Looker Studio, which Google now calls Data Studio, is Google's no-cost dashboard builder. Its Search Console connector charts a site's search data by site or by URL, and you design and maintain each dashboard yourself. RankUpside builds the report every week and adds the cause of each change, ranked fixes and live Google checks.
What it doesn't do: RankUpside doesn't let you design custom charts or blend other data sources. If you want full control over every chart, Looker Studio is the better tool.
Updated · Checked · Google's Looker Studio documentation
Five steps with Google's own Search Console connector, checked against Google's documentation on Oct 22, 2026. Google's docs now say “Looker Studio is now called Data Studio.”
Search performance · Copperline Gutters
Search Console data source, Site Impression table
| Query | Clicks |
|---|---|
| gutter cleaning fairview | 5 |
| gutter cleaning | 1 |
| gutter repair fairview | 1 |
| gutter guard installation | 1 |
The charts are the quick part. The weekly work is reading them, and that's the part RankUpside does. Starts with one read-only Google sign-in. No card.
| Weekly job | Looker Studio: you do it | RankUpside: done each Wednesday |
|---|---|---|
| Spot what moved | Compare date ranges chart by chart | The summary names the biggest changes, last 4 weeks vs the 4 before |
| Work out why | Read the patterns yourself | Nine rule-based causes, each with its evidence |
| Decide the fix | Your call, written up by hand | Fixes ranked by what's at stake, with what not to touch |
| Check live results | Search Google yourself | Weekly check of up to 50 searches: rank, map pack, AI Overview |
| Write the client summary | Type it into a text box | Written from the data every week |
| Keep the template working | Update the charts and copy the report for each new client | Nothing to maintain; each client gets the same report |
Looker Studio cells come only from Google's documentation; where the docs don't say, the cell says so. Our limits are in the same rows.
| Feature | Looker Studio | RankUpside |
|---|---|---|
| Price | A no-cost version; Pro is a paid upgrade | Priced by client sites, set at launch; trial 3 sites, no card |
| Search Console data | Site Impression or URL Impression, one table per data source; web, image, video and news search types | Page × search, weekly; buyer-intent tagging; hidden-query share |
| Row limits and history | Not stated in the connector documentation | 13 weeks on connect; about 16 months kept |
| Other data sources | Blend up to five data sources in one chart | Won deals by CSV, webhook or form snippet; CallRail and WhatConverts leads |
| Cause of each change | You work it out | Nine rule-based causes with evidence |
| Fix list | You write it | Per-page fixes ranked by value at stake |
| Live results check | Not part of the Search Console connector | Weekly: rank, map pack, AI Overview |
| Market data | Not part of the Search Console connector | Search volume, cost per click, ad-equivalent value |
| White-label | Themes, custom themes, and themes generated from an image such as a logo | Agency name, logo and one contrast-checked color |
| Sharing | Report link, personal report link, PDF download, embed | Private link that rebuilds weekly; PDF with your letterhead |
| Scheduled email | PDF attached, up to 50 recipients, at most once a day on the no-cost version | Not built yet |
| Custom charts |
Control and price. If you want to design every chart, or mix search with other data, it's the better tool.
What Looker Studio has that we don't
Left, the chart a dashboard gives you. Right, what RankUpside adds for the same fictional site: the cause and the fix. More on the map pack and average position.
Clicks per week, 13 weeks
Copperline Gutters
Fix: Work the Google Business Profile.
Don't rewrite the title. It already ranks #1–2.
Both read Search Console, so there's nothing to migrate. Connect the same properties, and keep Looker Studio for internal analysis. See the Search Console integration, why clicks moved, ranked fixes and the SEO client report template.
Search Console properties on your Google account
Google scope: view Search Console data for your verified sites. RankUpside can't change anything in Google.
The first report builds from 13 weeks of Search Console history as soon as you connect. Start with 3 client sites.
Weekly search report · Copperline Gutters
Sep 14 – Oct 11, 2026 vs the 4 weeks before
Copperline Gutters got 27 clicks from named buyer searches in the last 4 weeks, up 23% from the 4 weeks before. Google hides the search terms behind 84% of all 289 search clicks. Rankings rose across the site: pages that steadily show up are up about 2.4 positions.