Power BI vs Looker Studio in Digital Marketing Strategy

For data analysis needs, Power BI vs Looker Studio is a comparison that is often made. This is because both are data visualization tools that help in processing and presenting data for further analysis.

Eventually, the results of data analysis in Power BI and Looker Studio are used by companies to determine their marketing business plans. So, what are the differences between Power BI and Looker Studio?

Let's check out the article below to find out the advantages and disadvantages of both Power BI and Looker Studio, you should know before choosing any data analysis tools!

What Is Power BI?

Before that, you need to understand the functions of Power BI vs Looker Studio thoroughly. It is known that Microsoft Power BI is a cloud-based tool designed to perform business analysis tasks.

Because of the features within it, Power BI is capable of supporting data visualization up to storing it in a single application or site. Furthermore, data integration from Google Analytics, social media, CRM, and others also facilitates monitoring ads to optimize marketing strategies.

What Is Looker Studio?

Meanwhile, Looker Studio is an application that was previously owned by Google. Therefore, this application still integrates with Google products.

Like Power BI, Looker Studio can perform data visualization for marketing plan needs and business marketing reports. Furthermore, Looker Studio is capable of data integration and processing, team collaboration, and business marketing strategies all in one application.

The Differences Between Power BI and Looker Studio in Data Analysis

Basically, Power BI and Looker Studio are data reporting tools that simplify business strategy analysis. However, both applications have several differences. The differences between Power BI and Looker Studio in data analysis are as follows:

• Usage: Looker Studio is more minimalistic and intuitive, while Power BI supports comprehensive result presentation.
• Data Connectivity: Looker Studio excels in integration with Google products, while Power BI integrates with a variety of Microsoft services.
• Data Analysis: Looker Studio focuses on descriptive analysis for data merging from multiple sources with LookerM, while Power BI supports in-depth analysis processes because of the Power Query and DAX.
• Data Visualization: Looker Studio is capable of creating visualizations without coding, while Power BI requires it.
• Security and Governance: Looker Studio provides Google user-based access control, whereas Power BI ensures enterprise-level security with Row-Level Security features.

Read also: Google Vs. GPT Search. Who Leads the Search Revolution?

How to Use Power BI

Based on its usage, Power BI vs Looker Studio is also different. Power BI is considered more natural and intuitive for data manipulation and analysis capabilities. This is because Power BI will show a preview of your data, allowing errors and problems to be found quickly.

When using Power BI, you can also perform a variety of data personalization options. Thus, data reports are more controlled, but this can be confusing for new users due to the many visualization options on the interface.

It is important to note that the appearance of Power BI on desktop and cloud is different. In this case, the cloud version offers fewer feature options than the desktop version.

Therefore, the desktop version of Power BI is primarily used to create and edit reports and publish them to the cloud workspace so that stakeholders can access them.

How to Use Looker Studio?

Unlike Power BI, Looker Studio has a simpler interface with a drag-and-drop sidebar. Thus, adding data sources, creating charts, and compiling reports is easier to do.

Furthermore, the options for data visualization layouts and their personalization are also simpler, which is very beginner-friendly.

Additionally, collaboration with the team is smoother because access to the work is granted to other members directly. In fact, access can be modified to view-only or edit.

But, Looker Studio does not display a preview of your data visualizations. Therefore, you may find it challenging to identify mistakes and problems in the data, especially when multitasking.

In this case, if you want to have full control over the data, you can write the data in Google Sheets before inputting it into Looker Studio. This is because Looker Studio is integrated with Google, which will facilitate data visualization.

Read also: GA4 vs Universal Analytics

How to Utilize Power BI vs Looker Studio in Digital Marketing Strategy

Above, briefly explained the differences in the use of Power BI vs Looker Studio. In this difference, you can utilize both to implement digital marketing strategies in different ways.

Here are the differences in how to utilize Power BI vs Looker Studio in digital marketing strategies.

