Your first dashboard build can feel like piloting a new car—exciting but slightly overwhelming. Between traffic numbers, lead counts, email clicks, and blog metrics, HubSpot offers more widgets than most marketers know what to do with.
The trick is choosing a core set of reports that reveal how strangers turn into customers without drowning you in vanity data. Below we’ll dig deep (but not too deep) into nine foundational reports you can spin up in minutes.
Together they form the spine of any set of hubspot marketing dashboards and give you an “at-a-glance” health check for acquisition, engagement, and conversion.
Website Visit, New Contact, and Customer Totals Report
Think of this report as the heartbeat monitor for your entire funnel. It stacks three numbers—sessions, new contacts, and new customers—against the same date axis, so every stage of the journey is right there in one line graph.
Why it matters
- Fast pattern spotting. Did a content syndication push spike sessions but not contacts? Did contacts jump while customers flat-lined? Those patterns show you exactly where to investigate next.
- Marketing vs. sales accountability. Traffic that fails to create contacts is a marketing-quality problem. Contacts that fail to convert are often a sales-process or product-market-fit issue.
- Contextual goal tracking. When leadership says “double revenue,” you can reverse-engineer how many extra contacts (and therefore sessions) you’ll need to make that goal realistic.
Building the widget
Select “Website sessions,” “New contacts created,” and “Customers” as the metrics, set the interval to daily or weekly, and apply a rolling 30- or 90-day date range. Color-code each line so you can see gaps at-a-glance.
Interpreting the lines
- A wide gap between sessions and contacts signals weak top-of-funnel relevance or clunky conversion paths (e.g., buried CTAs, slow page speed, misaligned offers).
- A narrow gap between contacts and customers often points to lead-quality issues, mis-scored MQL criteria, or friction inside the pipeline (slow response times, confusing proposals).
- Parallel growth across all three usually means the machine is humming—now you can dial up spend or content volume and watch the whole chart lift in unison.
Pro tips
- Layer a goal line on top of each metric so the team can tell, daily, whether they’re above or below pace.
- Filter the entire report by lifecycle stage owner to compare different regions or business units.
- Snapshot the chart before major launches (web redesigns, ad campaigns) to create clean “before vs. after” comparisons on your hubspot reporting dashboard.
Marketing Channels Report
Clicks don’t pay the bills—qualified attention does. This report lines up every source (Organic Search, Paid Search, Social, Email, Referral, Direct, etc.) against bounce rate, average session length, and pages per session so you can see which channels send the right people, not just the most people.
Building the widget
Choose “Sessions” as your primary metric and add “Bounce rate,” “Avg. session duration,” and “Pages per session” as comparison metrics. Then group by Original Source and sort by session count to keep the big players at the top.
Questions to ask when reading it
- High bounce + low duration: Are your paid keywords too broad? Are social headlines click-baiting the wrong intent?
- Great engagement but low volume: Should you scale budget for that source or simply create more content tailored to it?
- High engagement but low conversion: Does the landing flow match audience expectations? Are forms too long?
- Discrepancies across similar channels: If Facebook traffic bounces but LinkedIn sticks, what’s different about targeting, ad creative, or CTA wording?
Optimization workflow
- Click through any suspicious row to open HubSpot’s built-in source detail view. There you’ll see specific pages, UTM campaigns, keywords, and referrers.
- Document hypotheses (e.g., “Paid Search bounce is 75 % because our display ads are hitting the same landing page as high-intent search ads”) and queue tests (new ad groups, new lander variants).
- Loop back in two weeks: engagement metrics are usually the first to shift.
Quick win ideas
- Route low-engagement sources to content-heavy pages (blog posts or ungated guides) instead of straight forms.
- Add retargeting audiences for high-traffic/low-conversion channels so you get a second shot with warmer ads.
- Surface this widget on a hubspot marketing dashboard that sales sees too; if SDRs know where the best leads come from, they can tailor outreach accordingly.
Marketing Email Engagement Report
Email’s not dead; it’s simply noisy. This report ranks every marketing email by sends, opens, clicks, and click-through rate so you know exactly which subject lines, preview texts, and offers break through.
Widget setup
- Use the “Marketing email performance” table.
- Show the last 50 emails, include “Sends,” “Open rate,” “Click rate,” and “Deliverability” (bounces, spam reports).
- Default sort on Click rate; opens are nice but clicks prove the message moved someone to act.
Reading the table
- Top-performing cluster: Look for common traits (audience segment, time sent, promo vs. editorial). Clone what works.
- Low opens but high clicks: Subject line is your bottleneck—A/B test hooks, emojis, personalization tokens.
- High opens but low clicks: Body copy, offer, or CTA placement needs work.
