Google Data Studio is like Google Analytics, on creatine. It helps you to see all your data in one place, but importantly, from a myriad of platforms. Google Analytics is more than enough for most people and businesses but you may be that guy who wants to wow a client with incredible reporting (guilty!), or you may just realise “Why don’t I learn this platform now, as it is the way of the future, and Google is likely going to move everything across there anyway.” – I feel like that guy sometimes.
Sometimes these free tools are so powerful they are actually unhelpful. There is so much you can do that you don’t know where to start, as it is so overwhelming. Don’t despair. Just set aside a whole day (eight hours, no interruptions for YouTube videos) and you can follow a bunch of online teachings from anyplace and you should be set for a long while. I’ve got a Lynda.com account and they offer a free month up front so you could always use a more polished offering to get going. You’ll be glad down the line, I think.
Anyway, if any of your clients are ever really big, or want to become so it is helpful to know a little about Google Display & Video 360 – and that whole 360 suite. They obviously want to show their holistic approach by choosing a name like ‘360’ so my guess is that eventually the whole world will end up being sucked into that vortex and you’re either all in, or with their competitors. Currently, I am all in. G-Mail, G-Suite, Analytics, Search Console – once you sign up to one you are skippered – they have you hook line and sinker. Mostly their stuff is free, so I am not worried.
This article must end with a bang though and this last bit is just to say: Give Data Studio a whirl and see if it is for you. You can certainly get away with never using it, but that might become impossible in years to come. So, if you find yourself at a loose end one day this winter (assuming winter is quieter for you all; for me, it is January that is quietest) then dive into some tutorials and see if you can up your reporting game. It may win you a new client, or help them to decide to keep you on another year or so. Let’s hope so!