How to Add a Graph in Google Sheets

Transforming rows of data into a clear, compelling graph in Google Sheets is one of the quickest ways to find and share insights. While it might seem intimidating at first, the process is surprisingly straightforward once you know the steps. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to add and customize graphs in Google Sheets, from organizing your data to making your final chart look professional and easy to read.

Good Graphs Start with Good Data

Before you even think about inserting a chart, you need to make sure your data is structured properly. A clean dataset is the foundation of a readable graph. Skipping this step is the most common reason why graphs don't turn out right.

Follow these simple rules for organizing your spreadsheet:

• Use Headers: Dedicate the first row of your dataset to headers. Make them short and descriptive, like "Month," "Sales," or "Website Sessions." Google Sheets will automatically use these headers as labels in your graph.
• Keep Data Consistent: Each column should contain only one type of data. For example, a "Revenue" column should only have numbers, and a "Date" column should only have dates. Don't mix text and numbers in the same column.
• No Blank Rows or Columns: Avoid empty rows or columns in the middle of your dataset. These gaps can confuse Google Sheets and cause it to select only a portion of your data.

Here's an example of a perfectly structured dataset ready for graphing:

How to Add a Graph in Google Sheets: The Core Steps

Once your data is clean and organized, creating a graph takes less than a minute. Google Sheets has an intelligent Chart editor that does most of the heavy lifting for you.

Step 1: Select Your Data

Click and drag your mouse to highlight all the cells you want to include in your graph, including the header row. In our example, you would select cells A1 through C7.

Step 2: Insert the Chart

With your data selected, navigate to the top menu and click Insert > Chart. Google Sheets will instantly analyze your selected data, choose what it thinks is the best chart type, and place it directly on your spreadsheet.

Step 3: Use the Chart Editor

As soon as you insert the chart, a sidebar called the "Chart editor" will appear on the right side of your screen. This is a powerful tool with two main tabs - Setup and Customize - where you’ll manage everything about your graph.

• Setup Tab: This is where you control the foundational elements, like the chart type and the data ranges used for the axes and series.
• Customize Tab: This tab gives you granular control over the look and feel of your chart, from colors and fonts to titles and gridlines.

If you close the Chart editor and need to reopen it, simply double-click on your chart.

Choosing the Right Type of Chart for Your Data

Google Sheets does a decent job of suggesting a chart type, but it doesn't always get it right. Choosing the correct visualization is critical for telling the right story with your data. You can change your chart type at any time from the Setup tab of the Chart editor.

Line Charts: For Tracking Trends Over Time

Use a line chart when you want to show how a value changes over a continuous period. It's the perfect choice for tracking progress or spotting trends.

Use When: Visualizing website traffic per month, daily stock prices, temperature changes throughout a year, or quarterly revenue growth.

Column & Bar Charts: For Comparing Categories

Column charts (vertical bars) and bar charts (horizontal bars) are masters of comparison. They excel at showing the differences between distinct categories.

Use When: Comparing sales figures for different products, survey responses, or website visitors by country. Use a horizontal bar chart if your category labels are very long.

Pie Charts: For Showing Parts of a Whole

A pie chart is used to display composition or an exact percentage breakdown. Each slice represents a part, and the whole pie represents 100%.

Use When: Showing budget allocation, market share breakdown, website traffic by source, or the percentage of different responses in a survey. A word of caution: Pie charts can become confusing and hard to read if you have more than five or six categories.

Scatter Plots (XY Charts): For Finding Relationships

Scatter plots are fantastic for showing the relationship between two different numeric variables. You can easily spot correlations, like whether an increase in one variable corresponds to an increase or decrease in another.

Use When: Correlating advertising budget with sales revenue, studying hours with test scores, or social media followers with website traffic.

Customizing Your Graph for Clarity and Impact

A default chart is functional, but a customized chart tells a much clearer story. The Customize tab in the Chart editor is where you'll bring your graph to life and make it impossible to misinterpret.

1. Chart & axis titles

Your chart needs a clear title that explains exactly what the viewer is looking at. Instead of a generic title like "Sales," use something specific like "Monthly Product Sales (Jan - Jun)." You should also label your X and Y axes.

Go to: Customize > Chart & axis titles. Select which title you want to edit from the dropdown menu (Chart title, Horizontal axis title, or Vertical axis title), and type in your text.

2. Series

The "Series" refers to the data being plotted (the bars, lines, or pie slices). Here you can change colors to match your brand, adjust line thickness, add data labels so the exact values are visible, or add a trendline to a line or scatter chart to better visualize the trend.

Go to: Customize > Series. Select the data series you want to edit from the dropdown menu, then adjust its color, size, and other properties.

3. Legend

The legend explains what each color or symbol on your chart represents. You can change its position (top, bottom, right, left) or hide it altogether if your chart is simple enough.

Go to: Customize > Legend. Choose your preferred position from the dropdown.

4. Gridlines and Ticks

Gridlines help the viewer's eye connect a point on the chart to its corresponding value on an axis. You can add or remove them, change their color, or adjust their spacing to improve readability.

Go to: Customize > Gridlines and ticks. Make adjustments for either the vertical or horizontal axis.

Advanced Tips for Better Graphing

Ready to go beyond the basics? Here are a couple of techniques that can take your Google Sheets charts to the next level.

Create a Combo Chart

A combo chart incorporates two different chart types into one. This is extremely useful when you want to show data with different scales or a relationship between two different metrics. A classic example is plotting sales as columns and profit margin as a line on the same graph.

1. Create a chart with both series (e.g., Sales and Profit Margin).
2. Go to the Chart editor > Customize > Series.
3. Select the series you want to change (e.g., Profit margin).
4. In the options for that series, switch the Axis to "Right axis." You will now have two Y-axes.
5. Now, head back to Setup > Chart Type and select a Combo Chart.

Moving and Resizing Your Chart

Once you've created your chart, you can treat it like an object.

• To Move: Simply click on the chart and drag it anywhere on your sheet.
• To Resize: Click on the chart to select it, then click and drag the blue handles at the corners or sides to make it bigger or smaller.
• To Move to a New Sheet: Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of your chart and select "Move to own sheet." This gives your chart its own dedicated tab - perfect for building dashboards.

Final Thoughts

Building effective graphs in Google Sheets boils down to a few key steps: preparing your data correctly, choosing the right chart type to represent it, and then using the customization options to make the story crystal clear. With a bit of practice, you’ll be turning spreadsheets into insightful visualizations in no time.

Of course, manually building graphs in spreadsheets is just scratching the surface of data analysis. While it's great for one-off tasks, pulling and combining data from platforms like Shopify, Google Analytics, or Salesforce to build weekly dashboards quickly becomes a time-consuming chore. For that, we built Graphed, our AI data analyst. We designed it to help you skip the manual work of reporting by connecting directly to your marketing and sales platforms, allowing you to create real-time dashboards and get answers just by asking questions in plain English.