How to Connect LinkedIn to Looker Studio

Transforming your LinkedIn data from a simple list of numbers into a powerful visual dashboard is the best way to understand what’s actually working. Connecting LinkedIn to Looker Studio (now Google Data Studio) allows you to build custom reports that track follower growth, ad performance, and content engagement all in one place. This guide will walk you through exactly how to set up this connection and build a dashboard that turns raw data into clear, actionable insights.

Why Bother Connecting LinkedIn to Looker Studio?

Before we get into the instructions, it’s worth understanding the payoff. Why go through the effort of building a custom dashboard when LinkedIn has its own built-in analytics? The answer comes down to three things: centralization, customization, and communication.

• Centralized Reporting: As a marketer or brand builder, you aren't just looking at LinkedIn. You're likely juggling Google Analytics, Instagram Insights, YouTube stats, and more. Looker Studio allows you to pool all of your marketing data into one location, creating a single source of truth for your entire digital strategy. Instead of hopping between five different tabs to report on performance, you have one dashboard.
• Deep Customization: LinkedIn’s native analytics are decent, but they’re designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution. With Looker Studio, you have total control. You can create charts that specifically track Cost Per Follower from an ad campaign, compare engagement rates of video posts versus text posts, or build a scorecard showing your account’s month-over-month follower growth. You decide what metrics matter and how they are displayed.
• Effortless Communication: Sharing performance with a team, boss, or client can be messy. Taking screenshots or exporting CSVs is tedious and doesn't tell a compelling story. A Looker Studio dashboard is clean, professional, and can be shared with a simple link. It automatically updates, so your stakeholders always see the most current data without you having to lift a finger.

The Problem: There’s No Official LinkedIn Connector

Here’s the first thing you need to know: Google does not offer a free, native connector for LinkedIn. If you open Looker Studio today and search the connector gallery for "LinkedIn," you won’t find one made by Google. This is a common sticking point for many marketers and is the primary reason why setting this up isn't as straightforward as connecting Google Analytics or YouTube.

This means you can’t just click a button and have your LinkedIn Pages or LinkedIn Ads data flow directly into your report. But don't worry, this is a very solvable problem. The entire marketing analytics industry relies on solutions built to bridge this exact kind of gap.

The Solution: Using a Third-Party Partner Connector

To pull your LinkedIn data into Looker Studio, you’ll need to use what’s called a third-party (or partner) connector. Think of these connectors as a bridge. They use the official LinkedIn API to pull your account's data, then process and format it so Looker Studio can understand and use it.

Dozens of data companies build these connectors. Some of the most popular and reliable options include:

• Supermetrics
• Windsor.ai
• Power My Analytics
• Two Minute Reports

These are all paid services, usually offered as a monthly subscription. While this requires a small investment, the time saved and the quality of insights gained from a fully customized dashboard almost always outweigh the cost for any serious business or agency.

Step-by-Step: How to Connect LinkedIn to Looker Studio with a Partner Connector

While the exact user interface may vary slightly between connector providers, the overall process is nearly identical for them all. Here’s a general walkthrough that will guide you from start to finish.

Step 1: Choose Your Connector

First, you need to decide which partner connector to use. Look at factors like pricing, the number of accounts you can connect, and how frequently the data refreshes. Most offer a free trial, so you can test out the functionality before committing. For this example, we’ll proceed with the general steps that apply to nearly all of them.

Step 2: Start in Looker Studio and Find the Connector

Begin inside your Looker Studio dashboard.

1. Click the "Create" button and select "Data Source."
2. This will open the connector gallery. In the search bar at the top, type in the name of your chosen connector (e.g., "Supermetrics").
3. Select the connector named something like "LinkedIn Ads by Supermetrics" or "LinkedIn Pages by [Connector Name]." Make sure you choose the correct one - Pages is for organic data, and Ads is for paid campaign data.

Step 3: Authorize Your Accounts

Now you need to grant the connector permission to access both your Google account and your LinkedIn account. This is the "handshake" process that makes the data transfer possible.

