Looker Studio Consultant & Marketing Dashboard Expert
Vancouver, BC · Canada · United States · Remote worldwide
Most marketing dashboards get built once, admired for a week, and then quietly ignored.
Walls of charts that answer no question.
Blends that disagree with the CRM.
Numbers nobody trusts enough to act on.
As an independent Looker Studio consultant (Google Data Studio, before the rename), I build reporting that starts from the decisions your business makes — on a measurement foundation of GA4, Google Ads, and BigQuery data that has actually been validated — so the dashboard becomes the thing people use, not the thing someone built.
Looker Studio & Google Data Studio Consulting Services
Whether you need a first proper marketing dashboard, a BigQuery-backed reporting layer, or a rescue of reports nobody believes any more, my engagements cover the full reporting stack.
Marketing Dashboard Design & Build
- Reports designed around decisions, not data sources
- Executive, channel, and diagnostic layers kept separate
- Period-over-period context on every number
- Clean layouts your team opens every Monday
GA4 & Google Ads Reporting
- GA4, Google Ads, and Search Console native connectors
- Conversion definitions that match the platforms and the CRM
- Campaign, landing-page, and lead-quality views
- Attribution and date-range settings standardised
BigQuery-Backed Dashboards
- GA4 BigQuery export as the analysis layer
- Joins with CRM and backend revenue data
- Custom SQL for business logic the native UI can't express
- Query cost and scheduling kept under control
Data Blends & Calculated Fields
- Blends only where the join is explainable and correct
- Mismatched date ranges and attribution windows resolved
- Calculated fields documented in the report itself
- Cross-channel cost and lead metrics that reconcile
Dashboard Audits & Rescue
- Slow reports diagnosed (heavy blends, giant date ranges)
- Numbers that disagree with GA4, Google Ads, or the CRM traced
- Broken sources and deprecated connectors replaced
- Chart clutter cut back to what drives decisions
Governance, Training & Handover
- One canonical report per purpose — no five versions of 'leads'
- Metric definitions documented where people read them
- Team training so reports are maintained, not abandoned
- Quarterly review cadence and ownership handover
The Dashboard Delivery Framework
Every reporting engagement follows the same five-phase framework, because the failure mode is always the same: charts before questions, visualisation before validation.
1
Phase 1 — Decisions & Questions
- Write down the questions the dashboard exists to answer
- Identify the audiences: leadership, marketers, analysts
- Kill vanity metrics before they reach the canvas
Objective: Every chart must help someone decide something — or it doesn't ship.
2
Phase 2 — Measurement Foundation Check
- Verify GA4 events, key events, and Google Ads conversions
- Reconcile platform numbers against the CRM / backend
- Fix tracking gaps before visualising them
Objective: A dashboard is only as credible as the data feeding it.
3
Phase 3 — Data Architecture
- Choose native connectors vs BigQuery per question
- Design blends and joins that are provably correct
- Plan for refresh speed, quotas, and query cost
Objective: Pick the simplest architecture that answers the questions reliably.
4
Phase 4 — Build & Validate
- Build the executive, channel, and diagnostic layers
- Cross-check every headline number against its source of truth
- Load-test with real date ranges and filters
Objective: Don't publish a number that hasn't been reconciled.
5
Phase 5 — Handover, Governance & Maintenance
- Document metric definitions inside the report
- Standardise default date ranges and filters
- Train the team and set a review cadence
Objective: Leave a report that is a product the team owns, not a one-off deliverable.
Consultant vs Report Builder vs In-house
| Role | Focus | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Looker Studio Consultant | Measurement foundation, data architecture, validated reporting, governance | Senior / Strategic |
| Report Builder / Freelancer | Builds pages from the data sources you hand over | Tactical |
| In-house Analyst | Deep business context, but often stuck maintaining legacy reports | Operational |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Looker Studio consultant do?
A Looker Studio consultant designs and builds the reporting layer on top of your marketing data — GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, BigQuery, and CRM sources — so the numbers are correct, consistent, and organised around the decisions your team actually makes. The work spans data architecture, dashboard design, validation against sources of truth, and the governance that keeps reports trusted.
Is Looker Studio the same as Google Data Studio?
Yes — Google renamed Data Studio to Looker Studio in October 2022 when it joined the Looker product family. If you’re searching for a Google Data Studio consultant, Looker Studio consulting is the same service; the platform, connectors, and reports carried over.
Is Looker Studio free?
The core product is free, which is a big part of why it’s the default reporting layer for marketing teams. Google also offers Looker Studio Pro, a paid tier aimed at enterprises that adds team workspaces and support. Most marketing reporting needs are fully served by the free version — the real costs are the time to build reports properly and, if you use the BigQuery route, query processing.
When do I need BigQuery behind Looker Studio?
Native GA4 and Google Ads connectors cover most reporting. BigQuery becomes worth it when you need to join marketing data with CRM or backend revenue, report on lead quality rather than lead volume, analyse long multi-touch journeys, or apply business logic the native interface can’t express. The order matters: fix the measurement foundation first, then extend into BigQuery.
Why is my Looker Studio dashboard slow or wrong?
The usual suspects are heavy data blends, very large date ranges, too many charts per page, and blends whose join keys or attribution windows don’t actually line up — which produces numbers that look authoritative and are quietly incorrect. An audit traces each headline number back to its source and either fixes the blend or moves the heavy lifting into BigQuery.
Do you also set up GA4 and Google Tag Manager?
Yes — and in most engagements that comes first. A dashboard can’t fix broken collection: if GA4 events or Google Ads conversions are wrong, Looker Studio just displays the wrong numbers faster. See the Google Analytics Consultant and Google Tag Manager Consultant pages for those scopes.
Do you work with Vancouver and Canadian businesses?
Yes. I’m based in Vancouver, BC and work locally across the Greater Vancouver area, Canada-wide, across the US, and remotely worldwide.
Authority & Credentials
- Google Ads & Google Analytics certified
- Dashboards built on GA4 + GTM foundations I implement myself
- Full-stack developer — custom SQL, BigQuery, and API connectors
- Reports reconciled against CRM and backend revenue, not platform metrics alone
- Data blends used only where the join is provably correct
- Works alongside marketing teams, analysts, and developers
Service Area — Vancouver, Canada & Worldwide
Based in Vancouver, BC. I work with clients across the Greater Vancouver area, Canada, the United States, and remote worldwide.
VancouverBritish ColumbiaCanadaUnited StatesRemote Worldwide