An Ultimate Guide on Google Search Console Data & BigQuery To Improve Analytics

Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful tool for SEO professionals, but using the interface exclusively can come with limitations. To overcome these limitations, Google has introduced a native GSC to Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) connector. This integration allows users to directly pull data from GSC into Looker Studio to create customizable reports and dashboards without needing third-party connectors or additional API configurations.

Break Free From Data Constraints With BigQuery Bulk Exports

In February 2023, Google introduced an automated, built-in bulk data export to BigQuery, Google’s data warehouse storage solution. This feature was initially meant for websites that received traffic to tens of thousands of pages and/or from tens of thousands of queries.

Data Volumes

Currently, you have three data export options beyond the BigQuery bulk data export:

Most of the reports in GSC allow you to export up to 1,000 rows
You can get up to 50,000 rows via a Looker Studio integration.
With the API, you get up to 50,000 rows.

However, there are no row limits when you use the BigQuery bulk export. BigQuery’s bulk data export allows you to pull all rows of data available in your GSC account. This makes BigQuery much more suitable for large websites or SEO analyses requiring a complete dataset.

Data Retention

Google BigQuery enables unlimited data retention, allowing SEO pros to perform historical trend analyses that are not restricted by the 16-month data storage limit in Google Search Console. This means you gain a real capacity to see evolutions over multiple years, and better understand and analyze progressions.

Benefits of Bulk Data Exports

There are several benefits of exporting Search Console data to BigQuery.

Analyze Google Search traffic in more detail.
Run complex queries and create custom reports.
Store data as long as you want.
Create and execute machine learning models.
Apply pre-existing data security rules.

Key Takeaways

The integration of Google Search Console with BigQuery provides a powerful tool for SEO professionals. It allows for more detailed analysis, complex queries, custom reports, unlimited data retention, and the application of pre-existing data security rules. This guide provides an overview of how to leverage these features for improved analytics.