How to Connect Looker Studio to GA4: Step-by-Step Guide

Connecting Looker Studio to GA4

The connection between Google Analytics 4 and Looker Studio is native — no third-party connector required. This guide walks through the exact steps and explains the most common setup mistakes to avoid.

Step 1: Start a New Report

Go to lookerstudio.google.com and click "Create" then "Report." You'll immediately be prompted to add a data source. Click "Add data to report."

Step 2: Select the GA4 Connector

Search for "Google Analytics" in the connector list. Select it. You'll see a list of all GA4 properties and data streams your Google account can access. Choose your property and click "Add."

Step 3: Understand the Data Model

GA4's Looker Studio connector exposes dimensions and metrics from GA4's standard reports — sessions, users, events, conversions, and traffic sources. It does NOT give you raw event-level data row by row (for that, use the BigQuery export).

Key dimensions to know:

• Session default channel group: Organic Search, Paid Search, Direct, etc.
• Landing page + query string: The first page of each session
• Event name: All events including page_view, purchase, custom events

Step 4: Build Your First Chart

Add a time series chart. Set the dimension to "Date" and the metric to "Sessions." This gives you a traffic trend line. Add a second metric — "Key events" (formerly conversions) — to overlay conversion volume on the same chart.

Step 5: Add Date Controls

Add a "Date range" control from the Insert menu. This lets anyone viewing the report change the time window without changing the report itself. Set a sensible default (last 30 days or last 90 days).

Common Connection Issues

If dimensions show "(not set)" unexpectedly, check that your GA4 property is collecting the expected events. For missing conversion data, ensure the events are marked as key events in the GA4 admin panel. Our Looker Studio setup service includes a full data audit before dashboard build to prevent these issues.

For teams needing deeper GA4 data than the standard connector provides, we can set up a BigQuery export pipeline and connect Looker Studio directly to your BigQuery tables.