Have you received an error message in Google Trends saying that you cannot use a metric with the selected call type?

Google Trends in Looker Studio works differently from the rest of our destinations. That's why in this article we explain everything you need to know to work correctly with this connector.

Unlike the other destinations, in Looker Studio you can have, in the same dashboard, several different report types in each widget, this is why you can select a metric, even if it is not compatible with the report.

Understanding the data source configuration

In Google Trends you have 7 report types available, which you will see in the data source configuration:

Daily search trends
Interest by region
Interest over time
Related queries
Related suggestions
Related topics
Top charts

There are specific metrics and dimensions for each of the reports, which we will explain later.





The first option you must select is the type of report you want to use.

Next, you will need to select the account, which is not used to obtain data but is required to log in.

By checking the boxes next to each option (highlighted in the image above), you will be able to change this setting in each widget/report element. This is the way, as explained above, to have different types of reports or options in the same Looker dashboard, as it allows you to change the options of each widget individually to configure it to your liking. The following image shows where these options are changed in the widget/element configuration.

Note that by changing the options in the data source configuration screen, you change the settings for the entire report. But changing the settings in the selected widget or item itself only changes the settings for that specific item.

Understanding each report configuration

You have some general options, and some specific reports have their own configuration.



General options: These options will apply to all types of reports. You will be able to choose the region, the type, the category, and the search term.
The Search term is mandatory for the reports: Interest by region, Interest over time, Related queries, Related suggestions, and Related topics. For the reports Daily search trends and Top charts it is not necessary to enter a Search term (and in case one is selected, it will not be applied).

Daily search trends specific options: Where you can select the country for this type of report.

Specific options for Related queries: Where you will be able to select the type for this report.

Top charts specific options: Where you will be able to select the year for this kind of report.
Top charts does not get information for the current year, it is a limitation of the API, external to Dataslayer.

Which metrics are compatible with each type of report

Once we know that we can use various report types in Looker and the settings for each report, we need to know what metrics are supported for each report.

Unlike Google Trends in Google Sheets and our other products, when selecting a report type we do not limit the metrics and dimensions you can select, as this way you can change the report type in a widget and select the corresponding metrics and dimensions. So if you select a metric that is not compatible with the selected report type you will get an error similar to the following:



To solve this problem, here are the metrics that are compatible with each type of report:

Daily search trends

Daily search trends
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Results

Interest by region

Interest by region
Metrics
Interest
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Search term
Country code
Country name
Region code
Region name
DMA code
DMA name
City name

Interest over time

Interest over time
Metrics
Interest
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Date
Day of week(Sun-Sat)
Week(Sun-Sat)
Week(Mon-Sun)
Month
Day of month
Year
Year-Week
Year & week(Mon-Sun)
Year-Month
Year of week(Mon-Sun)
Search term
Country

Related queries

Related queries
Metrics
Interest
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Search term
Related query

Related suggestions

Related suggestions
Metrics
Interest
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Mid code
Title
Type

Related Topics

Related topics
Metrics
Interest
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Search term
Topic title
Topic type
Topic code
Formatted value
HasData
Link

Top charts

Top charts
Dimensions
Hub Account
Connector name
Results

As always, please contact us via our live chat on our website or via email if you still have doubts or questions. We are happy to help!

Updated on: 07/02/2024