Google BigQuery is one of the products of Google Cloud platform.
The bigquery is an enterprise-level data warehouse from Google which is used to provide business intelligence in the form of reports and dashboards.
It is a data storage and management system which is used to bring data from several data sources (like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook etc) for the purpose of reporting and analysis.
Advantages of using BigQuery for Google Analytics
When you use BigQuery, you can manipulate Google Analytics data in a way which is many times simply not possible by using the Google Analytics user interface.
This is one of the biggest advantages of using BigQuery. It makes advanced data segmentation and analysis possible. It removes most of the limitations which come when you use the GA user interface or API for querying analytics data.
Following are the main disadvantages of using Google BigQuery:
#1 You need to very careful about how you query data esp. big data to avoid high query cost. If you don’t construct your queries properly or pull too much data too frequently, you could end paying dearly at the end of each month.
#2 You need a good working knowledge of SQL in order to use BigQuery for data analysis.
#3 You can not use BigQuery outside of Google Cloud platform or Google ecosystem/infrastructure.
#4 BigQuery is not easy to learn on your own without formal training. The documentation provided by Google is not detailed enough and does not really explain how to use the product.
The cost of using BigQuery for Google Analytics
Your monthly cost of using BigQuery will depend upon the following three factors:
The cost of connecting your Google Analytics account to BigQuery
The amount of data you stored in BigQuery (i.e the storage cost)
The amount of data you processed by each query you run (i.e. the query cost)
However, there is a good news. The first 10 GB of active storage and the first 1 terabyte of data processed is free each month.
Following are the prerequisites for using Google BigQuery:
#1 You need a good working knowledge of SQL so that you can query data in BigQuery. This is the primary requirement.
#2 You need a Google Cloud Platform account with billing enabled. In order to enable the billing, you would need a valid credit card.
Introduction to Google BigQuery Sandbox
The BigQuery Sandbox is like a free version of BigQuery. It lets you use the Google cloud console for free forever, without creating your billing account or enabling billing for your BigQuery project.
However, the sandbox comes with certain limitations related to data storage and processing query data. To overcome these limitations, you should upgrade your BigQuery Sandbox account by setting up your billing.
When you opt-in to search and autocomplete features, BigQuery will load your results on-demand for searches in the resource panel and for autocomplete in the query editor.
Follow the steps below:
Step-1: Navigate to https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery and then at the bottom of your screen click on the ‘Enable’ button next to ‘Try search and autocomplete powered by Data Catalog‘:
Step-2: Click on the ‘OPT-IN’ button:
BigQuery User Interface
In BigQuery we create one or more projects. Each project is made up of one or more data sets. Each data set is made up of one or more tables. Each data table has got ‘Schema’, ‘Details’ and ‘Preview’ tabs.
Schema is the structure of your data table. It shows you how the table has been set up. What type of values it accepts.
Through the ‘Details’ tab you can get the following information about your data table: Table ID, Table size, Number of rows in the table etc.
Through the preview tab you can preview your table without running a single query.
Sending Google Analytics data to BigQuery without using Google Analytics 360
All the GA360 users get a free connection to BigQuery. They can easily connect their GA360 property to BigQuery by clicking on the ‘Link BigQuery’ link in the admin area.
But if you do not have access to the GA360 property then connecting Google Analytics with BigQuery is not straightforward as Google doesn’t provide any in-built connection to BigQuery.
You would need to use a third party paid solution in order to connect your GA property with BigQuery.
Google Analytics 4 provides a free connection to BigQuery. So you won’t need a third-party solution for that. You can easily connect your GA4 property with BigQuery by clicking on the ‘BigQuery Linking’ in the admin area:
Where you can find Google Analytics 4 data in BigQuery?
Once you have successfully connected your GA4 property with BigQuery and more than 24 hrs have elapsed you should be able to see your GA4 data in the following two data tables in BigQuery:
#1 events_ data table – This table stores all the GA4 event data from the previous day(s)
#2 events_intraday_ data table – This table stores all the GA4 event data from the current day.
Frequently Asked Questions About Google Analytics BigQuery
What is Google BigQuery?
Google BigQuery is a data storage and management system which is used to bring data from several data sources for the purpose of reporting and analysis. It is used to provide business intelligence.
Is Google BigQuery free to use?
The first 10 GB of active storage and the first 1 terabyte of data processed is free each month. After that you will be charged based on the amount of extra data you stored and processed each month.
How can I use BigQuery?
The primary requirement for using BigQuery is the knowledge of SQL. You would also need a Google Cloud Platform account with billing enabled.
What is the advantage of using BigQuery for Google Analytics?
When you use BigQuery, you can manipulate Google Analytics data in a way which is many times simply not possible by using the Google Analytics user interface.
Where I can find Google Analytics 4 data in BigQuery?
You can see your GA4 data in the following two data tables in BigQuery: ‘events_’ and ‘events_intraday_’.
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