How to add maps to Google Data Studio reports

A few weeks ago, Google released a new feature for Data Studio - being able to plot data on a Google Map! My first thoughts when I saw this release was "how easy is this to use?" and "how can companies use this tool?" To answer the first question, I've outlined below the steps anyone needs to follow to use this feature with their own data. It breaks down the difference between bubbles, dimensions and how to set the report to show your area. To see this in action, you can check out my sample report here.

To add the map to any report, click into edit your report. From there, you will click on the insert menu and select "Google Maps" from that drop down.

Bubble Dimension

The bubble dimension is equal to the bubble on your map. Setting the first bubble dimension as “City” will give you the closest pin point to where the website users are when they completed the metric you want to track. By default, that will show the entire world map, but a simple filter for your state will update the map. In Google Analytics, city is considered a dimension. It’s defined as latitude and longitude for that city. On a map, that is going to be visually represented in the center of the city and not the exact location of the user.

Region Filters

To have your map zoom into just your dealership location, you will need to set a filter. In Google Analytics, a state is referred to as “region”. In the sample report, we’ve set a filter to reflect the three states in the tri-state area. If you want to show more than one state, you can build your filter to reflect multiple states using the or statement.

Metrics on the Map

Right now, there is a limitation to two metrics per map, with up to 10,000 bubbles for the map. With only two metrics on the map, there’s a strategic conversation around what metrics would be useful to surface. For dealers, you could combine users to your site and the goal of “lead submitted”. Or surface up your goals for “chat submitted” and “lead submitted” to map out where the users are who are submitting different types of leads. If you have digital retailing on your site, it may be using plotting that engagement in a map to see where customers are who are doing digital retailing. If you plot out users, it can help your marketing teams to see if there are other areas you should be targeting.  

The possibilities are endless for pulling in and blending your data to plot on the map! Comment below if you come up with other ideas on how to use Google Maps.