Build MVC Applications with Connectivity to Google Analytics Data



This article shows how to use only the Entity Framework and the CData ADO.NET provider to access Google Analytics from an ASP.NET MVC application.

In this article, we will guide you through the process of utilizing wizards within Visual Studio to seamlessly integrate the CData ADO.NET Provider for Google Analytics into a basic MVC (Model, View, Controller) project.

Create the Entity Framework Model

Follow the steps below to save connection properties and map tables to entities in the data model.

  1. Create a new MVC project in Visual Studio. In this example, the project name is MvcGoogleAnalyticsApp.
  2. If you are using Entity Framework 6, you will need to take the preliminary step of registering the Google Analytics Entity Framework provider for your project. See the "LINQ and Entity Framework" chapter in the help documentation for a guide.

    Note that MVC 3 scaffolding and MVC 4 scaffolding do not support Entity Framework 6. You can use your scaffolding with Entity Framework 6 by upgrading to the latest version of MVC.

  3. To add the .edmx file from the designer, right-click your Models folder and click Add New Item. Select ADO.NET Entity Data Model, name the model, and click Add. In this example, the name of the model is GoogleAnalyticsModel.
  4. In the Entity Data Model wizard, select the option 'EF Designer from database'. The Entity Data Model wizard is displayed.
  5. Click New Connection. Select CData Google Analytics Data Source in the dialog that is displayed.
  6. Specify the required connection string properties.

    Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf on individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

    OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, you will need to register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

    In addition to the OAuth values, set Profile to the profile you want to connect to. This can be set to either the Id or website URL for the Profile. If not specified, the first Profile returned will be used.

    A typical connection string is below:

    Profile=MyProfile;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
  7. Name the connection and select whether to include sensitive information, such as connection credentials, in the connection string. For simplicity, this example saves sensitive information in Web.config. The connection settings are saved as GoogleAnalyticsEntities.

  8. Select the views you need. In this example, Traffic is imported. Also, the option to pluralize object names is deselected in this example. Click Finish to create the .edmx file.
  9. Build your project to complete this step.

Scaffold the Controller and Views

Once you've established the model and completed the project build, you can employ ASP.NET Scaffolding wizards to generate both the controller and the views.

  1. In Solution Explorer, right-click the controllers folder and click Add -> Controller. Select MVC 5 Controller with views, using Entity Framework.
  2. In the Add Controller dialog that is then displayed, select the following options:

    • Model class: Select a table you imported; for example, Traffic.
    • Data context class: Select your context class.
  3. Leave the default values for the other fields.

You can now access the list of Traffic records at http://MySite/Traffic. With every state change the site picks up any data changes.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Google Analytics Data Provider to get started:

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Learn more:

Google Analytics Icon Google Analytics ADO.NET Provider

An easy-to-use database-like interface for .NET applications access to live Google Analytics data (Traffic, Users, Referrals, Geo, Behaviors, and more).