How to Get Website Data in Google Sheets

Pulling your website data into Google Sheets transforms slabs of raw numbers into a flexible canvas for analysis. Instead of being stuck with the rigid reporting of your analytics tool, you can slice, dice, and blend data from different sources to find the answers you need. This guide will walk you through several methods for getting your website data into Google Sheets, from the simple and manual to the powerful and automated.

Why Put Your Website Data in Google Sheets?

Before jumping into the "how," it helps to understand the "why." Using Google Sheets as your data playground offers some major advantages:

• Full Customization: Build the exact report you need, not just the one your analytics platform gives you. You control every metric, dimension, and chart.
• Combine Data Sources: Easily mix your website traffic data from Google Analytics with your ad spend from Facebook Ads and your revenue numbers from Shopify in one spreadsheet.
• Collaboration and Sharing: Google Sheets is built for a team environment. You can share your reports with stakeholders, leave comments, and work on the analysis together in real-time.
• It’s Free and Familiar: There's no learning curve for a new BI tool. If you know your way around a basic spreadsheet, you can start analyzing your data immediately without any extra cost.

Method 1: The Simple (but Manual) CSV Export

The most straightforward way to get data into Google Sheets is by manually exporting it from your analytics platform. This method is perfect for quick, one-time reports or when you just need a snapshot of data to analyze.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Log in to your website platform (like Google Analytics, Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).
2. Navigate to the specific report you want to analyze. For example, in Google Analytics 4, you might go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
3. Adjust the date range and apply any filters you need for your analysis.
4. Look for an "Export," "Share," or "Download" button. This is usually located in the top-right corner of the report.
5. Choose to export the file as a Comma-Separated Values (.csv) or Excel (.xlsx) file. CSV is generally the most universal format.
6. Open a new Google Sheet. Go to File > Import > Upload and select the CSV file you just downloaded. Google Sheets will automatically parse the data into columns and rows.

Pros: It's fast for a single report and requires zero setup or technical skills.

Cons: This is entirely manual. The data is static - if you need to update it, you have to repeat the entire process. It’s not sustainable for regular, recurring reporting.

Method 2: Scraping Public Data with Built-in Formulas

Did you know you can pull data directly from public websites into Google Sheets using formulas? This is incredibly useful for competitor analysis, market research, or tracking publicly available information. It won't work for your private analytics data (which requires a login), but it's a powerful tool nonetheless.

The two main formulas you’ll use are IMPORTHTML and IMPORTDATA.

Using IMPORTHTML to Scrape Tables and Lists

The IMPORTHTML function imports data from a table or a list within an HTML page. This is perfect for pulling structured data like a list of an opponent’s product prices or social media data from a public profile page.

The formula syntax is:

=IMPORTHTML("URL", "query", index)

• URL: The full URL of the webpage (in quotation marks).
• Query: What you want to import. Use "table" for tables or "list" for lists.
• Index: Which table or list on the page you want, starting from 1. You may have to experiment to find the correct number if there are multiple tables or lists on the page.

Example: Let's say you want to import the first table of stock data from the Google Finance page for GOOGL. You would use this formula:

=IMPORTHTML("https://www.google.com/finance/quote/GOOGL:NASDAQ", "table", 1)

This will pull the financial data table directly into your sheet, and it will update periodically.

Using IMPORTDATA to Pull in Full CSV Files

The IMPORTDATA function is even simpler. It’s designed to import data directly from a public URL of a .csv or .tsv file.

The syntax is just:

=IMPORTDATA("URL of CSV file")

This is fantastic for marketers using public datasets for research, like population statistics or economic indicators that are often published in CSV format.

Method 3: The Automated Winner - The Google Analytics Add-on

For getting your own website performance data into Google Sheets, manual exports aren't a great long-term solution. You need something that updates automatically. The free, official "Google Analytics" add-on for Google Sheets is the go-to tool for this.

It lets you query your Universal Analytics or Google Analytics 4 data, pull it into a sheet, and schedule automatic refreshes. Here's how to set it up.

Step 1: Install the Add-on

1. In a new Google Sheet, navigate to Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons.
2. Search for "Google Analytics" in the Google Workspace Marketplace.
3. Click on the official add-on and follow the prompts to install it, granting it permission to access your Google account and Google Analytics data.

Step 2: Create Your First Report

1. Once installed, go to Extensions > Google Analytics > Create a new Report.
2. A sidebar will appear on the right. This is where you configure your data request.
3. Give your report a descriptive name (e.g., "Monthly Traffic by Channel").
4. Select the Google Analytics Account, Property, and View/Data Stream that you want to pull data from.

Step 3: Configure Your Metrics and Dimensions

This is where you tell the add-on exactly what data you want. Think of it like building a report in the Google Analytics interface.

• Metrics: These are the quantitative measurements. Common examples include Sessions, Users, Pageviews, Conversions, and Total Revenue. You can select multiple metrics.
• Dimensions: These are the attributes of your data - how you want to break it down. Popular choices include Traffic Source / Medium, Campaign, Country, Device Category, and Landing Page.

After you’ve picked your options, click the "Create Report" button. This won't run the report yet. Instead, it creates a new tab called Report Configuration where your settings are stored. You can edit the values directly in this sheet to tweak your report later!

Step 4: Run and Schedule Your Report

1. To pull the actual data, go to Extensions > Google Analytics > Run reports. The add-on will execute the query based on your configuration and drop the data into a brand new sheet, named after your report.
2. The real power comes from automation. Go to Extensions > Google Analytics > Schedule reports.
3. A dialog box will pop up where you can check "Enable reports to run automatically" and choose the frequency: every hour, day, week, or month.

Now your report will always have fresh data waiting for you, freeing you from ever having to manually download a CSV again.

Beyond Google Analytics: Connecting Other Platforms

Your business data likely lives in more places than just Google Analytics. You probably have sales data in Shopify, CRM data in HubSpot, financials in QuickBooks, and ad data across several platforms.

While some platforms (like QuickBooks) offer their own Sheets add-ons, a common method for tying everything together is using integration tools like Zapier or Make.com. These services act as a bridge between your apps.

For example, you could easily set up a "Zap" that does this:

• Trigger: When a new "deal" is marked as "Closed Won" in HubSpot.
• Action: Automatically add a new row to a "Sales Wins" Google Sheet with the deal name, value, and owner.

This creates a live feed of activity from other apps without needing a complex, dedicated add-on.

For more robust, multi-channel reporting, paid add-ons like Supermetrics are immensely popular. They have pre-built connectors for dozens of marketing platforms (Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Klaviyo, and many more) that work just like the official Google Analytics add-on, letting you schedule queries from all your sources in one place.

Final Thoughts

Bringing your website data into Google Sheets unlocks endless possibilities for custom analysis and reporting. Whether you’re starting with a simple manual CSV download, using formulas for public data, or setting up fully automated and scheduled reports with add-ons, you’re taking a big step toward making more data-driven decisions on your own terms.

While spreadsheets are a huge leap forward, they still require you to build the connections, design reports, and hunt for insights yourself. When building our own dashboards, we realized most of our time was spent on setup, a pain point we created Graphed to solve. We connect all your sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Facebook Ads in seconds, allowing you to ask questions in plain English - like "show me my best performing ads this month" - and get instant dashboards and answers without ever touching a formula.