Project Overview

I created an interactive analytics dashboard in Looker Studio (Google Data Studio) for CASBA, a local charity in Birmingham. The goal was to visualize Google Analytics 4 (GA4) data across two comparable date ranges (1 Jun 2023–1 Feb 2024 vs. 1 Jun 2022–1 Feb 2023) to highlight year-over-year engagement improvements. Over a 2–3 day sprint, I connected CASBA’s GA4 property to Looker Studio using the built-in Analytics connector.  The dashboard brought together multiple charts and tables so that non-technical stakeholders could drill down into user behavior by page, traffic source, geography, and device. Key metrics of interest included session duration, bounce rate, and returning visitors. This project delivered a clear, data-driven view of how CASBA’s website performance evolved, and it laid the foundation for data-informed content strategy.

Objective

The objective was to demonstrate improved user engagement by comparing core web metrics year-over-year and to make these insights accessible via a simple dashboard. In particular, I aimed to:

• Show trends in Session Duration, Bounce Rate, and Returning Visitors between the two periods.

• Enable deep dives by Page Title and Source/Medium to see which content and traffic channels drove engagement.

• Provide breakdowns by country, device category, and language to understand audience segments.

• Highlight positive changes (e.g. longer sessions, lower bounce) that CASBA could build on, and identify areas for content or technical improvement.

Tools & Technologies Used

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): As the data source for user behavior metrics (sessions, users, events).

• Looker Studio (Google Data Studio): For data visualization and dashboarding, including the native GA4 connector.

• Data Connectors and Calculations: Used Looker Studio’s Data Source editor for field configuration (date, metrics, dimensions), and to add calculated fields (e.g. deriving Bounce Rate)

• Built-in Charts & Controls: Tables, scorecards, time series, geo maps, pie/bar charts, and filter controls (for page, source, date).

• Performance Tuning: Applied Looker Studio features like data freshness and an extracted data source (static snapshot) to speed up the dashboard. This ensured the report loaded quickly even with year-over-year comparisons.

Approach & Technical Implementation

• Connect GA4 Data: I used Looker Studio’s native GA4 connector to link CASBA’s GA4 property. This required granting Looker Studio access and selecting the appropriate GA4 property. Once connected. Looker Studio automatically pulled fields like Page Title, Country, Device Category, etc. into the data source.

• Configure Data Source: In the data source panel, I renamed and organized fields (e.g. renaming “Engagement Rate” to “Engagement (%)”), and added calculated fields. For example, GA4 defines bounce rate as the percent of sessions not engaged so I created a calculated “Bounce Rate” field equal to 100% – Engagement Rate. I also created a “Returning Visitors” metric using GA4’s “User Type” dimension filter to isolate returning users.

• Date Range Comparison: I set the report’s default date range to 1 Jun–1 Feb for the current year and configured each chart to compare to the previous year. Looker Studio’s built-in “Comparison date range” feature automatically computed year-over-year deltas for metrics In practice, I applied the same 8-month window for the prior year, so that each visualization (tables, scorecards, charts) showed both the current-year value and the difference from last year.

• Building Visualizations: I created a series of charts and tables for different dimensions:

  • Page Performance Table: A table listing top pages (Page Title) alongside metrics: Users, Sessions, Pageviews, Avg. Session Duration, and Bounce Rate. This table allowed clicking on a page to filter downstream charts. I also enabled a drill-down from page title to Source/Medium, so users could see traffic quality for each page.

  • Traffic Source Bar Charts: Bar charts showing sessions by Source/Medium, with color indicators for change vs. prior year. Filters allowed focusing on organic search, social, etc.

  • Returning Visitors Scorecard: A scorecard highlighting the number and percentage of returning users (with YOY change), emphasizing loyalty trends.

  • Time Series & Scorecards: Key metrics (Sessions, Users, Avg. Session Duration, Bounce Rate) were also displayed as scorecards or small time-series charts at the top, each showing the percent change versus last year (thanks to Looker Studio’s comparison settings.

  • Geographic Distribution & Device Breakdown: I added a Geo map to visualize user distribution by country. A filter was set to highlight UK regions since CASBA is local, but world-wide visitors were visible for context. For devices, I used a pie chart (or bar chart) breaking down sessions by Device Category (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet). For languages, a table showed sessions by Language with year-over-year deltas.

• Interactivity & Filters: Drop-down filter controls were added for Date range, Country, and Page so stakeholders could slice the dashboard. For example, selecting “Birmingham” in the Country filter immediately focused all charts on local users.

• Performance Optimization: To keep the dashboard fast, I limited the data to the 8-month window (rather than pulling multi-year data), and enabled a Looker Studio Extract Data connector. This cached ~100MB of GA4 data as a static snapshot so that the charts queried a local copy rather than hitting GA4 on every load. I also set a weekly refresh schedule (data freshness) to balance up-to-date metrics with responsiveness. The result was a highly responsive report even with multiple filters and comparison calculations.

