Google Analytics data inside a Google Doc—a panacea! Don’t believe me? Check out that screenshot below.
In this blog post I’ll show how you can do this yourself, and I’ve created an easy template to help get you started. Google Analytics is my favorite analytics product. And it’s only been getting better with the new interface, flow visualization, and multi-channel funnels. Google Analytics is still best game in town for the price (it’s free)! But, despite all the flexibility that Google Analytics offers, sometimes you want to access data in a spreadsheet and create a truly custom report.
That’s where the Google Analytics Data Feed API comes in. This blog post is going to show you how to create a custom report by connecting a Google Spreadsheet directly with your data from Google Analytics. When data is available directly in a spreadsheet you’re able to make interesting comparisons, create the dashboard of your dreams, or chart data however you’d like. And the only requirement is that you have Analytics setup for your website. I’ve created a simple Google Spreadsheet template that makes the whole thing easy.
Analytics geeks: hold onto your seats! It all started with the Data Feed Query Explorer (Those who want to start accessing data in Google Docs should jump right to the next section.) Before we dive in, a little background. A few weeks ago I was looking for a solution to directly access Google Analytics data in Microsoft Excel or Google Docs using the Google Analytics API. I first discovered Google’s excellent Data Feed Query Explorer.
The explorer lets you connect to your Analytics account and pull custom data until your heart’s content. This tool is not only an efficient way to figure out what’s available via the API, but it’s also great for pulling custom data. Want to see which organic keywords drove conversions on your site? Enter the details as below, after authenticating and adding your appropriate profile ID: The Data Feed Query Explorer is a great way to explore the Google Analytics API, and to understand what data is available.
If you’re interested in understanding the API, experiment with the tool but also check out the API documentation. While this tool is helpful, it didn’t meet my goal of accessing this data within a live spreadsheet such as Google Spreadsheets. Enter Mikael Thuneberg.
