Understand complex data in a meaningful way
How to Add or Remove a Secondary Axis in Microsoft Excel
When you have a chart with mixed data types or a data set that varies widely between series, consider using a secondary axis in Microsoft Excel. This allows you to display the data you need without overwhelming or confusing your viewers.
As mentioned, it's a good idea to use a secondary axis if you're using different data types or if the series amounts vary widely.
For example, you can see that the column chart below does not accurately represent the visitors and sales in our dataset. There is a large variation in the sales amounts, making it difficult to get a good sense of the number of visitors per month. Additionally, sales are in dollar amounts, while visitors are basic numbers.