- Consistently high spam complaint rate: Your list hygiene or expectation setting is off; time to prune or re-opt-in.
Beyond the surface
- Click any email name to open its detailed performance screen. There you’ll see heat-map-style link clicks, device breakdown, and deliverability trends.
- Compare engagement by lifecycle stage; nurturing “Leads” might need a totally different value proposition than rallying ready-to-buy “SQLs.”
- Track forward-to-friend or saved-for-later metrics if your audience uses email for internal sharing (common in B2B).
Iterating
- Build “evergreen” campaigns (onboarding sequences, product education drips) and rerun this report every quarter to swap out under-performing steps.
- Tag emails by goal (traffic, webinar, case study, upsell) so you can filter performance by objective before your next quarterly planning session.
- Celebrate wins publicly—dropping screenshots of rising click-through rates into Slack keeps copywriters motivated and executive sponsors happy.
Blog Posts Report
Content is your 24/7 salesperson. This report lists every blog article by total views inside the date range you choose, giving an instant leaderboard of what’s resonating with search engines and subscribers alike.
Why total views?
Because views are the universal currency at the top of the content funnel. Before you worry about leads, the piece must first earn eyeballs; view count is the simplest proxy for discoverability plus relevance.
Digging deeper
- Top five posts
- Check publication date. If a two-year-old guide still tops the chart, refresh it: update screenshots, add 2025 stats, insert a new CTA.
- Look at keyword themes—are instructional “how-to” posts out-performing opinion pieces? Use that intel for your editorial calendar.
- Middle performers
- These often need distribution, not rewrites. Promote via email, LinkedIn, or paid social; they can climb quickly once exposed.
- Consider internal linking: link newer posts to these mid-tier articles to boost authority flow.
- Laggards
- Run an SEO audit: Is the search intent too niche? Are title tags under-optimized?
- If the piece is strategic (e.g., you need it for a product cluster), rewrite rather than delete. Otherwise, consolidate content to avoid cannibalization.
Repurposing magic
- Slice a high-view article into a short video, carousel, or Twitter thread.
- Extract stats and quotes to feed thought-leadership emails.
- Bundle related posts into an eBook, then gate it to create a new top-funnel offer you can monitor with the Landing Page report you’ll add later.
Performance hygiene
- Re-run the report monthly; views fluctuate with algorithm updates and seasonal demand.
- Overlay average time on page or scroll depth to ensure people actually consume the content they visit.
- Archive or de-index posts that attract visits but bounce in seconds—you’ll boost overall engagement metrics on the same hubspot reporting dashboard watchdogging your email and funnel data.
Ads Report
A healthy ad budget is great— knowing exactly what that spend buys you is even better. HubSpot’s Ads report pulls cost, impressions, clicks, and down-funnel events into a single view, matching every penny to the contacts and customers it eventually creates. By marrying network data (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn) with lifecycle stages, you get a picture both Marketing and Finance can trust when budget reviews come around.
Building the widget
The secret is to sync every ad account and then surface the metrics that matter most to revenue, not vanity clicks. A clean setup means you’ll be able to spot waste—or winners—within minutes of opening your hubspot reporting dashboard.
- Sync all active ad accounts (Google, FB/IG, LinkedIn).
- Metrics: Cost, Contacts, Customers, Cost per Customer.
- Group by network or campaign for instant comparison.
- Date range: rolling 30 days for tweaks, quarter-to-date for exec reports.
Questions it answers
Before you scale, pause, or shuffle dollars, make sure the data backs you up. This report tells the budget story at a glance, saving hours of spreadsheet gymnastics.
- Which campaign delivers the lowest true Cost per Customer?
- Are retargeting audiences converting cheaper than cold prospecting?
- Does paid social or paid search deserve next month’s incremental budget?
Quick optimizations
Data without action is trivia. Use these levers the moment you see red flags—or surprise gold mines.
- Pause ad sets where Cost per Contact exceeds gross-margin thresholds.
- Clone high-performing ads into fresh A/B tests before fatigue sets in.
- Add negative keywords or tighten audience filters to slash wasted spend.
Contacts & Deals Reports
Contacts are marketing’s currency; deals are sales’ scoreboard. Putting both on one chart reveals whether top-of-funnel velocity translates into real pipeline—or fizzles out. HubSpot lets you marry “people added” with “deals created” so Revenue Ops can spot imbalances early and keep quotas realistic.
Widget setup
Nail the configuration first; the cleaner the widget, the clearer the weekly stand-up.
- Metrics: New Contacts, Deals Created, Average Deal Size.
- Break down by Original Source to see which channels feed pipeline.
- Goal lines for both contacts and deals keep everyone honest.
