Most service company owners I talk to have the same problem. They spend money on marketing. Some leads come in. They close some jobs. But they have no idea which marketing actually works.

They might have a "gut feeling" that Google Ads brings in good leads. Or that the SEO they're paying for is "probably working." But when I ask them to show me the data, they open six different tabs and start copying numbers into a spreadsheet.

That's not a marketing system. That's guessing with extra steps.

A proper marketing dashboard changes everything. You open one screen and see exactly what's happening. Where leads come from. What they cost. Which ones convert to paying customers. You make decisions based on data instead of hunches.

This guide shows you how to build one.

Why You Need a Dashboard (Not Just Reports)

Reports tell you what happened. Dashboards show you what's happening right now and what to do about it.

The difference matters for service companies because your marketing spend decisions happen constantly. Should you increase Google Ads budget this week? Is that new landing page converting? Did the radio ad actually generate calls?

With a report, you wait until month-end. Pull data manually. Hope nothing got missed. By the time you see the numbers, you've already wasted two more weeks of budget on something that wasn't working.

With a dashboard, you see changes in real-time. Or close to it. A campaign tanks on Tuesday, you catch it Wednesday morning instead of three weeks later.

Proper analytics setup is the foundation. Without clean data flowing into your dashboard, you're just visualizing garbage.

Metrics That Actually Matter

Every dashboard article lists the same generic metrics. Impressions. Clicks. CTR. Bounce rate.

Those metrics are fine for agencies writing monthly reports. They're useless for making business decisions.

Here's what service company owners actually need to track.

Traffic Metrics (The Foundation)

Sessions by source. Not just total sessions. Break it down by channel: organic search, paid search, social, direct, referral. You need to know where people come from before you can evaluate anything else.

New vs returning users. Service companies live on new customers. If 80% of your traffic is returning visitors, your marketing isn't expanding your reach. It's just circulating the same audience.

Geographic distribution. If you're a Phoenix HVAC company and half your traffic comes from Chicago, something's wrong. Usually poorly targeted ads or content ranking for the wrong locations.

Lead Metrics (The Money)

Form submissions by source. Every form fill should be attributed to its traffic source. Did this lead come from Google Ads? Organic search? A referral? This is table stakes.

Phone calls by source. This requires call tracking, which I'll cover later. If you're not tracking calls, you're missing 40-60% of your leads depending on your industry.

Chat conversations by source. If you use live chat or chatbots, same deal. Track where those conversations originate.

Cost per lead by channel. Total spend divided by total leads per channel. Simple math, but most companies can't actually calculate this because their data is fragmented.

Conversion Metrics (The Truth)

Lead to quote rate. What percentage of leads actually get a quote? If you're generating 100 leads but only quoting 20, either your lead quality is terrible or your sales process has problems.

Quote to job rate. Of the quotes you send, how many become paying customers? This measures both lead quality and sales effectiveness.

Lead to job rate. The whole funnel in one number. If 3% of your leads become customers, you need 33 leads to get one job. Now you can calculate how many leads you need to hit revenue targets.

Revenue Metrics (The Business)

Cost per acquisition by channel. Not cost per lead. Cost per paying customer. If Google Ads generates $50 leads but only 2% convert, your cost per customer is $2,500. If SEO generates $100 leads that convert at 8%, cost per customer is $1,250. The "expensive" leads might actually be cheaper.

Customer lifetime value by source. Some channels attract one-time customers. Others attract people who become repeat clients. Track average customer value by acquisition source to find your best channels.

Return on ad spend (ROAS). Revenue generated divided by advertising spend. A 4:1 ROAS means you made $4 for every $1 spent on ads. Anything below 3:1 is usually concerning for service companies.

This is where measuring marketing ROI properly becomes critical. Vanity metrics feel good. Revenue metrics pay bills.

Tool Options: Picking Your Platform

You have several options for building a marketing dashboard. Each has tradeoffs.

Google Looker Studio (Free)

Formerly Google Data Studio. Free. Connects natively to Google products. Good enough for most service companies.

Pros: No cost. Direct Google Analytics and Google Ads integration. Flexible visualization. Easy sharing.

Cons: Learning curve. Can get slow with lots of data. Non-Google data requires connectors.

Best for: Companies primarily using Google Ads and wanting to keep costs down.

