Table of contents for how to connect and export data from GA4 to BigQuery  

1. Why export GA4 data to BigQuery?
2. Enabling BigQuery in Google Cloud
3. Link BigQuery to a Google Analytics 4 property
4. Delete link to BigQuery
5. FAQ

In this article, I am going to talk about how to connect and export data from Google Analytics 4 to BigQuery.

Why export GA4 data to BigQuery?

Google Analytics 4 allows you to link to a BigQuery Project where you can run custom queries on large data sets. You can export all of the events from GA4 to BigQuery and then use SQL-like syntax to query the data. 

Below are few reasons why you should consider exporting data to BigQuery:

• Store data in BigQuery and then after processing you can send it to other data warehouses like AWS or Azure.
• Perform advanced analysis on the raw data from GA4 property.
• Connect multiple data streams from GA4. For example, you can pull data into BigQuery from Android apps, IOS apps, and websites, all from one central point.
• Join your data with other marketing or CRM tools.
• Export to BigQuery is completely free for GA4 properties. This was earlier only available in GA360 (Premium Universal Analytics) accounts with a paid subscription.
• Visualize your data in tools such as Tableau, Qlik Sense, PowerBI, and Data Studio.

Now let’s jump onto how to set up a BigQuery export. For this purpose, you will require the following things:

1. GA4 property with admin rights
2. Google Cloud project with admin rights
3. Both admin accounts must use the same email address

 
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Enabling BigQuery in Google Cloud

The first part is to create a project in Google Cloud and enable BigQuery for this. Follow the below steps to know more:

Step-1: Navigate to https://console.cloud.google.com/ and log in with your credentials.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Select a project’ drop-down.

Step-3: A new pop-up will appear like below. Now click on ‘New Project’.

Step-4:  Give your project a name and click on ‘Create’.

Note: If you are working for any organization, you also get the option to select the location. As of now, I am keeping it blank.

Step-5: Once created, your project will appear like below. Click on the project to select it.

Congratulations! You have successfully created your first BigQuery project.

Step-6: Now click on the three horizontal lines beside ‘Google Cloud Platform’.

Step-7: Now hover your cursor over ‘API and Services’ and then click on ‘Library’.

Step-8: Type ‘BigQuery’ in the available search box.

Step-9: Select ‘BigQuery API’.

Step-10: Now click on ‘Enable’.

Once clicked, you will get a screen like below 

Congratulations! You have successfully enabled the BigQuery API. Now, let’s move to the next part for linking GA4 with BigQuery.

Link BigQuery to Google Analytics 4 property

Follow the below steps to start linking your GA4 property to BigQuery.

Step-1: Navigate to your Google Analytics 4 account and click on ‘Admin’.

Step-2: Now under the ‘Property’ column, click on ‘BigQuery Linking’.

Step-3: A new configuration panel will open like below. Now click on ‘Link’.

Step-4: A new panel will open again, like below. Now click on ‘Choose a BigQuery Project’.

Step-5: Mark the check box in front of the project for which you want to link.

Step-6: Click on ‘Confirm’.

Step-7: In this step we are going to select the preferred data location where you would like your analytics to be stored. 

These are the Google Data servers and it’s recommended to choose the one which belongs to your region. If you choose the wrong region and want to change it after the linking is done, you will have to do the complete linking process again from the start. 

You can select the region by clicking on the drop-down menu available under ‘Data Location’.

Step-8: Once the desired location is selected, click on ‘Next’.

Step-9: In this step we have to select the data streams. 

If your Google Analytics 4 property has multiple streams like ‘Android App’, ‘IOS App’, and ‘website’, you can select all of them. 

By default, if you have more than one stream then all will be selected and if you want to change it you can just simply click on edit and select the one for which you are setting this BigQuery export.

Step-10: If you have a mobile app as one of your data streams, mark the checkbox ‘Include advertising identifiers for mobile app streams’ for advertising purposes.

Step-11: Now in this step we have to configure the frequency of data export to BigQuery. There are two options available:

1. Daily: One-day complete data will be exported to BigQuery at an interval of 24 hours.
2. Streaming: The streaming option continuously exports data to BigQuery. The export happens continuously throughout the day. You can see data in BigQuery just within a few minutes. The streaming option is not available if you are using the free version of BigQuery. However, if you enable your Google Cloud billing, you can use the streaming export functionality.

Mark the checkbox as per your business need and click on ‘Next’.

Step-12: Now review your set up and if everything is perfect, click on ‘Submit’.

Step-13: Upon successful linking, you will get the below screen.

Congratulations! You have successfully connected your GA4 property to export data in BigQuery.

Now wait for 24hrs and then navigate to your BigQuery Project and you will see raw data from Google Analytics 4 like below.

Delete link to BigQuery

If you want to delete your BigQuery link you can follow the below steps.

Step-1: Navigate to your Google Analytics 4 account and click on ‘Admin’.

Step-2: Now under the ‘Property’ column, click on ‘BigQuery Linking’.

Step-3: Select the project.

Step-4: In the top right corner, click on the three vertical dots and then click on ‘Delete’.

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Frequently asked questions about how to connect and export data from GA4 to BigQuery