Google Analytics 4 has become Google’s primary analytics platform. It allows marketers to track the performance of their websites using a variety of metrics. However, the user interface of Google Analytics 4 often lacks certain features. This leads many marketers to use Looker Studio instead to get from their analysis.
Two Minute Reports allows marketers to import their Google Analytics 4 data to Looker Studio and give other benefits. This helps marketers to reduce the time they spend creating reports.
Why Use Two Minute Reports?
Even though there’s an official GA4 connector from Google already, the GA4 connector from TMR has unique features.
Two Minute Reports provides a helpful caching system to marketers and it does not have the same quota limitations as GA4. TMR also allows users to customize the data that they import through the query config option. This gives marketers the ability to tailor their analytics to their needs.
Additionally, the security of sharing accounts and access is enhanced with TMR’s secure system. Finally, though Google Analytics is improving, some metrics are still not yet available in the user interface, making Two Minute Reports an invaluable tool for you.
Select Google Analytics 4 in the TMR Portal
The first thing to do is to go through our portal and select the data source you want to add.
- Go to apps.gox.ai and Login to your account.
- Choose Two Minute Reports for Looker Studio (the blue one).
- Select your team. If you only have one team, you skip this and TMR automatically redirects you to the connectors page.
You will now see the connectors page.
- In the connectors page, find and select Google Analytics 4.
Authorize Your Google Analytics 4 Account
The next series of steps is to configure your Google Analytics 4 account with TMR.
Login to Your Google Analytics 4 Account
In this section, you need to login to your Google Analytics 4 account for authentication making sure it connects with TMR and Looker Studio.
- Under Data Sources, click +Add New button.
- Name your data source
- Click the Sign in with Google button.
- Go through the entire authentication in Google. If successful, Two Minute Reports gives a prompt “Signed in! You may close this tab now.“
Configuring Your Google Analytics 4 Account with TMR
- In the Query Configs section, click + Add New button. Choose the data source you added earlier. Click Next.
The next following steps is where you configure your Google Analytics 4 settings to TMR so that you can create reports in Looker Studio. You may configure the following parameters depending on your preference as TMR has imported them.
- Name your query config.
- Select your Google Analytics 4 Account View.
- Data Options whether you want to Include missing time values or Replace blank metrics with zeros. This means empty metrics are still being reported as zero values.
- Click Save.
Once everything is finished, click green Create Report button on the right side. The next section is creating reports in Looker Studio.
Create a Google Analytics 4 Report with TMR in Looker Studio
There are two options to create a Google Analytics 4 report with TMR in Looker Studio. You can choose to select our templates or create your own custom reports.
Option 1: Use Two Minute Reports Template
Option 2: Create Report from Scratch
Option 1: Use Two Minute Reports Template
If you prefer to use a template, Two Minute Reports has many template dashboards to choose from.
- After clicking Create Report from the previous section, select any of our templates. In this example, click Google Analytics 4 Overview Report.
- You are redirected to Looker Studio. In Looker Studio, under Select Query Config, choose the configuration you created earlier (it should be the name you gave it). Under Select your Team, choose the appropriate team as well if the dropdown is showed to you.
- Click the blue Connect button in the upper right side of the page.
- You can now view the Google Analytics 4 schema on Looker Studio. Click Create Report in the right side of the page.
Once everything is loaded, you are presented with a custom template report from Two Minute Reports. You can use your Google Analytics 4 data to this report and edit as you see fit.
If you want to learn on how to use your own data to our templates, read How to use templates for Looker Studio
Option 2: Create Report from Scratch
You can also create your own custom dashboard in Looker Studio. Looker Studio is a powerful data visualization tool that contains many features to help you reduce time creating reports.
- After clicking Create Report from the previous section, click Create Report from scratch blue button.
- You are redirected to Looker Studio. In Looker Studio, under Select Query Config, choose the configuration you created earlier (it should be the name you gave it). Under Select your Team, choose the appropriate team as well if the dropdown is showed to you.
- Click the blue Connect button in the upper right side of the page.
- You can now view the Google Analytics 4 schema on Looker Studio. Click Create Report in the right side of the page.
Once everything is loaded, you are presented with a blank canvas. You can now create custom reports (adding dates and charts) in Looker Studio with your Google Analytics 4 data.
If you want to learn about creating your own report, like adding dates and charts, read How to Create a Report in Looker Studio