Methods to archive your Common Analytics historic information

One other Google Analytics 4 migration venture deadline is quick approaching, and this deadline is difficult set. On July 1, Google will delete all historic information from Common Analytics properties. This deadline additionally impacts Analytics 360 clients.

With little greater than a month till the deadline, if in case you have not finished so by now, your group must prioritize archiving your historic information. There are three primary phases I like to recommend for approaching this venture.

Section 1: Make a plan

Earlier than archiving information, it’s essential to determine:

What particular information is essential to you? 

• Prioritize downloading information that you simply frequently check with, corresponding to conversion and gross sales information.
• Make a full checklist of the information you’ll want to archive.

What number of years of information do you wish to maintain?

• Many people have been utilizing Google Analytics for the reason that mid-2000s – does your group must archive information from almost 20 years in the past? 
• Determine how far again you wish to archive information from. I like to recommend, at minimal, to contemplate archiving again to 2018 or so to make sure you have pre-pandemic information for the reason that pandemic actually offered information anomalies for a lot of corporations.

At what cadence do you evaluate information?

• Think about how typically you usually report in your information. Is it weekly? Month-to-month? 
• Relying on the archiving technique you select in Section 2, chances are you’ll want to prepare the information into particular time increments.

Section 2: Select an archiving technique

There are 4 primary choices out there for archiving your Common Analytics information. Every has its personal professionals and cons, so select a technique primarily based in your staff’s assets and abilities.

Possibility 1: Guide file downloads

• Professionals: Simple for nearly all customers to do, free
• Cons: Time-consuming, cumbersome, tough to entry information for reporting later, restricted to 5000 rows

Whereas that is the best course of to know, it is usually time consuming.

Following your plan for years, cadence and information factors, you’ll want to enter every report within the Google Common Analytics interface, set the date, dimension and metric settings as wanted.

Additionally, keep in mind to vary the variety of rows from the default of 10 to the utmost of 5,000 rows to make sure you seize as a lot information as potential.

Click on the export button and export information to a Google Sheet, Excel or CSV. Repeat this course of till you’ve gotten downloaded the entire information recognized in your archive plan.

Possibility 2: Obtain information to Google Sheets utilizing the Google Analytics add-on (most suitable choice for tech novices)

• Professionals: Pretty easy to implement for many customers with spreadsheet expertise, free, quick to obtain.
• Cons: Restrictive to a set timeframe (e.g., month-to-month), every sheet has complete information limitations, typically encounters sampling points.

This selection is pretty easy for many customers to carry out. Create a brand new Google Sheet and add the Google Analytics spreadsheetadd-on.

The add-on primarily makes use of the Google Analytics API to obtain information to Google Sheets however doesn’t require API programming information to function. Google has compiled a primary overview of this strategy on this assist doc.

The primary time you employ the add-on, you’ll construct a report utilizing the add-on’s interface. However after the primary report has been run, you can even merely replace the Report Configuration tab and create further studies straight in columns of that sheet.

It’s also possible to conveniently use formulation within the Report Configuration sheet. Use the Dimensions and Metrics Explorer to seek out the right API code to enter into every subject. 

One downside of the Google Sheets technique is that you could be encounter sampling if you happen to pull an excessive amount of information directly (e.g., your total 20-year dataset for classes) or your report is just too detailed (too many dimensions pulled collectively for a excessive stage of granularity). 

While you run a report, you’ll see the sampling stage on the report’s information tab in cell B6. In case your report comprises sampled information, chances are you’ll wish to think about decreasing the quantity of information on this specific pull, for instance, you may break up the pull into two time frames.

Nevertheless, if you happen to simply can’t keep away from sampling, verify the information pattern proportion on the report. Then, on the Report Configuration tab, unhide rows 14-17 and the sampling measurement on row 15 to this stage in order that your information stays constant.

Tip: The add-on defaults to 1,000 traces of information in a report. Merely delete the 1,000 underneath the road labeled “Restrict” (usually row 11).

One other downside of the Google Sheets choice is that every file is proscribed to 10,000,000 cells. Usually, every sheet begins out with 26 columns (A to Z) and 1,000 default rows (or 26,000 cells).

