• Table of Contents

Intro

One of the most underrated skills that any marketer should have is record-keeping. Historical notes that put data into context can give you the ability to make smarter choices, because you'll know exactly what happened, and when it happened.

If you've used Google Analytics, you may be familiar with the annotations feature that gives you the ability to jot down notes that mark events to explain any spikes or irregularities in website performance.

By embedding a Google Sheet and Google Form, you can do the same thing with any Google Data Studio report. (Note: Google Data Studio is kind of a mouthful, so I'm going to be referring to it as GDS moving forward).

This is best used to:

• Track events that may affect performance. For example, product launches or downtimes.
• Gather comments or feedback. If the dashboard is a report created for a client or stakeholder, this is a great place for them to ask any questions that you can respond to. That way, if multiple stakeholders are referring to the same dashboard, it can help nip any queries in the
• Update notes. If you've made any changes to the GDS report, it's best to keep track of them in one place to maintain transparency. For example, did you change any formulae? Or did you include an extra table or chart?

Keep reading for step-by-step instructions.

Sample Documents

This is a sample Data Studio dashboard. Feel free to leave a note!

Requirements

Before you begin, ensure you've got the following:

• A Google account to be able to access Google Data Studio, Google Sheets and Google Forms

Instructions

1. Set up a Google Form

Go to Google Forms and select the Blank option under Start a new form.