Configure a Pivot Table

A pivot table can have multiple columns, rows, filters, and values. You must have at least one column or value for a pivot table to start building. Filters can be used to limit the data displayed in the pivot table. For an embedded pivot table example, see the bottom of this article.

To configure a pivot table, follow these basic steps:

1) Name the Pivot Table

First, give the pivot table a unique name. Descriptive is best, because you may end up with variations of the same data in different pivot tables.

After naming, start configuring the elements of the pivot table.

2) Add Row(s)

Rows are a good place to start in the pivot table. If you want categories and subcategories, you can add multiple rows.

After configuring rows, values will begin to build out aggregations for each row or row combination.

3) Add Value(s)

Values will aggregate metrics by category and subcategory (as defined by the rows). Make sure you adjust the aggregation method (i.e. average, sum, min, max, etc.) for each value you add.

Add multiple values if you want to lay out multiple metrics in columns.

4) Add Column(s)

Similar to rows, columns will begin to aggregate and summarize values across categories and sub-categories.

Our pivot table is almost complete. You can add filters to pare down data.

5) Add Filters

Filters can include displayed fields or other field values in the table. Include multiple filters to do more complex operations (i.e. after x date but before y date, greater than x but less than y, etc.).

After you've finished up the configuration, you can publish to get an embeddable code or PNG of the resulting pivot table.

Example Google Sheets Embedded Pivot Table

Here is an example of some Google Search Console Data exported to Google Sheets and embedded as a basic pivot table in this post.

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