Key Metrics & Visualizations

The dashboard’s main section featured an interactive table and charts for page-by-page analysis. the dashboard, each row represented a page title, with columns for users, sessions, pageviews, average session duration, and bounce rate – all comparing current vs. prior year. Users could click on a page to drill down into traffic source breakdown. Below are the major components of the dashboard:

• Page Performance Table: Lists top landing pages with metrics. This was the focal point for understanding which content attracted and engaged users. The bounce rate column highlighted which pages lost fewer visitors (lower bounce).

• Traffic Source Breakdown: A bar chart or stacked chart showing Sessions by Source/Medium (organic, direct, referral, etc.), with color-coded arrows indicating increases or decreases versus last year. Drill-downs allowed focusing on a specific source (e.g. see which pages organic search traffic landed on).

• Returning Visitors Indicator: A scorecard showing the percentage of sessions from returning visitors (GA4’s “User type = Returning”). This metric was uptracked to emphasize loyalty.

• Geo Distribution Map: Interactive world map highlighting user locations. Here the country-level shading made it easy to see that most users were in the UK (dark blue on the map) but also identify any international engagement.

• Device Category Chart: A pie or bar chart breaking down sessions by Device Category (Desktop vs. Mobile). This helped CASBA optimize design (e.g. if mobile usage grew, ensure mobile-friendliness).

• Language Segmentation Table: A simple table listing user counts by Language, highlighting if content was accessed in multiple languages.

These visualizations were arranged on a single dashboard page with filter controls on top. Users could adjust the date range or apply filters (e.g. select “Organic Search” in a traffic filter) and watch all relevant charts update instantly. The design emphasized clarity: each chart had both current-year numbers and the difference (Δ%) from last year so that improvements were immediately visible.

Another key component was the geographic heatmap and segment charts . By clicking on the map, CASBA stakeholders could drill into regions (e.g. the UK, with Birmingham highlighted). The device pie-chart and language table sat alongside to complete the audience profile. These segmentations were crucial for actionable insights: for instance, the map quickly showed that users in Birmingham and surrounding areas had seen larger gains in session duration, suggesting that local outreach efforts were working.

Outcomes & Impact

The Looker Studio dashboard delivered clear evidence of improved site engagement, in a form CASBA could easily consume. Key outcomes included:

• Deeper Engagement Shown: The dashboard revealed a significant increase in average session duration year-over-year (e.g. a 15% increase compared to the prior period). This meant visitors were spending more time reading CASBA’s content.

• Lower Bounce Rate: Bounce rate decreased (for example, down 8% from last year), confirming that fewer users left after one page. Lower bounce rate is generally interpreted as higher engagement or better content relevance.

• More Returning Visitors: The proportion of returning users grew (say, from 20% to 25% of sessions), indicating stronger loyalty and repeated site interest. The dashboard made it easy to see which pages had the highest returning-visitor percentages.

• Actionable Insights: By correlating pages with metrics, CASBA could focus on successful content. For instance, pages about “Local Events” had both higher session durations and more returning visitors, suggesting they should be expanded. Conversely, pages with shorter sessions were flagged for review.

• Improved Client Understanding: Before this dashboard, CASBA had raw GA4 data but no way to explore it. The interactive report empowered them to answer questions like “Which campaign brought the most engaged visitors?” without needing an analyst. In meetings, stakeholders could change filters on the fly and see updated tables and charts, making discussions data-driven.

These outcomes provided clear proof of progress and helped guide CASBA’s future content strategy. By highlighting the positive trends (longer sessions, lower bounce), the dashboard also gave CASBA confidence in their digital efforts and justified continued investment in what was working.

Reflection

This project reinforced best practices in analytics and dashboard design. Working under a tight 2–3 day deadline, I prioritized automating insights (e.g. using Looker Studio’s date comparison feature) over manual calculations. I learned the importance of tailoring visuals to the audience: for a charity like CASBA, simplicity and clarity trump flashy design. A few lessons:

• Leverage Built-in Tools: Features like Looker Studio’s GA4 connector and comparison controls saved time; for example, I did not have to manually compute year-over-year, since the dashboard did it automatically. However, I needed to creatively add missing metrics (GA4’s bounce) via calculated fields

• Performance Considerations: Even with small datasets, I found that using an extracted data source significantly improved responsiveness. This highlights that optimizing cache and query load can make dashboards feel professional and fluid.

• User-Centric Design: Giving CASBA both high-level scorecards and drill-down tables ensured broad and detailed insights. In future work, I would gather user feedback (e.g. “What single question do you want answered?”) earlier, to tailor the dashboard further.

Overall, the project demonstrated that independent, rapid analytics work can deliver high-impact results. The experience deepened my skills with GA4 and Looker Studio, especially in integrating the two and using advanced features like custom metrics and extracted sources. It also reinforced that even with limited time, a focused, technically sound dashboard can turn raw data into a strategic asset for clients.