How to Make a Bubble Chart in Google Analytics

A bubble chart is a powerful way to see three or even four sides of your Google Analytics data at once, helping you spot opportunities that a simple bar chart or pie chart would miss. While Google Analytics used to have a built-in Motion Chart feature that did this, that option is no longer available in GA4. This article will show you the two best ways to create insightful bubble charts with your GA4 data: the easy way using Looker Studio and the manual way using Google Sheets.

Understanding Bubble Charts and Their Value

Think of a bubble chart as a souped-up scatter plot. Where a scatter plot shows the relationship between two different variables along an X and Y axis, a bubble chart adds one or two more layers of information:

The X-axis: Represents your first metric (e.g., total sessions).
The Y-axis: Represents your second metric (e.g., conversion rate).
Bubble Size: Represents your third metric (e.g., total conversions).
Bubble Color: Can represent your fourth metric (e.g., average engagement time) or be used to categorize your data dimension (like marketing channel).

Let’s say you want to evaluate your marketing channels. A bar chart might show that Organic Search brings the most traffic. But a bubble chart can show you that while Paid Search has less traffic (smaller bubble on the X-axis), its conversion rate is far higher (higher on the Y-axis), and it drives a significant number of total conversions (large bubble size). In a single glance, you can identify high-performing outliers, underperforming channels, and everything in between.

Method 1: The Easiest Way - Using Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly known as Google Data Studio) is Google's free data visualization tool, and it’s designed to connect directly to Google Analytics. This is the streamlined, modern way to build the types of advanced visualizations that were once handled by features like Motion Charts.

Step 1: Open Looker Studio and Connect Your Data

First, head over to lookerstudio.google.com. Create a new "Blank Report" and you'll be prompted to add a data source.

Select the "Google Analytics" connector from the list.
You’ll be asked to authorize your Google account. After authorizing, choose the specific Google Analytics account and property you want to analyze.
Click "Add" in the bottom right corner to connect this property to your new report.

Step 2: Add a Bubble Chart to Your Report

Once you’re looking at the blank report canvas, it's time to add your chart. In the top toolbar, click on "Add a chart" to open a dropdown menu of visualization options. Scroll down until you find the "Scatter" category and select "Bubble chart." Click anywhere on your report canvas to place the chart.

Step 3: Configure Your Chart’s Dimensions and Metrics

With your bubble chart selected, a "Properties" panel will appear on the right side of the screen. This is where you tell the chart what data to show. Here's a practical example you can follow:

Dimension: This is what each bubble will represent. A great starting point is Session default channel group. This will create one bubble for each of your marketing channels (Organic Search, Direct, Paid Social, etc.).
X-axis Metric: This controls the horizontal position of each bubble. Let’s use Sessions here. Channels with more sessions will be pushed to the right.
Y-axis Metric: This controls the vertical position. Try Session conversion rate. Channels with higher conversion rates will move toward the top.
Bubble Size Metric: This controls the size of each circle. A good metric is Conversions. Channels that generate more total conversions will have larger bubbles.

Instantly, you should see a chart visualizing channel performance in a way that’s far richer than a standard table. Feel free to experiment! Try changing your dimension to Landing page + query string to compare page performance or Country to analyze your geographic markets.

Step 4: Style and Customize Your Chart

In the same properties panel, click the "Style" tab. From here, you can refine the appearance of your bubble chart. You can adjust the bubble colors and opacity, customize the grid lines, change the font for axis labels, and add a descriptive title. These small tweaks make the chart much easier for others (and yourself) to understand at a glance.

Method 2: The Manual Approach - Exporting Data to Google Sheets

This method requires a little more hands-on work but is a great option if you need a quick one-off analysis or want to combine your Google Analytics data with data from another source in a spreadsheet. It’s a useful skill to have in your back pocket.

Step 1: Create a Custom Report in Google Analytics

Before exporting, you need to gather the right metrics and dimensions together in one place inside GA4. You can do this by building a quick detail report.

