Live dashboard
One screen in Data Studio, Google's reporting tool (renamed from Looker Studio in April 2026), with your ad platforms, GA4, Search Console and sales numbers together.
Best for: Checking in any time, without waiting for a report.
Draft: hidden from Google until Dan signs it off.
Reporting
you can act on.
Good marketing reporting answers four questions every month: what happened, why, whether it's real, and what to do next. That means enquiries and sales from your own records, not just platform numbers, with the gap between the two shown plainly. I build one dashboard across your ad platforms, GA4 and Search Console, then write a one-page note on top of it that ends with the next test.
Written by Dan Picken, founder. Last checked 28 October 2026.From my audits
What I find
in most reports.
When I audit an account, I ask for the last few reports too. The same problems come up again and again.
- 1
Thirty pages, no decision
Every metric the platform offers, chart after chart, and not one line that says what to do. Nobody reads past page three.
- 2
Impressions as the headline
Reach, impressions and clicks up front. Sales somewhere near the back, if they're there at all.
- 3
Conversions that aren't sales
The total includes page views, button clicks or newsletter sign-ups, so it climbs while real enquiries stay flat.
- 4
Brand mixed in
Searches for the business name sit in the totals and prop up the average for everything else.
- 5
Only last month to compare
In a seasonal business, this month against last month says more about the calendar than the campaigns. Same month last year matters too.
- 6
Nobody owns the gap
The platform says one number, the sales team says another, and the report never puts them side by side.
Why the numbers never match
Four tools.
Four different answers.
Most reports put Google Ads, GA4 and Search Console side by side, and none of them agree. Usually that isn't an error. They count different things, on different days.
- 01
Counted on the click date
Google Ads reports conversions by the date the ad was clicked, not the day the sale happened. A sale on the 3rd from a click on the 28th lands in last month.
What I do: Use the 'by conversion time' columns when you compare a month with your sales records.
- 02
Key events aren't conversions
In GA4, the actions that matter are called key events. A Google Ads conversion can be built from one, but Google Ads counts it with its own rules, so the totals differ.
What I do: Pick one source as the scoreboard for each number, and say which on the report.
- 03
Hidden searches
Search Console leaves rare searches out of its table to protect privacy, but still counts them in the chart total. The rows never add up to the headline.
What I do: Report the chart total, and treat the search list as a sample.
- 04
Your records are the referee
Platforms only see what their own tags see. Phone calls, walk-ins and deals your team closes weeks later mostly never reach them.
What I do: Put your CRM or sales numbers in the report, even from a monthly spreadsheet.
None of these tools is wrong. The mistake is treating any one of them as the truth about your business.
Report check
Does your report
answer the questions?
A report has four jobs: say what happened, explain why, show whether it's real, and say what to do next. Tick what's in the last report you got. It shows which jobs it does, which it skips, and how much of it is numbers that don't change any decision.
Questions answered
0 of 4
- What happened?
- Why?
- Is it real?
- What next?
Nice-to-know share
Impressions, clicks and rankings aren't useless. They help explain why something happened. They just can't be the headline, because none of them is money.
The psychology of reports
Why reports
mislead smart people.
Most bad reporting isn't dishonest. It's how people naturally read numbers. Two findings explain a lot of it.
01Judging a month
Outcome bias
Baron and Hershey found people rated the same decision as better thinking when it happened to turn out well, even though they agreed outcomes shouldn't count.
A good month gets credited to the campaign and a bad one to the market. Neither says whether the decision was right.
What I do: Write down what was decided and why before the result is in, then judge the decision on what was known.
02Choosing what to report
Surrogation
Accounting researchers call it surrogation: losing sight of the goal a measure stands for, and chasing the measure instead.
Make click-through rate the headline and the account gets better at clicks, not sales.
What I do: Put the business goal at the top of the report in words, and only show metrics that explain it.
Studies linked, so you can read them yourself. I'm a marketer, not a psychologist: my job is turning them into a better report.
What you get
Four kinds
of reporting.
Different questions need different formats. Each of these does one job.
Monthly note
One page of words: what happened, why, whether it's real, and the next test.
Best for: Every month. This is the part that gets read.
Quarterly review
A step back: what the tests showed, where budget should move, and what to stop.
Best for: Every three months, or before a big budget decision.
Test read-out
The result of a cause test in plain English, including what it can't tell you.
Best for: Whenever a test finishes.
How most reports work.
How mine work.
Most reportsHow I do it
HeadlineImpressions, clicks and ROAS.Enquiries or sales from your records, and what each one cost.
ConversionsWhatever the platform counts.Checked against real leads, with the gap shown.Cause Testing
LengthTwenty pages of charts.One page of words, with a dashboard behind it.
Bad monthsBlamed on the market.Explained, with what I'd change.
EndingSee you next month.The next test, and a decision for you.
How it works
Four steps.
Nothing hidden.
- 01
Free audit
I check your tracking and your current reports against your real enquiries or sales.
- 02
Agree the scoreboard
Which numbers decide whether marketing is working, and which source each one comes from.
- 03
Build the dashboard
Ads, analytics, Search Console and your sales numbers in one place, with brand split out.
- 04
Monthly note
One page, every month: what happened, why, whether it's real, and the next test.
What you get
- A live dashboard across your ad platforms, GA4 and Search Console
- Your CRM or sales numbers in the same view, even from a spreadsheet
- Brand and non-brand reported separately
- A one-page monthly note in plain English
- A quarterly review of tests and budget
- A written list of which source is the scoreboard for each number
- Direct access to me, start to finish
Questions
people ask.
What should a monthly marketing report include?
Four things: what happened in money terms, why it happened, whether the numbers are real, and what to do next. Spend, enquiries or sales from your own records, and the cost of each come first. Platform metrics like clicks belong underneath, as the explanation.
Why don't Google Ads and GA4 show the same conversions?
They count differently. Google Ads credits a conversion to the day of the click and uses its own attribution rules. GA4 counts key events on the day they happen. Some difference is normal. A big or growing one usually means a tracking problem.
What's the difference between a dashboard and a report?
A dashboard shows the numbers. A report says what they mean and what to do about them. You need both, but if you only read one, make it the report.
What happened to Looker Studio?
Google rebranded Looker Studio as Data Studio in April 2026. It's the same tool under a new name.
How often should I get a marketing report?
Monthly for most businesses, with a live dashboard in between. Weekly reports on small accounts mostly show noise: too few sales to tell a real change from a normal swing.
Do I need a CRM for this?
No. A spreadsheet of enquiries and sales each week is enough to start. What matters is that someone outside the ad platforms is counting.
Get a report
worth reading.
Takes a minute. You'll hear back within 1 to 2 business days.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.
Keep going