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Google Sheets - How to Use

Learn more about the Google Sheets integration and how to import your analytics data from Google Sheets.

Daumante Kubiliunaite avatar
Written by Daumante Kubiliunaite
Updated over a month ago

Here are some useful tips to get you started:

  • The document must have a date column – this is how the platform is able to recognize the date range;

  • The date column is essential not only for recognizing the date range but also for ensuring successful data mapping and connectivity between Google Sheets and Whatagraph; ensure that columns are formatted correctly as dates.

  • The date format has to be "YYYY-MM-DD".

  • The reports will refresh every hour – so if you update something in your Google Sheets, it will update on our side within one hour (not instantly). You can, however, try to refresh a report to speed it up;

  • If you need to report on different number types (i.e. percentage or currency), you will have to use the format function in Google Sheets.

  • After adding the sheet as a source to the source management, if you would like to add new columns to it, please add them at the end of your last column. Otherwise, the widgets would need to be recreated.

  • Only a table widget will work if a date column is not added to the sheet.

  • Formulas can be used in the sheets; the values are taken from what is visible in the cell itself.

  • To create any type of widget, there needs to be at least one column with only number data, which will be recognised as a metric.


Step 1. Add Google Sheets as a new source to Whatagraph;

Step 2. When you select Google Sheets as a source for your report, do not forget to set the same date range as the one you have in your Google Sheets document:
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Download a sample Google Sheet template here.

Note: In Google Sheets, columns with text values are automatically recognized as dimensions in your reports. For example, if you have a column called "Campaign Name" with text like "March TOFU campaign," it will be treated as a dimension. To ensure a column is recognized explicitly as a dimension, you can append the suffix wg:dimension to the column name. For example, rename a column from "Category" to "Category wg:dimension" to designate it as a dimension. This can be especially helpful if text data is mistakenly interpreted as metrics.

On the other hand, columns containing numbers, such as "Clicks" with values like 165, are recognized as metrics. If metrics are not recognized correctly, ensure that any columns containing numbers do not include text, or add the suffix wg:metric to enforce metric recognition.

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