Databox

Paid tool focused on simplicity. Pre-built templates. Good for non-technical users.

Pros: Beautiful templates. Easy setup. Mobile app.

Cons: Monthly cost ($72-200+/month). Less flexibility. Can get expensive as data sources grow.

Best for: Owners who want dashboards without touching data configuration.

Agency Analytics

Built for marketing agencies but works for in-house teams too.

Pros: All-in-one platform. White-label options. Built-in reporting.

Cons: Cost ($79-179+/month). Overkill if you're not running client campaigns.

Best for: Companies managing marketing for multiple locations or brands.

Custom Solutions

Build your own using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or custom code.

Pros: Complete flexibility. No vendor limitations. Can integrate any data source.

Cons: Expensive development. Ongoing maintenance. Requires technical resources.

Best for: Large companies with in-house data teams and complex requirements.

For most service companies, Looker Studio is the right choice. It's free, powerful enough, and integrates with the tools you're probably already using.

Building Your Dashboard in Looker Studio

Enough theory. Let's build something.

Step 1: Connect Google Analytics 4

Open Looker Studio. Click "Create" then "Data source."

Search for "Google Analytics" and select the GA4 connector. Choose your property and click "Connect."

You'll see a list of all available metrics and dimensions. Don't worry about configuring anything here. Click "Create Report."

If you haven't set up GA4 properly yet, this guide on GA4 setup for service businesses covers the essentials.

Step 2: Connect Google Ads

In your report, click "Add data" in the toolbar. Search for "Google Ads" and connect your account.

Now you have both analytics and advertising data in the same report. This is where dashboards get powerful.

Step 3: Connect Call Tracking

This is where most dashboards fall apart. Calls are critical for service companies, but tracking them requires additional setup.

If you use CallRail, search for their Looker Studio connector. Same process: connect, authenticate, add to report.

If you use a different call tracking provider, check if they have a Looker Studio connector. Most major ones do. If yours doesn't, you'll need to export data to Google Sheets and connect that instead.

No call tracking at all? That's a problem. You're flying blind on 40-60% of your leads. Consider implementing call tracking before building your dashboard.

Step 4: Connect CRM Data

This is optional but valuable. If you can connect your CRM (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, etc.), you can track all the way from click to closed job.

Most CRMs don't have native Looker Studio connectors. You have options:

Google Sheets bridge. Export CRM data to Google Sheets (manually or via automation). Connect Sheets to Looker Studio. This works but requires maintenance.

Third-party connectors. Services like Supermetrics or Funnel can pull CRM data into Looker Studio. They cost money but save time.

Zapier/Make automation. Set up automated workflows to push CRM data to Google Sheets, which then feeds Looker Studio. More technical but more automated.

For most service companies, starting without CRM integration is fine. Add it later once you've proven the dashboard's value.

Essential Dashboard Views

One dashboard trying to show everything shows nothing well. Build multiple views for different purposes.

Executive Summary (One Page)

This is what the owner looks at. One page. Five to seven key metrics. Trends over time.

Include: - Total leads this month vs last month - Cost per lead - Lead to job conversion rate - Marketing spend vs revenue generated - Top performing channel

Use scorecards for the metrics. A line chart for trend over time. That's it. No clutter.

Channel Performance View

Deeper dive into each marketing channel. Compare Google Ads vs SEO vs referrals vs everything else.

Build a table showing each channel with: sessions, leads, cost, cost per lead, conversions, cost per conversion.

Add a pie chart showing lead distribution by channel. Add a bar chart comparing cost per acquisition across channels.

This view answers "where should I spend more?"

Lead Source Breakdown

Even deeper. Within each channel, what's working?

For Google Ads: which campaigns generate leads? Which keywords? Which ad groups?

For SEO: which pages generate leads? Which locations? Which service types?

This view answers "what specifically should I optimize?"

Trend Analysis View

Historical data. Week over week. Month over month. Year over year if you have the data.

Look for patterns. Seasonality. The impact of campaign changes. Long-term trends.

This view answers "is our marketing improving over time?"

Visualization Best Practices

Bad visualization kills good data. Here's how to not screw it up.

Scorecards for KPIs

Single metrics belong in scorecards. Large number. Comparison to previous period. Simple.

Don't put a single KPI in a pie chart. Don't use a bar chart for one number. Scorecards exist for this exact purpose.

