By Ian Lewis
As if GA4 itself wasn’t enough for digital marketers to contend with, along comes BigQuery getting its time in the sun. Now, new tools, software and systems enter the digital marketing landscape all the time – but BigQuery isn’t actually new, and it isn’t just another one of those platforms.
The reason it’s now enjoying a resurgence in interest is because of the looming GA4 deadline, where Universal Analytics will be retired next July. So if you’re on GA4, or looking to be, BigQuery can provide a valuable enhancement to your reporting and insights.
But what actually is it?
What is BigQuery?
Google describes BigQuery as: “An enterprise data warehouse that enables super-fast SQL queries using the processing power of Google’s infrastructure.”
If you’re wondering just exactly what on earth that means, let’s unpack the jargon.
A data warehouse collates data from various sources into a single, central location, which is then structured for data analytics. SQL (pronounced ‘sequel’) is the code, or logic, used to query the data warehouse.
How does BigQuery work?
Essentially, BigQuery allows you to use SQL logic to run complex queries against massive datasets. It means you can ask questions that would take you inordinate amounts of time to work out yourself – and because it runs on a Google server (rather than your own), it’s incredibly quick at processing. You can’t do this at scale in a spreadsheet!
What are the benefits of BigQuery for your business?
Having access to data is one thing, but being able to process it and uncover insights is where the real advantages lie. Here’s how BigQuery can help:
Provides a centralised, single point of truth
By amalgamating all of your data sources into one place and cleaning them, you’ll have a central view of everything going on, giving you confidence that you’re not missing a piece of the puzzle.
Stores Google Analytics Data longer
Using BigQuery allows you to revisit previous years’ performance, which you won’t be able to see with GA4’s default time period alone.
Informed decision-making
Use built-in tools like machine learning and predictive data modelling to inform your strategies and learn from your historic data.
Do it all at speed
We’ve already mentioned Google’s server, but it’s worth bringing the point home – BigQuery can process petabytes of data. That is an extraordinary amount, giving you insights previously unattainable to the average business.
How does BigQuery relate to paid media?
BigQuery has a plethora use cases for all types of businesses, not just digital marketing. But since digital advertising is data-driven, it makes sense that there are tons of benefits for using BigQuery as part of your paid media strategy. Here’s some ways we could use it to help you bolster your activity:
- Outputting complex, one-stop shop reports from all your ads activity and platforms to Google DataStudio or Microsoft Power BI
- Automating the process of adding new keywords based on search queries coming through at scale
- Creating custom bidding strategies based on your specific dataset – for example, if an ad is losing impression share due to budget, BigQuery can help us spot that quickly and allocate budget to it, reigniting performance
- Creating bespoke SQL logic tailored to the dimensions and metrics that matter most to you – for example, return on ad spend across all of your platforms
Want to know more about how BigQuery could work with your GA4 setup? Get in touch with us today.
