Let's face it, crunching numbers, analyzing data and creating intricate spreadsheets isn't something most people get excited about. But as a marketer, I find that Google Sheets is an indispensable tool for my day-to-day work. Whether I'm creating reports, tracking key metrics, or collaborating with my team, Google Sheets makes my job easier.
But did you know that Google Sheets has a whole slew of formulas built-in, designed specifically to help you work more efficiently? These formulas are like secret weapons that can help you automate tasks, perform complex calculations and save hours of work. In this article, I'll walk you through some of the most useful Google Sheets formulas and show you how to use them.
If you work with large datasets, VLOOKUP is probably the formula you'll use most often. This formula allows you to search for a specific value in a table and return a corresponding value from another column. For example, you could use VLOOKUP to look up a customer's email address based on their name, or to find a product's price based on its SKU.
The syntax of the VLOOKUP formula is as follows:
=VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted])
search_key: This is the value you want to search for.
range: This is the range of cells that contains the data you're searching in.
index: This is the number of the column from which you want to retrieve data.
is_sorted: This is an optional argument that specifies whether the data you're searching in is sorted in ascending order. If the data is sorted, enter "TRUE". If not, enter "FALSE".
Here's an example of how to use the VLOOKUP formula:
=VLOOKUP("John", A2:B10, 2, FALSE)
This formula will search for the value "John" in the first column of cells A2:B10, and return the corresponding value from the second column of that range.
If you need to calculate the sum of values that meet certain criteria, SUMIFS is the formula for you. This formula allows you to specify multiple conditions, and only add up the values that meet all of them. For example, you could use SUMIFS to calculate the total revenue generated by sales from a certain region, during a certain time period.
The syntax of the SUMIFS formula is as follows:
=SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...)
sum_range: This is the range of cells that contains the values you want to sum.
criteria_range1, criteria_range2, ...: These are the ranges of cells that contain the criteria you want to use for filtering the values.
criteria1, criteria2, ...: These are the criteria you want to use for filtering the values. You can specify multiple criteria by including multiple pairs of criteria_range and criteria.
Here's an example of how to use the SUMIFS formula:
=SUMIFS(C2:C10, B2:B10, "East", A2:A10, "<=2020-12-31")
This formula will add up the values in the range C2:C10, but only for rows where column B contains the value "East", and column A contains a date that is on or before December 31st, 2020.
If you need to combine two or more text strings into a single cell, CONCATENATE is the formula you'll need. This formula allows you to join text strings together, and you can even add other characters like spaces or commas between them.
The syntax of the CONCATENATE formula is as follows:
=CONCATENATE(string1, [string2, ...])
string1, string2, ...: These are the text strings you want to join together.
Here's an example of how to use the CONCATENATE formula:
=CONCATENATE("Hello", " ", "world", "!")
This formula will join the text strings "Hello", " ", "world", and "!" together into a single cell, like this: "Hello world!".
If you need to count the number of cells that meet certain criteria, COUNTIFS is the formula for you. This formula allows you to specify multiple conditions, and only count the cells that meet all of them. For example, you could use COUNTIFS to count the number of sales made by a certain salesperson, during a certain time period.
The syntax of the COUNTIFS formula is as follows:
=COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...)
criteria_range1, criteria_range2, ...: These are the ranges of cells that contain the criteria you want to use for filtering the values.
criteria1, criteria2, ...: These are the criteria you want to use for filtering the values. You can specify multiple criteria by including multiple pairs of criteria_range and criteria.
Here's an example of how to use the COUNTIFS formula:
=COUNTIFS(B2:B10, "John", A2:A10, ">2020-01-01")
This formula will count the number of cells in the range B2:B10, but only for rows where column B contains the value "John", and column A contains a date that is after January 1st, 2020.
If you need to calculate the average of cells that meet a certain criteria, AVERAGEIF is the formula for you. This formula allows you to specify a condition, and only include the cells that meet it in the calculation. For example, you could use AVERAGEIF to calculate the average revenue generated by sales from a certain region, during a certain time period.
The syntax of the AVERAGEIF formula is as follows:
=AVERAGEIF(criteria_range, criteria, [average_range])
criteria_range: This is the range of cells that contain the criteria you want to use for filtering the values.
criteria: This is the criteria you want to use for filtering the values.
average_range: This is the range of cells that contains the values you want to calculate the average of. If this argument is omitted, the formula will use the same range as the criteria_range.
Here's an example of how to use the AVERAGEIF formula:
=AVERAGEIF(B2:B10, "East", C2:C10)
This formula will calculate the average value of cells in the range C2:C10, but only for rows where column B contains the value "East".
So there you have it, five of the most useful Google Sheets formulas that every marketer should know. Of course, there are many more formulas out there, and it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with as many as possible. But if you can master these five, you'll be well on your way to becoming a spreadsheet ninja.
Remember to experiment with these formulas and think creatively about how you can use them in your own work. With a little practice, you'll be amazed at how much time and effort you can save, and how much more insight you can gain from your data.
Happy spreadsheet-ing!
