in this case, we can select the necessary account and GA4 property from the menu and choose ‘Connect’

• Then you can see the whole date descriptions and, if needed, calculate your fields or add a parameter; otherwise, you can continue and press ‘Create Report’

You can use both of these connection options to connect GA4 and Looker Studio. The first option allows you to create a report quicker, the second is more suitable when you want to copy your reports and save the data source.

Tips to Connect GA4 and Google Looker (Data) Studio

Pro Tip

To see what fields are available after creating a Google Analytics 4 data source, check the right side of the report:

Limits of the Google Analytics 4 Connector

Looker Studio reports that connect to Google Analytics 4 data are subject to Google Analytics Data API (GA4) quotas. For example, some quotas are

• 1,250 tokens per hour
• 25,000 tokens per day
• 10 concurrent requests

Is that a lot? According to Google, a simple chart uses around 10 tokens. However, large amounts of data and actions taken within the dashboard, like applying filters and changing the date range, will require more tokens. Reports that exceed these quotas may display error messages. For example, “Looker Studio cannot connect to your data set,” “Exhausted concurrent request quota,” and “Data Set Configuration Error.”

Why is It Important to Connect GA4 to Google Looker (Data) Studio?

Connecting GA4 and Looker Studio allows businesses to access real-time comprehensive analytics data. This means they can quickly identify trends or correlations in their website performance, allowing them to make informed decisions about where improvements need to be made or what changes should be implemented. Also, connecting these two tools will give businesses access to more detailed insights about each user’s journey on their website, helping them understand what pages on their website are performing well or which areas may need improvement.

Another benefit of connecting GA4 and Looker Studio is the ability for businesses to “slice” their data in different ways. This means that they can quickly break down their website performance data by geographic region, device type, browser type, etc., giving them a better understanding of who is visiting their website and how they are engaging with it. Additionally, this information can help inform marketing strategies or product launches in specific regions based on user behavior patterns gleaned from the connected analytics platforms.

Finally, GA4 and Looker Studio connection allows you to automate certain tasks, such as reports or alerts when certain conditions are met (e.g., when page visits exceed a certain threshold). This automation eliminates manual labor associated with these tasks, saving time, resources, and money while ensuring the accuracy of report generation since the process is automated rather than human-driven.

Our recent article has already described the benefits of Google Looker (Data) Studio. You can check it out here.

Final Thoughts

Connecting GA4 and Google Looker (Data) Studio provides valuable insights into user behavior. With this integration, you can access more powerful segmentation capabilities and improved visualization tools for creating custom reports tailored to their needs. The next time you need deeper insights into user behavior or want a better understanding of how people interact with your website or app, consider connecting these powerful analytics tools — you won’t regret it!