In case your downloaded information exceeds the ten,000,000 cell limitation (which might very possible occur), then chances are you’ll must have a number of Google Sheets to obtain the entire information.

Possibility 3: Obtain information utilizing the Google Analytics API

• Professionals: Pulls information rapidly as soon as arrange
• Cons: Requires net improvement information and assets, doesn’t resolve the information sampling problem, API quota limitations

In case you have net improvement assets that may work on the archiving venture, they will pull the information detailed in your plan utilizing the Google Analytics API straight. 

This works equally to the aforementioned Google Sheets add-on choice, nevertheless it’s a extra handbook course of in programming the API calls.

To find out about the way to use the API for this venture, go to Google’s archiving info web page and evaluate the second bullet, which particulars a number of assets and issues for utilizing the API for this information export venture.

Possibility 4: Obtain information to BigQuery (most suitable choice general)

• Professionals: Easy to entry information later for reporting, elevated information insights, most versatile for information
• Cons: Difficult for novices to arrange initially, can contain charges for BiqQuery, could require technical assets to arrange, must contain a further software

The principle good thing about archiving your Common Analytics information to BigQuery is that BigQuery is an information warehouse that lets you ask questions of the information set via SQL queries to get your information in a short time. That is particularly helpful in accessing this information for reporting later. 

Analytics 360 customers

If you’re an Analytics 360 consumer, Google gives a local export to BigQuery. I like to recommend this technique. See directions from Google.

Everybody else

In case you’re not an Analytics 360 consumer, then you definately’ll must strategy the BigQuery backup in another way as a result of Google doesn’t present innate BigQuery backup choices in Common Analytics for non-360 customers. 

Listed below are the steps you’ll wish to observe:

• Step 1: Create a Google API Console venture and allow BigQuery.
  • Log in to the Google APIs Console.
  • Create a Google APIs Console venture.
  • Navigate to the APIs desk.
  • Activate BigQuery.
• Step 2: Put together your venture for BigQuery export.
  • Guarantee Billing is enabled on your venture. Chances are you’ll not must pay something, however it can differ relying on the utilization and information you’ve gotten.
  • If prompted, create a billing account.
  • Settle for the free trial if it’s out there.
  • Validate Billing enablement. Open your venture at https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery, and attempt to create an information set within the venture. Click on the blue arrow subsequent to the venture identify, then click on Create information set. In case you can create the information set, billing is setup accurately. If there are any errors, ensure billing is enabled.
  • Add the service account to your venture. Add [email protected] as a member of the venture, and be sure that permission on the venture stage is about to Editor (versus BigQuery Knowledge Editor). The Editor function is required with a view to export information from Analytics to BigQuery.
  • If you’re within the EU, please additionally evaluate further necessities.
• Step 3: Arrange a free trial of Supermetrics. Much like the Google Sheets add-on in choice 2 above, Supermetrics is a software that helps non-technical customers interface with and use APIs. They provide a free 14-day trial, which is probably going all you’ll want for this venture because you’re solely downloading the Common Analytics information as soon as (not frequently).
  • Join the BigQuery information supply within the Supermetrics dashboard. 
• Step 4: In BigQuery, set up the connection to Supermetrics.
  • Navigate to BigQuery, then to Knowledge transfers.
  • Click on + Create switch.
  • Choose your Google Analytics by Supermetrics as your supply and click on Enroll. 
  • Fill within the switch particulars. See detailed directions on the way to arrange a switch.
  • Underneath Third-party connection, click on Join supply.
  • Settle for the settlement.
  • Click on Authorize together with your Google information supply.
  • Click on Sign up with Google.
  • Sign up with the Google Account you employ with this information supply. This doesn’t need to be the identical because the Google Account you employ with Supermetrics.
  • Click on Enable.
  • Choose the accounts you’d like to incorporate in your reporting and outline the switch settings.
  • Click on Submit.
  • Click on Save.

Since you solely must switch the Common Analytics information one time, you can even change the schedule on the switch to On demand after which run the switch now. 

Section 3: Make sure you’ve captured all of it

Earlier than you think about the venture full, be sure you double-check your archived information to make sure you’ve captured every part you deliberate to archive.

On July 1, you’ll now not have the ability to entry Common Analytics information, both by API or via the interface.