How to Export Google Analytics 3 Data Before the Shutdown
Easy Steps and Solutions

Understanding the Different Ways to Export GA3 Data

There are several ways to export Google Analytics 3 data, including export options within the Google Analytics 3 User Interface, programmatically via Google's built-in Reporting API and third-party tools like Supermetrics, OWOX BI, Analytics Edge, Funnel.io and others. Let's take a closer look at how to export google analytics raw data:

Using the Google Analytics User Interface

The Google Analytics user interface itself supports exporting GA3 data in each report. You can download reports in PDF, CSV, TSV, TSV for Excel, Excel (XLSX), and JSON formats. This method requires extensive manual work and can be time-consuming, especially if you have many properties or views to export.

The Google Analytics Reporting API v4

Advanced users can utilize the Google Analytics API to export their data. To begin, you'll need to set up a project in the Google Developers Console and enable the Google Analytics API. Then, obtain an API key or OAuth 2.0 client ID to authenticate your requests. Next, you can use the API to query for the data you need, specifying metrics, dimensions, and other parameters. A good starting point is Google's documentation on the Reporting API.

However, this method comes with several pain points:

• Technical expertise: Using the Google Analytics API requires a solid understanding of programming languages, APIs, and the Google Analytics data model. This can be a significant barrier for non-developers.
• Complexity: Crafting API queries can be complex and time-consuming, as you need to specify metrics, dimensions, and filters precisely to retrieve the desired data.
• Data limits: The API limits the amount of data you can request per query, meaning you may need to make multiple requests to export all your GA3 data.
• Data processing: Once you have the data, you'll need to process, clean, and format it into a usable format, which can be a time-consuming and error-prone process.

Export to Google Sheets

Google Offers a Google Sheet extension to connect to Google Analytics and Download Data. You will have to still do that for all reports you need and define their respective dimensions and metrics. We have an extended article on this topic here.

Third Party Tools

There are several third-party tools available that can help you obtain a google analytics export. These tools often provide user-friendly interfaces and automate the export process, making it easier than using Google Analytics' built-in reports or API. Some popular tools include Supermetrics, OWOX BI, Analytics Edge, Mattilion, Funnel.io, Data Studio and many more. Let's take a closer look at some of these options and the effort involved:

• Supermetrics, Mattilion, Funnel.io, etc. are widely-used data integration tools that connects data sources including Google Analytics to various platforms like Databases, Google Sheets, Excel, and Data Studio. To use for example Supermetrics, you'll need to sign up for an account, install the corresponding add-on or connector for your desired platform, and authenticate your Google Analytics account. While Supermetrics simplifies the process of exporting GA3 data, it requires a paid subscription, which may not suit everyone's budget. Additionally, it's essential to ensure that you correctly configure the tool to retrieve all relevant data. This involves selecting the appropriate dimensions and metrics manually for each report, which can be time-consuming and may require a solid understanding of Google Analytics to choose the right combinations.
• Analytics Edge is an Excel add-in that enables you to connect your Google Analytics account and download data directly into Excel spreadsheets. You'll need to purchase the Analytics Edge Core Add-in and the Google Analytics connector, install them in Excel, and authenticate your Google Analytics account. While this tool offers a convenient way to export GA3 data, it comes at a cost and requires a good understanding of Excel to use and analyze the data effectively. Moreover, similar to Supermetrics, you'll need to manually choose the dimensions and metrics for each report in Analytics Edge. This can be a cumbersome process, especially if you're unfamiliar with the various dimensions and metrics in Google Analytics.
• Google Data Studio is a free data visualization tool that can connect to your Google Analytics account. You can create custom reports and visualizations based on your ga data. However, Data Studio is primarily a visualization tool not specifically designed to export raw data. To export your data, you need to create a report with all the necessary metrics and dimensions and then download the report in PDF or CSV format. This process can be time-consuming and may not be the most efficient method for exporting large amounts of GA3 data.

While these tools are more user-friendly than exporting the data via the Reporting API, they still require you to spend significant time working out which graphs to export, selecting dimensions and metrics and essentially generating the reports on your own.