Slow Looker Studio reports: What’s up with them, and how to fix them

Since you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed that Looker Studio (Data Studio) dashboards can sometimes take their sweet time to load.

Slow load times are typically a symptom of Looker Studio fetching a large volume of data directly from the original data source. In this article, we’ll discuss two methods you can use to speed up your reports, including:

• Using Google’s Extract Data connector
• Using Supermetrics Storage

Speeding up Looker Studio reports with the Extract Data connector

Google’s Extract Data connector lets you extract and store data from the source before using your reports so you get the freshest data without slow load times. It gives you speedy reports but with a limited number of fields. 

It’s best suited for reporting on a limited set of metrics that you need regularly. For example, you can use the Extract Data connector for your standard marketing dashboards that include a fixed set of KPIs and cover a fixed period of time.

For ad hoc reports and analysis, you may want to use the direct data source connectors since they give you more freedom for exploratory analysis. 

Note: you can freely combine Extract Data and live connections in the same report to get the best of both worlds.

How does the Extract Data connector work?

1. You can link a data source with Google’s Extract Data connector and pick the fields you want to use in your reports. 
2. The connector then extracts and stores the selected data, which is updated at set intervals.
3. Then, Looker Studio uses the stored data rather than fetching live data from the data source, so your reports load much faster.
4. You’ll have full control over what data is stored, and you can delete the stored data by deleting the Extract Data source at any point.

Benefits of the Extract Data connector

• Much faster loading times: using extracted data is faster than fetching data from the marketing platform.
• More responsive reports: less data is moved around, so calculations happen faster, and reports respond to filters and other changes quicker.
• It’s free to use: you can use the Extract Data connector when you need the speed and use the direct data source connectors when you need more flexibility and deeper analysis.
• Control over stored data: the data flows from the data source to Looker Studio, just like with direct connections. Only the fields you select are extracted and stored, and the stored data is deleted when you delete the Extract Data source.

Limitations of the Extract Data connector

• Only a subset of data is available: only the preselected fields and a limited date range are available. However, you can easily add more fields to the Extract Data connector if you need to.
• The data is not live but refreshed at set intervals: the available intervals are daily, weekly, and monthly. 
• One connector can only store 100MB of data: 100MB is usually enough for your daily reports, but it may be limiting if you need really granular data for deeper analysis. In those cases, a data warehouse is the way to go.

How to set up the Extract Data connector

Select the data source you’d like to extract data from. 

Set the connection parameters and click ‘Connect’.

The Extract Data connector works with all connectors.

After you‘ve set up your connection, you can link it with the Extract Data connector.

The Extract Data connector is available in the connector gallery under ‘Google Connectors’.

Add the Extract Data connector to your report.

When setting up the Extract Data connector, first select the data source you created in step 1.

Select the metrics and dimensions you want to have available in your report.

Select the date range and add possible filters to the data.

Turn on ‘Auto Update’ and select the frequency you want your data preloaded to the storage.

Click ‘Save and Extract’.

Now, you can use the Extract Data connector like any other connector. The available fields and date range are based on what you selected when setting up the connector. The data is updated automatically from the data source based on the update frequency you selected.

Speeding up Looker Studio reports with Supermetrics Storage

Supermetrics Storage is designed to handle large amounts of data and give you the benefits you’d normally get from data warehousing. It’s especially useful when your Looker Studio reports are slowing down or even crashing, or you find yourself with row limits in Google Sheets.

How does Supermetrics Storage work?

Supermetrics Storage is part of the Marketing Intelligence Cloud. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

1. First, connect to the necessary data sources from the Supermetrics Hub. See our connection guides for instructions.
2. Create needed custom fields or data blends for those connected data sources.
3. Next, create transfers to take the data to your Supermetrics Storage. You can either choose to use our pre-made table groups or customize your own. To store historical data in your Supermetrics Storage, run a backfill.
4. Finally, connect your Supermetrics Storage to your data dashboard and enjoy fast reports.

Benefits of Supermetrics Storage

Besides speeding up report loading time, Supermetrics Storage helps teams lacking the engineering resources needed to build and maintain a data warehouse to centralize cross-channel marketing data. With it, you can:

• Bring cross-channel marketing data into one centralized location
• Store historical marketing data
• Speed up your reports as the data is pulled from storage instead of the platform’s API
• Get started with year-over-year or trend analysis 

Limitations of Supermetrics Storage

Here are some considerations you should know before using Supermetrics Storage:

• Even though Supermetrics Storage doesn’t require an entire engineering team to set it up, you still should have some technical knowledge to set up the data transfers yourself
• You’ll need a license for Marketing Intelligence Cloud to use Supermetrics Storage

Which one is right for you?

Both Supermetrics Storage and Google’s Extract Data connector solve the issue of slow loading times in Looker Studio. But, they cater to different reporting needs.

Supermetrics Storage offers a more robust solution and is a great way to get the benefits of a marketing data warehouse but without the required technical resources. Since it can handle a larger amount of data (data that can’t fit in a spreadsheet), it lets you store historical data and go beyond platform limitations. For example, Google Analytics 4 has a 14-month data retention policy. After this period, your data will be gone for good. Supermetrics Storage is ideal for companies with complex reporting needs or those who want to perform in-depth historical analysis. 

Google Extract Data connector is a free and simple way to improve report speed. It’s best suited for situations where you need faster loading times for reports with a limited set of frequently used metrics and dimensions. The data refresh schedule is limited to daily, weekly, or monthly intervals, and the storage capacity is capped at 100MB.

Our advice is that if you don’t work with that much data and want to speed up your Looker Studio reports, Google’s Extract Data connector is great. On the other hand, if you want to get the benefits of data centralization and improve marketing reporting efficiency in the long run, Supermetrics Storage is a better option.