Google Analytics Audit Test #

59

Google Analytics Linked to BigQuery

Why It Matters:

Critical to retaining critical data and ongoing analysis & optimization.

Industries:

All

Checks For:

Utility

How powerful is your current implementation?

Insight Category:

Behavior

Can you tell what visitors are doing?

Google Analytics Audit logo

Background

A GA4 audit is essential for uncovering missing insights—key data points that organizations don't yet know and can act upon. A well-done audit evaluates both behavioral tracking and traffic attribution, ensuring each is accurate and useful. It also assesses whether the data collected truly supports business decisions and reporting.

Test Detail

This test checks whether your GA4 property is connected to BigQuery—Google’s cloud-based data warehouse.

BigQuery gives you raw, unsampled GA4 event data and the ability to:

  • run advanced queries,
  • join data sources,
  • build dashboards,
  • and conduct robust analysis at scale.

Without this connection, you’re limited to GA4’s UI and API constraints.

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Google Analytics audit test results.

How to Conduct This Test

Basic Tests

  • In Google Analytics, go to Admin > Product Links > BigQuery Links.
    • Check whether a BigQuery project is linked and whether the status is Active.
    • Click into the linked project to confirm:
      • Export frequency is set to Daily (and optionally Streaming).
      • A valid dataset name is provided (usually analytics_XXXXX).
      • Tables are being populated in BigQuery (look for recent events_YYYYMMDD tables).
  • If there’s no link or data hasn’t been exporting recently, you’re missing out on one of GA4’s most powerful features.

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How To Fix

  • In Google Analytics Admin, go to Product Links > BigQuery Links and click Link.
  • Choose the correct Google Cloud project (you’ll need editor or owner access).
  • Enable Daily export (and Streaming export if you need real-time access).
  • Confirm your billing is active in Google Cloud, and permissions are correctly configured.
  • Monitor the BigQuery tables regularly to ensure data is flowing.
  • Hire a pro to configure BigQuery, optimize your warehouse schema, and unlock the full potential of raw Google Analytics data.

Tips from a Google Analytics Consultant

Focus on Insights

Every Google Analytics audit should result in a plan for more insights.

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An insight is:

  • something you don't know
  • and can act on to improve performance

The Goal

Identify and remove insight blockers. Don't get tempted to track things you can't act on!

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