English (US) Français 日本語
Contact support Sign in
English (US) Français 日本語
  1. Piano Support
  2. Products
  3. Piano Analytics user interface
  4. PA Connect
See all articles

Our e-Learning platform Piano Training Center offers you a range of useful resources for our different tools, whether you're just getting started or need to use our advanced features.

Ready to get started? Our Training Center is just a click away: here.

Looker Studio

Henri Tillos
  • Updated

About Looker Studio

Looker Studio, part of Google marketing Platform and closely integrated with Google Cloud, allows you to easily access data from Google Analytics, Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360, YouTube Analytics, Google Sheets, Google BigQuery and over 500 more data sources, both Google and non-Google, to visualize and interactively explore data.

Beyond just sharing, Data Studio offers seamless real-time collaboration with others—whether you’re sitting across the room, or across the world.

Learn more at https://lookerstudio.google.com/.

 

PA Connect Looker Studio

This integration allows you to easily import data from Piano Analytics into Google Looker Studio. Explore, transform and combine Piano Analytics data with hundreds of sources available in Looker Studio.

Thanks to this integration you can create meaningful and easy-to-follow reports in just a few clicks. Collaborate with your team to create dashboards that inspire smarter business decisions. 

Connector principles

The PA Connect Google Looker Studio allows you to export Piano Analytics data to create custom dashboards. You can also cross Piano Analytics data with other data sources available in this Google platform. The activation of the connector needs two steps:

  • The first step is to generate an API key from your Piano Analytics user profile. You’ll have to paste this key into Google Data Studio interface.
  • The second step takes place in Looker Studio. You must choose the right data source of Piano Analytics, allow the Piano Analytics application through Google authentication, and activate the connector by pasting your API key.

Activate the Piano Analytics source on Looker interfaces.png

 

API Key creation from the user profile

You must create an API Key that will allow you to activate the connector. You must therefore access your user profile in order to create this key. Please find every information on the following documentation: https://support.piano.io/hc/en-us/articles/4466006444306-API-Keys. For information, you must have a level of access rights "Analyst" at least to be able to generate this API.

 

Connector activation in Looker Studio

Selecting the Piano Analytics data source

In order to enable the connector, you must select the Piano Analytics data source in Looker Studio. You must go to the Google platform via this address - https://lookerstudio.google.com/.

Data sources are available through the left menu "Create" and then "Data Source".

You can then choose the right Piano Analytics data source to enable the connector and proceed to the next step. A search engine helps you to quickly reach the desired data source.

If you enter “AT Internet - DELTA” into the search bar, you will find the old version that still works, but without the latest updates.

For customers currently using the “AT Internet - DELTA” data source, you will need to configure the new “Piano Analytics” source if you wish to benefit from the latest changes.

 

To sum it up, here are all the sources you can find:

  • Data Source "Piano Analytics": latest version of the connector, based on API v3, with fixes and new features.
  • Data Source "AT Internet - DELTA": old version of the connector, based on API v3, still functional but without the latest updates.
  • Data Source "Piano Analytics (AT Internet)": connector developed by our partner Supermetrics, based on API v3, but which doesn't allow custom properties and metrics to be imported.

 

Authorize the Piano Analytics application

In order to work properly, Data Studio requests permission to use the Piano Analytics Connector. You must then allow the Piano Analytics application through Google Authentication.

Paste your API Key, and choose your Piano Analytics site and segment

In this last step you have to paste the API Key generated from the Piano Analytics interface. Looker Studio will then be able to recover your Piano Analytics data.

Be careful to associate the Access Key and the Secret Key with an underscore "_" before pasting the information into Google Data Studio.

Example: Accesskey_Secretkey (xxxxx_xxxxxxxxxxx).

 

Choose your Piano Analytics region, site and segment

You must select the region in which your Piano Analytics data is stored:

If you do not have this information, please contact your Account Manager.
If no choice is made, the Europe will be the selected region by default.
In case of a wrong choice, your Looker board will display no data due to incorrect API endpoint. Your Looker board widgets will display the following error message: “Data failed to be retrieved. Check your credentials and your region”.

Then select the site concerned by this new Dashboard:

Before validating the data source, the latest version of the connector lets you import your Piano Analytics segments into your reports.

Important
Selecting a segment from this configuration menu will apply that segment to your entire Looker board and cannot be removed afterwards. If you plan to apply different segments to several boxes in your report, please leave the selection empty and check the “Allow ‘Segments’ to be modified in reports” box:

 

Dashboard creation in Looker Studio

Once the connector has been selected, you can edit the imported properties and metrics. Various options are available: rename, delete, choose data type, aggregate, modify description, add a field...

Once you've set the parameters, click on “Create report” in the top right-hand corner to start creating a dashboard:

All that is left to do is create dashboards based on Piano Analytics data, and combine them with other data sources if needed. You can also collaborate with others on these dashboards, sharing them whenever you like via a link, PDF or email.

Retrieve your Piano Analytics segments

To apply one of your segments to a box in your report, scroll down your box's configuration menu to the “Parameters” section. The selector contains all your Piano Analytics segments:

It is of course possible to apply a different segment to each box.

 

Tips and tricks

Tips 1

For information in Looker Studio you can add charts from different sources in the same Dashboard (multiple Piano Analytics sites and other sources). You must go to the right side of the screen to edit / add a data source.

 

 

By clicking the "Blend Data" button, you can easily manage your different data sources, named as "tables" in the editing menu: 

 

Tips 2

In Piano Analytics you have the possibility to create and save your custom metrics. Here is an example with a custom metric "m_events_per_visitors".

After saving it, this metric is now available in your Piano Analytics ressources:

In Looker Studio you must refresh the Piano Analytics data source to integrate the custom metric you just created. To do this you must click on the source editing pencil (right panel), then you click on the data refresh button (bottom left) and finally you must apply the changes.

 

 

Specificities of the bridge

Some of the connector' specificities are detailed in our dedicated article:
https://support.piano.io/hc/en-us/articles/14218402873362-How-to-explain-data-discrepancies-between-Looker-Studio-Google-Data-Studio-and-Piano-Analytics- 

Articles in this section

See more