Connect GA4 to BigQuery
BigQuery keeps every GA4 event, unsampled, for as long as you like, and joins it with your other data. Marc Alexander sets up the export, builds usable tables, keeps the running cost down and trains your team.
What you get.
- GA4's BigQuery export, in an EU or UK region, checked against GA4
- Flat event, session and user tables built from the nested raw export
- Cost controls: partitioning, clustering and budget alerts
- Role-based access and service accounts for dashboards
- Data Studio or Power BI dashboards reading from BigQuery
- Documentation, query templates and SQL training on the GA4 data structure
The export only collects data from the day it's switched on. Connecting it early costs little and means the history is there when you need it.
Packages.
GA4 to BigQuery connection
£500 to £1,200
The GA4 export set up, datasets configured, data checked and documented.
BigQuery implementation
£1,500 to £3,500
Connection, transformed reporting tables, query templates, cost controls, a dashboard and training.
Advanced BigQuery
£3,500 to £8,000
Multiple data sources, data modelling, machine learning setup and training.
Google bills BigQuery usage to you separately. Joining several business systems is back office integration.
How it works.
Scope
Marc reviews your GA4 setup, questions and data volumes, then confirms the package, region and expected running cost.
Connect and check
He creates the Google Cloud project and dataset, switches on the export and checks the data against GA4.
Model and tune
He builds the reporting tables, scheduled queries and budget alerts, then any dashboards in the package.
Train and hand over
Your team gets the documentation, query templates and a training session. Ongoing support is optional.
Straight answers.
What does BigQuery itself cost to run?
Google bills BigQuery to your own Google Cloud account, separately from the project fee. You pay for storage and for the data each query scans. With partitioned tables, reporting tables and budget alerts, the monthly bill for most GA4 properties is small and predictable. Marc gives you an estimate for your data volumes before any work starts.
Can we get our historical GA4 data into BigQuery?
No. The export only sends data from the day it's switched on, and nothing before that is backfilled. That's the best reason to connect it now, even if you won't use it for months.
How quickly does data appear?
The daily export lands each day's events, usually within a day. If you need same-day data, the streaming export fills intraday tables as events arrive, with some limitations. The setup uses whichever your reporting needs.
Does our team need to know SQL?
Not for everyday use. Dashboards sit on top of the reporting tables, and the query templates cover the common questions. Someone who wants to write their own queries gets training and documentation that explain the GA4 data structure.
Does BigQuery replace GA4?
No. The GA4 interface is still quicker for day-to-day checks. BigQuery is for the questions it can't answer, for keeping data longer and for joining GA4 with other data. Most businesses use both. More on whether the GA4 interface is good enough for reporting.
What about GDPR, and what happens if we stop?
The dataset sits in an EU or UK region in your own Google Cloud project, with access limited by role and a retention policy if you need one. If you switch the export off, nothing already stored is lost, and the SQL is documented so anyone can pick it up.
More detail: what BigQuery makes possible
- Complete, unsampled reports at any traffic volume. Explorations on busy properties are sampled; BigQuery has every event.
- Long history. GA4 keeps event-level data for explorations for 14 months at most, and 2 by default. BigQuery keeps it until you delete it.
- Funnels, cohorts, retention and customer lifetime value with your own definitions.
- Attribution rules that follow how your customers buy, rather than a preset model.
- GA4 joined with CRM data such as Salesforce or HubSpot, ad spend and ecommerce orders, so marketing is judged on sales as well as visits.
- Predictive models with BigQuery ML.
The SQL is commented and version controlled, so anyone with SQL can maintain it. Ongoing query work is available on a monthly retainer, from £500 a month.
Unsure your tracking is worth exporting? A GA4 mini audit checks it first.
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Related work.
Ask about BigQuery.
Tell Marc roughly how much traffic you have and what you want to answer that GA4 can't. He'll reply within one working day with the right package and an estimate of what BigQuery will cost to run.
Mini audit from £175.
Prefer to talk first? Choose "20-minute intro call" in the form.
Or email [email protected].