Google Analytics Connector for C#

Google Analytics Connector can be used to read data from Google Analytics Service without learning complex API. Easy to use interface allows you extract large amount of data adjusting parameters such as dimensions, metrics, filters, sortby, date range etc. You can also use inbuilt reports or specify direct query URL to get desired data.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Google Analytics data in C#. We will use high-performance Google Analytics Connector to easily connect to Google Analytics and then access the data inside C#.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Google Analytics Connector for C# is based on which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Google Analytics using C# we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Google Analytics. We will later be able to read data using C#. Perform these steps:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on :
- Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
- Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Google Analytics" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Google Analytics" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

GoogleAnalyticsDSN

Google Analytics

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

OAuth Authentication

Google Analytics authentication

Amazon OAuth Security Profile has be created in Amazon Developer portal. [API reference]

Firstly, login into Amazon Developer portal in https://developer.amazon.com.
Then click Sign in.
If you don't have an account, press Create your Amazon Developer account button to create one.
Once logged in, click on your profile icon on the right-top of the window and hit Settings:
Then click Security Profiles and proceed with creating a new Security Profile:

After that, click Web Settings subtab, then hit Show Secret button to reveal the Client Secret (you will need it later), and click Edit to add a Redirect URL:

Continue by setting Allowed Return URLs (you can have your own or use https://zappysys.com/oauth):
Done! Now you can use Client ID, Client Secret, and Redirect URL when configuring OAuth Authentication parameters:

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth Authentication [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

GoogleAnalyticsDSN

Google Analytics

OAuth Authentication [OAuth]

https://advertising-api.amazon.com/v2

Required Parameters
ClientId	Fill-in the parameter...
ClientSecret	Fill-in the parameter...
AuthorizationUrl	Fill-in the parameter...
ReturnUrl	Fill-in the parameter...
Scope	Fill-in the parameter...
Profile (click 'Generate Token' before this)	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

- Google Analytics

Google Analytics Connector can be used to read data from Google Analytics Service without learning complex API. Easy to use interface allows you extract large amount of data adjusting parameters such as dimensions, metrics, filters, sortby, date range etc. You can also use inbuilt reports or specify direct query URL to get desired data.

GoogleAnalyticsDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in C# to retrieve data from Google Analytics. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Orders
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Google Analytics API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in C#:
- Google Analytics

Google Analytics Connector can be used to read data from Google Analytics Service without learning complex API. Easy to use interface allows you extract large amount of data adjusting parameters such as dimensions, metrics, filters, sortby, date range etc. You can also use inbuilt reports or specify direct query URL to get desired data.

GoogleAnalyticsDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Orders
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Google Analytics API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Google Analytics servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Read data in C#

Using ODBC DSN

Use this code snippet to read the data using GoogleAnalyticsDSN data source:

"GoogleAnalyticsDSN" ;
Press F5 to run the code and read the data:

Here is the code in text format:

using System;
using System.Data.Odbc;

namespace ConsoleApp {
    class Program {
        static void Main() {
            var dsn = "GoogleAnalyticsDSN";
            using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(String.Format("DSN={0}", dsn)))
            {
                conn.Open();
                var cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT * FROM Products", conn);
                
                //Increase the timeout duration from the default 30 seconds, which may be insufficient in certain scenarios
                cmd.CommandTimeout=600; // 600-Seconds
                
                var rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
                while (rdr.Read())
                {
                    for (int i = 0; i < rdr.FieldCount; i++)
                    {
                            Console.Write("{0}\t", rdr[i]);
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine();
                }
            }
            Console.ReadKey();
        }
    }
}

Using a full ODBC connection string

If you want to avoid being dependent on a DSN and creating multiple DSNs for each platform (x86, x64), then you can use a fully qualified connection string. Simply go to your DSN and copy the Connection String:

Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:

- Configuration [Version: 2.0.1.10418]

- Google Analytics

Google Analytics Connector can be used to read data from Google Analytics Service without learning complex API. Easy to use interface allows you extract large amount of data adjusting parameters such as dimensions, metrics, filters, sortby, date range etc. You can also use inbuilt reports or specify direct query URL to get desired data.

GoogleAnalyticsDSN
The window opens, telling us the connection string was successfully copied to the clipboard:

Then in your C# code, pass the connection string as an argument when calling the OdbcConnection object's constructor, for example:

var connectionString = @"DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};ServiceUrl=https://advertising-api.amazon.com/v2;Provider=Custom;OAuthVersion=OAuth2;AuthUrl=[$AuthorizationUrl$];ClientId=[$AppId$];Scope=[$Scope$];TokenUrl=https://api.amazon.com/auth/o2/token;ScopeSeparator={space};ContentType=application/x-www-form-urlencoded;";

using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
{
    // your code goes here
}

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide Google Analytics data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

Centralized data access
The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
Centralized access control
Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

	Data Gateway	Local ODBC data source
Simple configuration
Installation	Single machine	Per machine
Connectivity	Local and remote	Local only
Connections limit	Limited by License	Unlimited
Central data access
Central access control
More flexible cost

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to Google Analytics, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in C#.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating Google Analytics data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Google Analytics in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click Add button
- In Login field enter username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click Add button
- Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native -
- Finally, click OK
GoogleAnalyticsDSN
When the configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.
Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.
This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from C#. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.
Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

GatewayDSN

localhost,5000

Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.
Proceed with authentication part:
- Select SQL Server authentication
- In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
- Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
Then set the default database property to GoogleAnalyticsDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

GoogleAnalyticsDSN
Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:
Once you do that, test the connection:
If connection is successful, everything is good:
Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in C# via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from Google Analytics in C# via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

Go back to C#.
Use this code snippet to read the data using GatewayDSN data source:

"GatewayDSN" ;
Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.
That's it!

Now you can connect to Google Analytics data in C# via the Data Gateway.

If you are asked for authentication details, use Database authentication or SQL Authentication option and enter credentials you used when configuring Data Gateway, e.g. john and your password.