One of the most difficult parts of creating digital marketing reports is effectively and efficiently communicating the results of your online efforts. To help you create better Google Data Studio reports, I have compiled three great suggestions for you to use. Since these posts are written in a longer “how-to” format, I have spliced them up into three different blogs, making them more digestible. This suggestion is all about making your metric and dimension names more intuitive.
When Metric & Dimension Names Aren’t Intuitive In Your Reports
As you are building your Data Studio reports, you will notice that the names of your metrics and dimensions import as well (as they should). However, sometimes these names are too long or do not match your data after you have applied filters. As a result, you will want to change the names for your metrics and dimensions.
I first found this tip useful with my goal metrics. By default, Data Studio not only imports the goal name, but it also imports the goal number. As a result, instead of your goal reading simply, “Form Submissions,” you would have “Form Submissions (Goal 3 Completions).” To anyone who does not regularly use Google Analytics, this is not only completely irrelevant information, but it can also be confusing information.
Another time this would be helpful is if you have decided to take your Google Analytics reports to the next level and transform your URLs. One example I gave in my previous blog post is transforming your location URLs to match the standard naming conventions of your differing locations when you feature them in your report. For example, instead of having your location URL read “/locations/dallas-main-street/”, it could read “Store #152”.
If you do that, however, it may also be beneficial to change your metric name to “Locations.” This way it is easier for your team to more quickly understand the main takeaways, such as “Here are the main locations that people visited online” or “Here are the locations where the most amount of people filled out a contact form.”
How To Rename Metrics & Dimensions in Google Data Studio
The process of changing the names of your metrics and dimensions in Google Data Studio is quite simple. After you set up your data visualization in a scorecard, table, chart, or other format, mouse over your metrics and dimensions on the right-hand side. A pencil will appear over the “AUT” portion of your metric and the “ABC” portion of your dimension.
After that, fill in the “name” portion of the metric or dimension with the name of your choosing, and you are done!
Summary
The easier you make it for people to read your reports, the quicker and more likely they are to understand your key takeaways. Update your metric and dimension names so that they are shorter and easier to decipher for those outside of the digital marketing world. For other ways to make your Data Studio reports more intuitive, read my other two blogs about cleaning up your URLs and employing conditional formatting.