What you’ll learn
These insights surface within seconds—long before the end-of-month scramble.
- Is top-funnel volume high enough to feed next quarter’s targets?
- Are reps logging deals promptly or sandbagging till the 28th?
- Which channels produce opportunities versus tire-kickers?
Next actions
Numbers alone don’t fix leaks—process tweaks do. Use the patterns you see here to guide the next sprint.
- Contacts ↑ / Deals ↓ → tighten MQL criteria or refine hand-off.
- Contacts ↓ / Deals ↑ → pour fuel on traffic and lead-gen content.
- Stale deals → enforce stage-age SLAs and calendar pipeline-scrub days.
Deal Totals Report
Need an instant answer to “How much is on the board?” Deal Totals shows every open deal’s value—weighted and unweighted—bucketed by pipeline stage. It’s the CFO’s comfort blanket and the AE’s reality check rolled into one tidy bar chart.
Config basics
Spend two minutes on clean filters now; save twenty headaches at QBR.
- Metrics: Amount & Weighted Amount grouped by stage.
- Date range: current quarter for forecasting sanity.
- View: cumulative, so you watch pipeline build (or drain) over time.
Insights you’ll spot
Patterns leap out once you bucket cash by stage instead of by rep name.
- Overstuffed early stages (lots of “Demo Scheduled”) hint at friction later.
- Post-quarter cliff shows pipeline isn’t being refilled—marketing alert!
- Heavy dependence on one whale deal = risky forecast exposure.
Action items
Treat the report as your live triage board.
- Coach reps whose funnels swamp in late-stage hope with no fresh inflow.
- Trigger mid-funnel nurture for aged deals stuck >30 days.
- Share chart in weekly revenue huddle so Marketing sees the real-time gap.
Deal Leaderboard
Nothing sparks friendly competition like a live scoreboard. The Deal Leaderboard ranks reps (or pods) by closed-won revenue, average deal size, and win rate—turning abstract targets into visible bragging rights for the entire go-to-market team.
Setting it up
Keep the race fair and fresh; a stale leaderboard is just wall clutter.
- Primary metric: Closed-Won Amount; add # Deals and Win Rate.
- Filter: current month or quarter to level the playing field.
- Display: office TV, shared Slack channel, or the sales tab of your hubspot marketing dashboard.
What to watch
Data shows who’s quietly crushing quota—and who needs a lifeline.
- High revenue / low win rate → chasing elephants, ignoring quick wins.
- Many wins / tiny deal size → upsell training pays off fast.
- Consistent low performers → book call-reviews and coaching ASAP.
Pro tips
A leaderboard is only motivational if it feels achievable and fair.
- Rotate focus metric monthly (highest upsell, fastest cycle) so different strengths shine.
- Shout-out weekly leaders in Slack—micro-rewards matter.
- Pair leaderboard data with call analytics so behavior changes link to outcomes.
Chat Conversation Report
Live chat and bots are often the first human touch with your brand. This report tracks chat volume, response times, and downstream outcomes so Support, Sales, and Marketing all know whether chat is a lead-gen engine or a resource drain.
Report build
Structure determines insight. Map the conversation metrics that prove (or disprove) ROI before adding vanity stats.
- Metrics: Total Conversations, Avg. First Response Time, Contacts Created, Tickets Created, Deals Created.
- Break down by agent or bot to compare man vs. machine.
- Visualization: heat map by hour/day to spot staffing gaps.
Questions answered
These are the “board-meeting” questions you’ll nail in seconds.
- Do we have enough agents online during lunchtime spikes?
- Which bot trees drop users before handing off to humans?
- How many net-new leads or tickets does chat beat email for?
Optimization levers
Chat ROI dies in silence; use the data to tune workflows fast.
- Trim bot flows with high abandonment; escalate to live rep sooner.
- Set response-time SLAs and trigger alerts when thresholds slip.
- Auto-route high-intent chat leads to the hubspot dashboards sales team watches, ensuring reps pounce within minutes.
FAQ
Does HubSpot have a dashboard?
Absolutely. Every portal—even the free tier—includes at least one customizable dashboard where you drag-and-drop pre-built or custom reports, choose date ranges, and filter by user or team.
How is HubSpot used for marketing?
Marketers use HubSpot to attract visitors (blogs, SEO tools, ads), convert them (landing pages, forms, chat), nurture them (email, workflows), and analyze ROI in one connected platform—no CSV juggling required.
Is HubSpot a CRM or marketing tool?
It’s both. HubSpot’s foundation is a free CRM that stores contacts, companies, and deals. On top sit optional hubs—Marketing, Sales, Service, CMS, Operations—that extend channel-specific functionality while sharing the same data set.