One of the most visually appealing ways to represent data in Looker Studio is through maps. In this post, we’ll focus on the geo chart in Looker Studio, a powerful visualisation for comparing values across countries, regions, or cities.
For the demonstration, I’ll use the H&M store dataset, which contains location data at the country and city level.
Types of maps in Looker Studio
Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) offers two main types of maps:
- Geo Charts
- The original map option in Looker Studio.
- Useful for high-level comparisons by country, region, or city.
- Best for shaded-area visualisations.
- Have basic functionalities
- Google Maps
- An interactive map powered by the Google Maps platform.
- Supports features like detailed zoom, latitude and longitude plotting, and street-level accuracy.
- These maps allow for representing lower-level locations, such as latitude and longitude coordinates.
In this article, we’ll focus on geo charts, which are ideal for quick comparisons across geographical areas.
What is a Geo chart in Looker Studio?
A geo chart in Looker Studio uses colour shading to represent differences in values across geographical regions. Darker shades usually indicate higher values, while lighter shades indicate lower ones.
For example, if the U.S. has more H&M stores than Canada, the U.S. would be shaded in a darker colour.
This makes geo charts highly effective for:
- Showing regional performance (e.g., sales by country).
- Comparing market presence (e.g., store locations by city).
- Visualising survey results or user data by geography.
👉 If you’re new to adding visualisations or need a refresher, I recommend first reviewing the post on how to add charts to your report in Looker Studio.
How to create a Geo chart in Looker Studio
You can add a geo chart to your report in two ways:
- Top menu: Go to Insert → Geo map.
- Toolbar: Select Add a chart → Geo map.
Once the chart is added, follow these steps to configure it.
Step-by-Step configuration
1. Set dimensions and metrics
- Dimension → Country
- Metric → Record count (number of stores)
To create the map shown in the image, after selecting the geo map, you must configure it by choosing Country as the dimension and Record count (number of stores) as the metric. Remember, the data source is H&M stores.
2. Enable Drill-Down
This type of map allows you to break down information, moving from higher to lower geographical points, such as from country to city. This means that when the final user views the report in View mode, they’ll have the option to change the dimension they want to see the data by (country or city) in the upper part of the chart.
- Select both Country and City as geo dimensions.
- Activate the Drill down option.
- Choose a default drill down level. In this case, select Country.
With the arrow in the top right corner of the map, users can choose which dimension to view (country or city) without having editing privileges.
3. Optional metrics
Maps also allow optional metrics. As we did in the post about chart options that provide more user interaction power in Looker Studio, first activate them in Set-up, and afterward, users can switch metrics by selecting this icon in the upper right corner of the chart.
4. Adjust zoom area
By default, the zoom area is global, but it can be focused on specific regions of the world. We’ll change it to Europe, so when the user opens the report, the map will be centered on this continent.
⚠️ Note: Unlike Google Maps charts, geo charts cannot zoom beyond the country or state level.
Styling and customisation
In Style, you can customise the look of your geo chart in Looker Studio:
- Colours: Choose colours for minimum, medium, and maximum values.
- Shading: Select a gradient to clearly show differences.
- Default zoom: Adjust to match your audience’s region of interest.
For example, you could use a green gradient where dark green represents the countries with the highest store counts, while light green shows those with fewer.
The geo map below uses different shades of green to represent the maximum, medium, and minimum values for the number of stores metric.
FAQs about Geo charts in Looker Studio
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Q1: What is a geo chart in Looker Studio used for?
A geo chart shows differences in data values by country, region, or city using colour shading.
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Q2: How do I add a geo chart?
Insert → Geo map, then assign dimensions (e.g., country) and metrics (e.g., sales).
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Q3: Can I drill down from country to city?
Yes. Enable drill-down in the chart setup and select both country and city as geo dimensions.
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Q4: What’s the difference between a geo chart and Google Maps?
Geo charts are static and work best for high-level comparisons. Google Maps charts are interactive and allow detailed zooming to latitude/longitude.
Key takeaways
- A geo chart in Looker Studio uses shading to represent values across regions.
- It is best for high-level geographical comparisons like country or city data.
- You can configure drill-downs, optional metrics, and custom viewports for better interactivity.
- Styling options allow colour gradients and region focus, but zooming is limited compared to Google Maps.
- For official references, see Google Looker Studio documentation.
Geo charts are a great starting point when adding maps to your dashboards. In the next post, we’ll explore Google Maps charts, beginning with the bubble map in Looker Studio.
