Blending Search Console and internal data inside Looker Studio
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Search Console provides data about your website performance on Google Search. This data can be
accessed on Looker Studio (previously known as Data Studio),
where you can build dashboards to monitor and
explore your performance.
One advantage of analyzing your performance data outside Search Console is that it allows you to add more context
to your reports, you can enrich the data with any sources, like technical and business information you have
about your site. When analyzing your performance, the more data sources you combine, the better you can understand
what helps you achieve your results; this will help you make better decisions using your data.
Check the Looker Studio help center for a complete step-by-step guide on
creating data blends.
Here's a summary of the main steps:
Create data sources for both your Search Console property and the data you'd like to blend on Looker Studio.
Navigate to a report including one of the data sources created and select a table or chart. In the setup menu
you'll find an option to blend data. When you click it, you'll find an interface where you can join a table to the
existing data source.
Click to join a table and choose the data source you just created. Then click to configure the join.
You'll see several join operator options, you can learn more about them in the
BigQuery documentation.
Choose matching fields to join the tables.
You can do the same for multiple tables to enrich your dashboards with information not available via Search Console,
your imagination is the limit!
Here are some ideas you could use to enrich different dimensions:
Add more information about a URL. Bring data about URLs such as page category,
structured data implemented, page template, type of content, author, and more.
Create query clusters. If you monitor queries by subject, you can join a table
where you define which query belongs to which group; this will help you monitor queries based on
your internal definitions.
Track budget across countries. If you have a global audience and different budget
per country, you might want to monitor your budget alongside your performance results.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eSearch Console data can be accessed and analyzed in Looker Studio to build dashboards for monitoring website performance on Google Search.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eLooker Studio's data blending feature allows combining Search Console data with other sources (like business or technical data) for deeper insights.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEnriching Search Console data with external sources provides valuable context, aiding in better decision-making for website optimization.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe article offers examples of data enrichment, such as adding URL information, creating query clusters, and tracking budget by country.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can find further assistance and resources through the Google Search Central Community and Looker Studio Community.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Search Console data on website performance can be analyzed in Looker Studio. Users can blend Search Console data with other sources like technical and business information to gain deeper insights. Key actions include creating data sources in Looker Studio, selecting the option to blend data on a report, joining tables, and choosing matching fields. This allows enriching dashboards with information such as URL details, query clusters, and budget tracking to improve performance monitoring and decision-making.\n"],null,["Wednesday, March 22, 2023\n\n\nSearch Console provides data about your website performance on Google Search. This data can be\n[accessed on Looker Studio](/search/blog/2022/03/connecting-data-studio) (previously known as Data Studio),\nwhere you can build dashboards to [monitor](/search/blog/2022/03/monitoring-dashboard) and\n[explore](/search/blog/2022/04/performance-optimization-bubble-chart) your performance.\n\n\nOne advantage of analyzing your performance data outside Search Console is that it allows you to add more context\nto your reports, you can enrich the data with any sources, like technical and business information you have\nabout your site. When analyzing your performance, the more data sources you combine, the better you can understand\nwhat helps you achieve your results; this will help you make better decisions using your data.\n\n\nLooker Studio provides [data blending functionality](https://support.google.com/looker-studio/answer/9061420),\nwhich allows you to create charts, tables, and controls based on multiple data sources, including Search Console.\nIn [monitoring Search Console data in Looker Studio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm3YiEZVOts),\nembedded here, I show an example on how to enrich your data (see [minute 4:42](https://youtu.be/gm3YiEZVOts?t=282)).\n\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n\nCheck the Looker Studio help center for a complete step-by-step guide on\n[creating data blends](https://support.google.com/looker-studio/answer/9061421).\nHere's a summary of the main steps:\n\n1. Create data sources for both your Search Console property and the data you'd like to blend on Looker Studio.\n2. Navigate to a report including one of the data sources created and select a table or chart. In the setup menu you'll find an option to blend data. When you click it, you'll find an interface where you can join a table to the existing data source.\n3. Click to join a table and choose the data source you just created. Then click to configure the join. You'll see several join operator options, you can learn more about them in the [BigQuery documentation](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/query-syntax#join_types).\n4. Choose matching fields to join the tables.\n\n\nYou can do the same for multiple tables to enrich your dashboards with information not available via Search Console,\n*your imagination is the limit!*\n\n\nHere are some ideas you could use to enrich different dimensions:\n\n- **Add more information about a URL**. Bring data about URLs such as page category, structured data implemented, page template, type of content, author, and more.\n- **Create query clusters**. If you monitor queries by subject, you can join a table where you define which query belongs to which group; this will help you monitor queries based on your internal definitions.\n- **Track budget across countries**. If you have a global audience and different budget per country, you might want to monitor your budget alongside your performance results.\n\n\nAs always, let us know if you have questions via the [Google Search Central Community](https://support.google.com/webmasters/threads?thread_filter=(category:search_console))\nor the [Looker Studio Community](https://support.google.com/datastudio/threads?thread_filter=(category:connect_to_data)).\n\nPosted by [Daniel Waisberg](https://www.danielwaisberg.com), Search Advocate"]]
