Hey there, I'm Benjamin from Loves Data.
In this video, you will learn about the new data import feature available in Google Analytics
4 (or GA4).
This feature lets you upload extra information to Google Analytics to extend your reports.
You can currently upload additional information based on User ID, client ID, and product ID.
Let's head to Google Analytics to take a look...
To import data you will need to have edit-level access to the Google Analytics property.
Let's start by selecting 'Data Import'...
We're currently looking at the GA4 demo property provided by Google, so I don't have edit-level
access.
Which means I can't click the 'Create Data Source' button.
If this is the case for your property, then you'll need to ask the person who set up Google
Analytics to increase your permissions, or they will need to import the data for you.
Okay, let's go back...
And I'm going to open my demo property...
Since I have edit-level permission for this property, we can use the import feature.
So let's select 'Data Import'...
And let's click 'Create Data Source'...
We can see there are currently options available to import extra information based on products,
based on User ID, and based on Client ID...
Let's name the source 'Product Information'...
And let's select 'Product Data' as the type...
Now before we upload our file to Google Analytics, we need to make sure it contains the data
we want to import, and that it is formatted correctly.
So let's head to Google Sheets to look at an example...
I've created this sample spreadsheet in Google Sheets and we will import this into Google
Analytics in a moment.
Now, this is just an example, but if you would like to download templates that you can use
for your own information, then I've included templates in the description below this video.
The first column in our spreadsheet should be the 'key' we are going to use to join our
uploaded information to the data that's in Google Analytics.
Since we're uploading product data, the 'key' will be the ID for each product.
For each ID we can then upload additional information that will be available in our
reports.
We can include a name, categories, brand and variant for each product ID.
So we can see I've entered information for a few different products.
When you're happy, you can download the sheet.
So let's select 'File'...
And then 'Download'...
And download the sheet as a CSV...
Another important concept is how the information you import is joined to data in Google Analytics.
If you're uploading product data, then information is joined when you access the report.
This is called 'query-time import'.
It basically means that the extra information can be uploaded after data is processed into
your reports.
If you're uploading information based on User ID or client ID, then this information is
joined when data is processed.
This is called 'processing-time import'.
And it means you can only add information before data is processed into your reports.
Okay, now that our file is ready, it's time to head back to Google Analytics...
We need to upload our CSV file...
Then we need to click 'Next' on the top right corner...
We can see the first field is the 'ID' for our products, so we need to select the column
that matches this from our CSV file.
This is the 'Item ID' column...
This is also the 'key' that I mentioned.
We can see on the right there are some sample IDs from our CSV.
This lets us quickly check to make sure we're going to be mapping the correct values for
our reports.
Now we can enable the other fields that we want to import...
And we can select the rows from our CSV that correspond to each field...
Once we've mapped all of the information you want to upload to Google Analytics, we can
click 'Import' on the top right corner...
Depending on the size of your CSV file, it can take some time to upload and process the
data.
Once it's ready you will see a green tick under 'Status'...
And when you want to upload additional information, in this case, product information, you can
select the import option for the existing data source...
You'll just need to ensure that the same columns are used in any additional CSV you upload
to Google Analytics.
There are some limits when it comes to data import.
Each data source can be up to one gigabyte, you can upload up to 24 files each day, and
there is a maximum storage size of 10 gigabytes for your imports.
So that's how you can import data into Google Analytics 4.
Currently, you will need to manually import your extra information into Google Analytics,
however, it's likely Google will add an API in the future.
This will mean you will be able to automate this process.
What data are you going to import into GA4?
I'd love to know!
Let me know in the comments below.
And if you found this video helpful please subscribe, share it with your friends, and
hit the like button so I know to make more videos like this.
See you next time!