Mountain View
Analytics

FIELD GUIDES / MARKETING REPORTING

What do these marketing numbers actually tell us?

A chart can be accurate and still answer the wrong question. Look at what is counted, which channels get credit, and which comparisons the data can support.

Contact Clark
A clear lake beneath pale rocky ridgelines, with pines and rocks along the shore.
Clear water below rocky ridgelines. From my camera roll.
Three questions behind a useful report.
COUNTWhat happened?

Define and check the outcome.

CREDITWhere did it come from?

Understand attribution and missing information.

CONTEXTWhat changed?

Compare like with like and explain measurement changes.

An interpretation framework, not sample client performance.

What does someone need to decide?

Before building another page of charts, agree on the question the report needs to answer. Leadership may need to understand outcomes and meaningful changes. A marketing team may need a closer look at campaigns or journeys. The same dashboard does not have to serve every conversation.

Define the numbers, choose a useful comparison, and keep the limits visible. Those choices give the report its purpose.

START WITH YOUR QUESTION

Take a closer look.

The work behind the finished chart.

  1. Define the metric.

    Document what counts, which forms or customers are included, and where the number comes from.

  2. Check the comparison.

    Check periods, filters, definitions, and the rules used to assign channel credit. Document differences that cannot be aligned.

  3. Explain the change.

    Put tracking changes and important limitations beside the result.

  4. Walk through the findings.

    Review the report with the people who will use it and agree on the next question.

A better-looking chart can start with a tracking repair.

Recorded conversions may rise when missed inquiries start being collected. They may fall when duplicate events are removed. Both changes need an explanation before the result is described as a change in marketing performance.

When a tracking repair changes the conversion chart

Build a view your team can use.

I build Data Studio dashboards, analyze performance, and investigate reporting disagreements. Depending on the question, the work may also involve GA4 reconciliation or scoped BigQuery analysis. We agree on the deliverable and review the findings together.

Explore reporting and analysis Check the collection first

What is your report supposed to help you understand?

Tell me who uses it, what they need to decide, and where the current view leaves them guessing.

Discuss reporting