Time Series for Trends

Anything that changes over time goes in a line chart. Sessions over time. Leads over time. Cost per lead over time.

Use consistent time intervals. Don't mix daily with monthly on the same chart.

Tables for Detail

When you need to show multiple metrics across multiple dimensions, tables work best. Campaigns by cost, clicks, conversions, and cost per conversion? Table.

Make tables sortable. Add conditional formatting to highlight good (green) and bad (red) performance.

Comparison Periods

Every metric should have context. Is 100 leads good? Depends on whether last month was 50 or 200.

Add comparison periods to scorecards. Show previous period, previous year, or both. Without context, numbers mean nothing.

Automation: Set It and (Mostly) Forget It

A dashboard you have to manually update isn't a dashboard. It's a report with a fancy name.

Scheduled Email Reports

Looker Studio can email PDF reports on a schedule. Weekly summary every Monday. Monthly deep-dive on the 1st.

Set it up once. Forget about it. The data comes to you.

Navigate to "Schedule email delivery" in the file menu. Set recipients, frequency, and time.

Alert Thresholds

This requires additional tooling, but it's worth it. Set alerts for metrics that drop below acceptable levels.

Google Ads has built-in alerts. Set one for when cost per conversion exceeds your target. Same for budget pacing, impression share drops, etc.

For more complex alerts, Google Analytics 4 has custom insights that can trigger email notifications when metrics change significantly.

Auto-Refresh Settings

Looker Studio dashboards refresh when opened by default. You can also configure data freshness settings for each data source.

For most service companies, daily refresh is fine. Real-time data sounds nice but rarely changes decisions that quickly.

Client Reporting vs Internal Dashboards

If you're working with a marketing agency, you'll get their reports. But those reports serve their interests, not just yours.

What Clients (You) Need to See

Actual business results: leads, customers, revenue
Clear cost attribution: what did I pay, what did I get
Trend direction: are things improving or declining
Actionable insights: what should change

What Agencies Want to Show

Activity metrics: lots of work being done
Vanity metrics: impressions, clicks, reach
Positive spin: "CTR improved 15%!" (but conversions dropped)

A good agency provides both. But having your own dashboard means you can verify their reports and ask better questions.

The home services marketing guide covers more about evaluating marketing performance across channels.

Common Dashboard Mistakes

I've seen hundreds of marketing dashboards. Most fail for the same reasons.

Too Many Metrics

The instinct is to track everything. Resist it. A dashboard with 50 metrics is unusable. Nobody scrolls. Nobody analyzes.

Pick the 10-15 metrics that actually drive decisions. Cut everything else. You can always add more later if you genuinely need them.

No Context or Benchmarks

"We got 47 leads this month." Great. Is that good? Bad? Normal?

Without context, data is just numbers. Add comparison periods. Set targets. Show benchmarks. Turn data into information.

Vanity Metrics Focus

Impressions feel good. "We got 100,000 impressions!" Cool. How many became customers?

Every metric on your dashboard should connect to business outcomes. If you can't explain how a metric relates to revenue, cut it.

Ignoring Data Quality

A beautiful dashboard built on bad data produces beautiful lies.

Before worrying about visualization, verify your data. Is tracking installed correctly? Are conversions being recorded? Is attribution working?

One broken pixel can make your entire dashboard worthless.

Set-and-Forget Mentality

Dashboards need maintenance. Data sources change. Business priorities shift. New channels emerge.

Schedule quarterly reviews of your dashboard. Is it still measuring what matters? Are the data connections still working? Do the targets still make sense?

Getting Started

Don't try to build everything at once. Start small. Prove value. Expand.

Week 1: Connect Google Analytics and Google Ads. Build a simple executive summary with five core metrics.

Week 2: Add call tracking integration. Refine visualizations based on what you actually look at.

Week 3: Build a channel performance view. Start comparing marketing investments.

Week 4: Review what's working. Cut what's not. Plan expansions.

The goal isn't a perfect dashboard. The goal is better decisions than you're making today.

A basic dashboard you actually use beats a sophisticated dashboard that sits untouched.

If you need help building custom dashboards or connecting complex data sources, reach out. We build analytics infrastructure for service companies that want real visibility into their marketing performance.

Building a Marketing Dashboard for Service Companies