1. Data Visualization Personalization

As mentioned above, Power BI and Looker Studio can be used for personalizing data visualization according to your needs. In the end, this can facilitate the presentation of data reports accurately, which will then be used to formulate digital marketing strategies.

In this case, visualizations in Looker Studio are simpler, with various charts, graphs, themes, and layout options on your dashboard. There are even templates that users can choose from to make visualization easier.

Meanwhile, Power BI offers more comprehensive options, including scorecards, maps, bars, and time series. To enhance storytelling abilities in reports, Microsoft also allows for display personalization with AppSource.

2. Data Integration

It is essential to understand that digital marketing strategies are carried out using various supporting tools. In this case, Power BI and Looker Studio integrate with different tools.

For Power BI, you can directly integrate with Microsoft applications such as Azure and Excel, as well as online database services from third parties.

On the other hand, Looker Studio only supports direct integration with Google products. If you want to use other applications, you can utilize connectors like Facebook Ads and MySQL.

Whether to use Microsoft or Google applications, you can choose based on the needs of your digital marketing strategy.

3. Data Transformation

Then, Power BI and Looker Studio are also used to transform the data. Thus, raw data can be made more accurate to determine the best marketing strategies for the company.

Basically, Looker Studio is suitable for simple and basic transformations, such as calculations and formulas. So, this application is sufficient if the processed data includes impressions, clicks, and CTR from a single channel. You can even combine data from up to five sources in Looker Studio, although there are some limits.

For a more comprehensive approach, Power BI presents itself as a data analytics solution with easy, complex, and continuous calculations in Microsoft. Furthermore, some features allow advanced data blending, in-depth filtering, and table creation.

Read also: SEO vs Facebook Ads: Which Marketing Strategy Is Better?

4. Data Analysis

Definitely, when formulating a digital marketing strategy, you need to ensure that the data analysis process is accurate so that the subsequent action plan is appropriate. In terms of the differences between Power BI and Looker Studio, there are several factors to consider.

When conducting in-depth data analysis, Power BI excels as it can display data while helping users to understand the reasons why something is occurring or will occur because of its comprehensive calculation capabilities and the use of AI.

For reporting dashboards, Power BI is creative, interactive, in-depth, and varied due to its personalization capabilities, making it easier to process complex data. Meanwhile, the storage of the processed results is also more strongly integrated in Power BI and related applications.

Unlike that, Looker Studio focuses on the current view of data with strong modeling. Additionally, its main goal is to make data analysis and storage easier, especially for users who have previously utilized Google products. 

With cmlabs, Never Worry About Implementing Data Visualization for Better Marketing Strategies! 

Essentially, both are very helpful tools, even though the implementation process is not always easy. 

Therefore, if a company needs support in developing a digital marketing strategy, you can rely on experts. In this case, relying on SEO Services by cmlabs can be the right choice!

As an all-in-one digital marketing partner, cmlabs always places transparency as the main foundation in every service. All data used is real-time and can be accessed openly by clients. This means you not only receive reports, but can also see firsthand how the performance of the strategy evolves.

Certainly, this transparency also covers various aspects, from progress reporting, website traffic to relevant insight details for decision-making. This way, you can ensure that every step taken aligns with business goals and is clearly measurable.

In addition, the cmlabs team is here to help read, interpret, and analyze that data. This approach allows companies to mitigate every potential risk and opportunity, ensuring that the digital marketing strategies implemented are more accurate, safe, and sustainable.

For further consultation, please contact the cmlabs team. We will help you understand how data is processed comprehensively while demonstrating our level of transparency at every stage of data management.

With this approach, you not only gain a clear picture of the performance of the current strategy but also obtain a solid foundation for formulating more targeted steps. As a result, your company's digital marketing strategy will be more measurable, effective, and capable of delivering sustainable impacts.

Read also: Data Science vs Data Analytics: What’s the Differences?