Integrate Google Analytics Data Directly with BI, Analytics, and Database Tools with CData

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an indispensable tool for marketing data analytics and understanding user behavior across websites and apps. From tracking a page's performance to analyzing conversion rates from email campaigns, GA4 provides essential metrics for continuously improving and optimizing marketing strategies.

However, as businesses scale their data efforts and aim to go beyond the basics, integrating GA4 data with other systems unlocks its full potential. By doing so, businesses can enhance their reporting capabilities, gain deeper insights, and perform more advanced analyses that drive better decision-making and optimization of marketing strategies.

Why Go Beyond GA4's UI?

While the GA4 interface provides robust reporting and insights, it also has limitations when it comes to combining GA4 data with other systems or conducting more advanced analytics.

Using CData's connectors for Google Analytics and integrating GA4 data with BI tools, CRM suites, and databases unlocks its full potential. This integration enables businesses to centralize data, conduct advanced analyses, and make faster, informed decisions.

Some high-quality use cases include:

• Unified Data Analysis: Consolidate data from sources like MA platforms, CRMs, and advertising platforms for a comprehensive view of key metrics.
• Laser-Targeted Decision Making: Access unified data to gain insights and make targeted decisions to improve campaigns.
• Custom Dashboards and Reports: Use BI tools like Tableau or Power BI to create interactive dashboards for better data visualization.
• Scalable Data Management: Store GA4 data in relational databases or data warehouses for in-depth analyses and accurate forecasting.

With no-code tools like CData's Driver for Google Analytics and CData Sync, you can connect directly to GA4 data, integrate it with a database or DWH, or analyze it directly in your BI tool. In this article, we'll explain the types of GA4 data accessible with CData products.

GA4 Basics

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an analytics platform designed for in-depth analysis of user behavior across websites and apps. Built on an event-based model for data collection, GA4 offers a more precise understanding of user actions across multiple platforms.

Dimensions and Metrics

To effectively analyze GA4 data, it's important to grasp these two key concepts:

• Dimensions: These are attributes or characteristics used to classify data. Examples include traffic source, device type, and user geographic location.
• Metrics: These are quantifiable values that measure performance. For example, session count, page views, and conversion rates are all metrics.

On the GA4 Reports page, you can access pre-defined data for common scenarios like "Business Goals," "Promotions," and "Traffic."

Types and Usage of GA4 Views in CData Drivers

If you'd like to use GA4 data not only from the GA4 UI, but also in ETL processes, BI tools, and data analysis tools such as Python and R, data integration products like CData Sync and CData Drivers come in handy. There are two main types of GA4 data available for use with CData products.

Base View

The Base View allows you to create custom reports by selecting the specific combination of dimensions and metrics that you want to analyze and visualize. This view is ideal for building reports from scratch according to your specific needs.

NOTE: By default, GA4 reports are aggregated by day.

For example, a view called Acquisitions, primarily used to analyze user acquisition paths, captures data on how many new users were acquired from various referrers and channels. You can analyze how many users were acquired through organic channels (e.g., Google Search) versus paid advertisements.

The following query retrieves the number of new users per referrer and channel from March 22, 2024 to August 22, 2024:

SELECT SessionSource, SessionMedium, NewUsers FROM [Acquisitions] WHERE [StartDate] = '2024-03-22' AND [EndDate] = '2024-08-22'

Predefined Report Views

The Predefined Report Views allow you to take advantage of popular GA4 scenarios by simply querying the data as-is. These views come with predefined combinations of dimensions and metrics that are commonly used for specific reporting purposes.

For example, a view called AcquisitionsSessionSourceReport captures data such as the number of new users, conversions, and engagement rates based on session referrals.

The naming convention for report views follows the <Base view name> <Dimension to use in the report view> Report format. This structure helps you quickly understand the type of data that can be obtained from the view.

The AcquisitionsSessionSourceReport is a view that focuses on the SessionSource dimension of the Acquisitions base view.

To explore the available data in each view, refer to the CData documentation for more details on the corresponding product and its capabilities.

How Data from GA4 Basic Report Is Reflected in CData Drivers

When you begin using GA4 data in your CData products, one of the first things you'll want to understand is how the familiar GA4 UI maps to the data available in CData products. This is a key point to consider.

Let's examine how the basic reports in the GA4 UI correlate with the data available in CData products. While not all dimension metrics may be fully compatible, the core GA4 reports are also available as views in CData Drivers.

User Reports

By default, GA4's reporting pages are divided into two main categories: Users and Lifecycles. The correspondence between the reports for the user categories is outlined below:

Lifecycle Report

The correspondence between the reports in the Life Cycle category is as follows:

Overview of the Base View

When creating custom reports, take advantage of the base view. Each base view provides access to various data points, such as the following:

For more information, refer to the corresponding documentation for the CData Google Analytics Drivers.

Points to Note When Querying Data

When retrieving GA4 data using GA4 Drivers or CData Sync, you'd want to specify the data acquisition period in SQL to include a range. If a time period is not specified, the default retrieval is for 30 days up to the data acquisition date. Specify the period by setting [StartDate] and [EndDate] in the WHERE clause, as shown below:

SELECT Date, SessionSource, SessionMedium, NewUsers 
   FROM [Acquisitions] 
   WHERE [StartDate] = '2023-03-22' AND [EndDate] = '2024-03-22';

When using the base view, avoid SELECT * as it is deprecated. The GA4 API limits the number of dimensions and metrics retrieved simultaneously, making SELECT * impractical. However, in the report view, you can retrieve all dimension metrics using SELECT *.

Conclusion

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an indispensable tool for analyzing website and app behaviors comprehensively. However, integrating GA4 data with other business systems and BI tools is key to unlocking its full potential.

With CData Sync and CData Drivers, you can seamlessly integrate GA4 data into your workflows for deeper insights, more effective marketing, and better decision-making.

Dive Deeper into CData Connectors for Google Analytics

If you'd like to explore what data is available in each view or access more sample SQL queries, check out the following resources:

• CData Help Documentation for GA4
• Google Analytics Data API Documentation