Log in to your GA4 property and navigate to the Explore section from the left-hand menu.
Create a new blank "Free-form" exploration.
In the "Variables" column on the left, click the "+" sign next to Dimensions and import what you want each bubble to represent. Let’s pick Session source / medium.
Next, click the "+" sign next to Metrics and import at least three metrics for your chart, such as Sessions, Engaged sessions, and Conversions.
Drag your dimension into the "Rows" field and your chosen metrics into the "Values" field in the main settings area. Your data will populate in the table on the right.

Step 2: Export Data to Google Sheets

Now that your data is neatly organized in a table, look for the export icon in the top right corner of the report (it looks like a sheet with a downward arrow). Click this and select "Google Sheets." A new tab will open with your data perfectly formatted in a fresh Google Sheet.

Step 3: Create the Bubble Chart in Sheets

This is where the magic happens. In your Google Sheet:

Select the columns containing your data. It’s important to select the column with your dimension names (the text labels) as well as the metric columns. For example, highlight the 'Session source / medium' column, then hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) to also select the 'Sessions' column, 'Engaged sessions' column, and 'Conversions' column.
Go to the menu and click "Insert" → "Chart."
Google Sheets will probably default to a different chart type. Don't worry. In the "Chart editor" that appears on the right, find the "Chart type" dropdown. Scroll down to the "Scatter" section and choose "Bubble chart."
Sheets will try its best to assign the data correctly, but you may need to adjust it. Check that your intended X-axis, Y-axis, and Size variables are mapped to the correct data columns.

Step 4: Refine Your Chart for Clarity

Use the "Customize" tab in the Google Sheets Chart editor to improve your chart. Adding a clear title (e.g., "Website Traffic and Engagement by Source"), customizing axis titles, and adjusting colors can turn a basic chart into a professional-looking visual that tells a clear story.

Tips for Creating Impactful Bubble Charts

Regardless of which method you choose, follow these quick tips to make your bubble charts more insightful and less confusing.

Avoid Overcrowding: If your chosen dimension has hundreds of entries (like every landing page on a massive website), your chart will be an unreadable mess of overlapping bubbles. Filter your data first in GA4 or Looker Studio to focus only on the top pages, paid campaigns, or most relevant segments.
Combine Meaningful Metrics: Ensure the variables you're plotting have a logical relationship. Plotting 'Sessions' vs. 'Conversion Rate' tells a clear story about efficiency. Plotting 'Scroll events' vs 'Users' may not be as directly actionable.
Add Context: Your chart should make sense without you needing to explain it. Use descriptive labels for your axes, a clear legend, and a title that sums up the key takeaway, like "Evaluating Organic Landing Pages: Traffic vs. Engagement Time."
Check Your Scales: A single major outlier can sometimes squeeze all the other bubbles into a small corner, making it hard to see a pattern. If one data point is dramatically different from the rest, consider excluding it to get a better view of the main cluster of data.

Final Thoughts

Creating a bubble chart from your Google Analytics data offers a multi-dimensional look at performance that flat numeric tables simply can't match. It’s an essential tool for identifying hidden patterns, such as channels that are efficient but under-utilized or content that is popular but fails to engage. Whether you prefer the drag-and-drop ease of Looker Studio or the manual control of Google Sheets, both methods get you to a powerful data visualization that can drive smarter marketing decisions.

Both of these methods significantly speed up data analysis, but they still require you to connect sources, pick and drag dimensions, and manually build the right reports. We created Graphed to remove this technical step entirely. After connecting your Google Analytics account just once, you can ask for the same chart in plain English. Just type, "Create a bubble chart showing sessions versus ecommerce conversion rate by source, with revenue setting the bubble size." We build the live, interactive chart for you in seconds, letting you go from question to insight without getting bogged down in configuration menus and data wrangling.