Optimising Walmart Search Advertising Reporting in Looker Studio

Overview

A client was using the Supermetrics Walmart Search Advertising connector directly in Looker Studio to power their reporting dashboards. While the setup worked, the reports suffered from slow loading times, frequent latency issues, and a poor user experience when analysing campaign performance.

My objective was to redesign the reporting architecture to improve dashboard speed and reliability while maintaining data accuracy.

The Challenge

The original reporting workflow relied on a live connection between Looker Studio and Supermetrics.

As data volume increased, several issues emerged:

Slow dashboard loading times

Delays when filtering reports

Increased API dependency

Performance issues when blending multiple datasets

Poor user experience for stakeholders reviewing Walmart advertising performance

The client needed a faster and more efficient reporting solution without losing any reporting functionality.

My Solution

I redesigned the entire data flow by introducing a lightweight data warehouse approach using Google Sheets and Apps Script.

New Reporting Architecture

Walmart Search Advertising → Supermetrics → Google Sheets → Apps Script → Database Tab → Looker Studio

Implementation Details

1. Automated Data Extraction

Configured Supermetrics to automatically pull daily Walmart Search Advertising data into a dedicated Google Sheet.

2. Historical Database Creation

Developed a custom Google Apps Script that:

Captured new daily records

Automatically appended them into a structured database tab

Prevented overwriting historical data

Created a reliable reporting dataset

3. Looker Studio Optimisation

Instead of connecting Looker Studio directly to Supermetrics, I connected it to the optimised database sheet.

Benefits:

Faster query execution

Reduced API calls

Improved dashboard responsiveness

4. Advanced Data Blending

To replicate Walmart Connect reporting logic, I blended:

Search-level data

Keyword-level data

Ad Group-level data

This ensured the final dashboard produced the same metrics and insights available within Walmart Connect while maintaining significantly better performance.

Results

Performance Improvements

✅ Significantly reduced dashboard load times

✅ Eliminated most reporting latency issues

✅ Improved stakeholder experience

✅ Reduced dependency on live API requests

✅ Enabled faster filtering and analysis

Business Impact

The client received a faster, more reliable Walmart advertising dashboard that delivered the same reporting accuracy while dramatically improving usability and operational efficiency.