How to Set Up a Marketing KPI Dashboard for Your Business

A marketing dashboard is the difference between 'guessing' that your business is growing and 'knowing' exactly which dollar is making you a profit. Without a clear view of your numbers, you’re essentially flying a plane in the dark without any instruments—it’s stressful, and it usually ends in a crash.

In this guide, we’re going to build you a professional KPI (Key Performance Indicator) dashboard from scratch. We’ll focus on the tools that work best for Australian small businesses, ensuring you can see your Google Ads, Facebook reach, and website conversions all in one beautiful, automated place.

Before You Start: What You’ll Need

• Admin access to your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) account.
• Login details for your social media platforms (Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn).
• A Google Account (to use Looker Studio, which is our recommended free tool).
• Your ABN or business details (just in case you need to verify any ad accounts).
• A large coffee. This is a deep dive, and while it’s not rocket science, it does require a bit of focus.

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Step 1: Define Your 'North Star' Metrics

This is where most people get stuck. They try to track everything—every like, every click, and every tiny detail. Don't do that. Your dashboard will become a cluttered mess that you never look at.

Instead, we want to focus on "The Big Three":

• Awareness: How many people saw you? (Impressions/Reach)
• Engagement: How many people showed interest? (Click-through rate/Leads generated)
• Conversion: How many people actually gave you money? (Sales/ROI)

Step 2: Choose Your Dashboard Tool

There are plenty of expensive tools out there, but for 95% of Australian small businesses, Google Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) is the winner.

• Why? It’s free, it’s powerful, and it plugs directly into Google Ads and Analytics.
• The Catch: It can be a bit 'fiddly' when you first start. (Don't worry, I'll walk you through the annoying bits).

Go to lookerstudio.google.com and log in with your primary business Google account.

Step 3: Connect Your Data Sources

This is the engine room of your dashboard. You need to tell Looker Studio where to get its information.

• Click the 'Create' button in the top left and select 'Data Source'.
• You’ll see a list of 'Connectors'. Start with Google Analytics.
• Select your account and your GA4 property.
• Click 'Connect' in the top right corner.

Step 4: Setting Up the Layout

Now, go back to the home screen and click 'Create' > 'Report'. You’ll be presented with a blank white canvas. It looks intimidating, but think of it like a PowerPoint slide.

• Set the size: Go to 'Theme and Layout' on the right-hand panel. Under 'Layout', I usually set the Display Mode to 'Fit to Width'.
• Add a header: Use the rectangle tool at the top to draw a bar across the top. Make it your brand colour (use your HEX code if you have it!).
• Add your logo: Click the 'Image' icon and upload your business logo. It makes the report feel official when you show it to your team or business partner.

Step 5: Add Your First 'Scorecard'

Scorecards are those big numbers at the top of a report that tell you the 'Total' of something.

• Click 'Add a chart' in the top menu.
• Select the 'Scorecard' (the one with just a number).
• On the right panel, under 'Metric', search for 'Total Users' or 'Conversions'.
• Pro Tip: Under the 'Style' tab, tick the box for 'Compact Numbers' if your traffic is high, and definitely check 'Comparison Date Range'. This allows you to see if you’re up or down compared to last month. (Seeing that green 'up' arrow is a great feeling!)

Step 6: Visualising Trends with Time Series Charts

Numbers are great, but trends tell the story. You want to know if that Facebook ad campaign you ran last week actually did anything.

• Click 'Add a chart' and select 'Time Series Chart'.
• Place it below your scorecards.
• Set the Dimension to 'Date' and the Metric to 'Sessions'.
• This gives you a jagged line showing your traffic over time.

Step 7: Connecting Social Media (The Tricky Part)

Google owns Looker Studio, so it makes it easy to connect Google products. It makes it hard to connect Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn because they are competitors.

To get your Meta (Facebook/Instagram) data in here, you have two choices:

• Manual Export: Download a CSV from Facebook and upload it (A total pain, don't do this).
• Partner Connectors: Use a tool like Supermetrics or Windsor.ai. These usually cost a small monthly fee, but they save you hours of manual data entry.

If you're just starting and have a $0 budget, skip the social charts for now and just focus on your website and Google Ads data, which are free to connect.

Step 8: Adding a 'Source' Table

You need to know where your customers are coming from. Is it Google Search? Is it a link from a local Brisbane directory? Or is it direct traffic?

• Add a 'Table' chart.
• Set the Dimension to 'Session source / medium'.
• Set the Metric to 'Conversions' or 'Key Events'.
• Sort by Conversions (Descending).

This table is the most important part of your dashboard. It tells you exactly which marketing channel is actually making you money, not just sending you 'fluff' traffic.

Step 9: Filtering by Date

This is a tiny step that people always forget.

• Click 'Add a control' at the top.
• Select 'Date range control'.
• Place it in the top right corner of your header.

Now, when you view the report, you can change the date to 'Last 30 days', 'This Quarter', or 'Year to Date' and the whole dashboard will update instantly. Magic!

Step 10: The 'Human' Test

Before you call it finished, show the dashboard to someone else in the business. Don't explain it to them. Just ask: "Is our marketing doing well or badly right now?"

If they can't answer in 10 seconds, your dashboard is too complicated. Remove the clutter. Delete the charts no one looks at. Keep it lean.

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

• "My data says 'No Data Available'" – This usually happens because the date range is set to a day when you didn't have tracking installed, or your GA4 filters are too restrictive. Try expanding the date range to the last 90 days.
• "The numbers in Looker Studio don't match Facebook Ads exactly" – This is normal! Every platform counts 'conversions' differently (it’s called Attribution). Don't aim for 100% perfection; aim for the general trend.
• "It's asking me to pay for a connector" – Yes, for non-Google platforms, third-party companies build the 'bridge'. If you aren't ready to pay, you can create a separate page in your dashboard and manually type in your monthly totals from Facebook.

Next Steps

Once your dashboard is live, don't just let it sit there!

• Set a Monthly Review: Block out 30 minutes on the first Monday of every month to look at your dashboard.
• Share it: Click the 'Share' button in Looker Studio and email the link to your team. You can even set it to automatically email a PDF report to you every Monday morning.
• Refine: As your Brisbane business grows, your KPIs will change. Don't be afraid to delete a chart and add a new one.

Setting this up is a bit of a weekend project, but once it's done, you'll have more clarity over your business than 90% of your competitors.

If you get stuck or want a professional to build a custom, high-level dashboard for your business that tracks everything from SEO to lead quality, we're here to help. You can reach out to the team at https://lmgroup.au/contact.