• First, Looker Studio will ask for authorization. Click "Authorize."
• Next, the connector service itself will ask for authorization. You'll be presented with a second "Authorize" button or a link to authenticate. Clicking this will redirect you to a LinkedIn login page.
• Log in with your LinkedIn credentials and accept the permissions. You must use a LinkedIn account that has administrative access to the LinkedIn Page or Ad Account you want to report on.

Step 4: Configure Your Data Source Settings

Once authorized, you’ll be taken to the connector’s configuration page. This is where you tell the connector exactly what data to pull from your LinkedIn account.

• Select Account/Page: You'll see a dropdown list of all the LinkedIn Pages or Ad Accounts your user has access to. Select the one you want to create the report for.
• Choose Your Report Type: Some connectors offer pre-built report templates or ask you what kind of data you're after, like "Company Page follow stats" or "Ad campaign performance."
• Select Your Metrics and Dimensions: This is the most important part.
  • Metrics are the quantitative numbers: Impressions, Clicks, Likes, Ad Spend, Follows, Engagement Rate.
  • Dimensions are what you break those numbers down by: Date, Campaign Name, Post Title, Country, Job Title.
  You should select all the metrics and dimensions you think you might need. It’s better to pull too many than to have to go back and edit the data source later.

Once you’ve configured these settings, click the "Connect" button in the top right corner. You'll now see a grid with all the fields you selected. You can edit names or add calculated fields here if needed. Finally, click "Create Report" to start building your dashboard.

What Should You Actually Track? Common LinkedIn Dashboard Ideas

You have the data pipeline built. Now, what do you visualize? A good dashboard answers important questions quickly. Here are some ideas for both organic and paid reporting.

For a LinkedIn Pages (Organic) Dashboard:

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Use a few "Scorecard" charts at the very top to show big-picture numbers for a selected date range. Good KPIs include: Total Followers, New Followers, Total Engagements (Likes + Comments + Shares), and Impressions.
• Follower Growth Over Time: A time-series line chart showing your total followers is invaluable. It quickly reveals your growth trajectory and helps you spot the impact of content campaigns.
• Engagement Rate Trends: Create a calculated field for Engagement Rate (Total Engagements / Total Impressions). Plotting this on a time-series chart helps you see if your content is becoming more or less efficient at capturing audience attention.
• Top Performing Posts: A simple table is perfect for this. Set the dimension to Post Name/Update Title and use metrics like Impressions, Clicks, Likes, and Comments. This quickly shows you what content resonates.
• Audience Demographics: Show your audience breakdown using pie charts or bar charts. Use dimensions like Industry, Job Function, and Seniority to make sure you're reaching your target demographic.

For a LinkedIn Ads (Paid) Dashboard:

• High-Level Campaign KPIs: Just like the organic dashboard, start with Scorecards at the top for major metrics like Amount Spent, Impressions, Total Clicks, and Total Leads (if applicable).
• Efficiency Metrics: Add scorecards for efficiency metrics to gauge campaign health at a glance. Must-haves are Click-Through Rate (CTR), Cost Per Click (CPC), and Cost Per Lead (CPL).
• Campaign Performance Table: Create a detailed table where the primary dimension is Campaign Name. Include all the core metrics (Spend, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, etc.) so you can easily compare the performance of different campaigns.
• Performance Over Time: Use a combination-chart to look at trends. Plot Amount Spent and Clicks or Leads on the same time-series chart. This helps you identify which days saw the best results and how that correlated with ad spending.

Final Thoughts

Connecting LinkedIn to Looker Studio opens up a world of reporting possibilities that simply aren't available within LinkedIn’s native tools. By using a third-party partner connector, you can transform your raw organic and paid performance data into automated, dynamic, and shareable dashboards that provide powerful strategic insights.

Visualizing your performance in Looker Studio shows you what’s working, but a huge part of social media management is the daily process of planning, scheduling, and engaging with your audience. Here at Postbase, we built a modern social media management tool to make that day-to-day workflow seamless. Our platform includes crystal-clear analytics that complement your detailed Looker Studio dashboards, all within a clean interface built for today’s content formats like short-form video. While Looker gives you the deep dive on your historic data, we help you schedule and manage the content that will drive tomorrow's results.