Prerequisites
- A Google Analytics 4 property (Universal Analytics is no longer supported by Google)
- A Google account with at least Viewer access to the property
- Your clariBI account on any plan (including Trial)
Step 1: Start the Connection
Navigate to Data Sources and click Add Source. Select Google Analytics as the data source type.
Click Connect with Google. This opens a Google sign-in window.
Step 2: Authorize Access
In the Google authorization screen:
- Select the Google account associated with your Analytics property.
- Review the permissions clariBI requests:
- View your Google Analytics data -- read-only access to your metrics and dimensions
- Click Allow.
clariBI stores an encrypted refresh token. You will not need to re-authorize unless you revoke access from your Google account settings.
Step 3: Select Your Property
After authorization, clariBI shows a list of GA4 properties accessible to your Google account. Select the property you want to connect and click Continue.
If you manage many properties, use the search field to filter by property name or ID.
Step 4: Choose Metrics and Dimensions
clariBI provides a selection interface showing available metrics and dimensions organized by category.
Available Metrics
| Category | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Users | Active users, new users, returning users, total users |
| Sessions | Sessions, engaged sessions, sessions per user, engagement rate |
| Pageviews | Page views, views per session, unique page views |
| Events | Event count, events per session, conversions |
| Revenue | Total revenue, purchase revenue, average purchase value |
| Engagement | Average engagement time, bounce rate, scroll depth |
Available Dimensions
| Category | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Traffic | Source, medium, campaign, channel group |
| Geography | Country, city, region, language |
| Technology | Device category, browser, operating system, screen resolution |
| Pages | Page path, page title, landing page, exit page |
| Time | Date, hour, day of week, month |
| Demographics | Age, gender, interests (if enabled in GA4) |
Select the metrics and dimensions you want clariBI to sync. You can always modify this selection later in the data source settings.
Step 5: Configure Date Range and Sync
Initial Import Range -- how far back to pull historical data. Options: 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, or custom date range. Larger ranges take longer to sync initially.
Sync Frequency -- how often clariBI pulls new data:
- Daily (recommended for most use cases)
- Hourly (for real-time monitoring dashboards)
- Weekly
- Manual
Click Connect to start the initial sync.
Step 6: Review and Adjust
After the initial sync completes, review the imported data in the data source detail page:
- Row count -- verify the number of rows matches your expectations for the selected date range
- Column list -- confirm all selected metrics and dimensions appear
- Sample data -- check the first few rows to ensure values look correct
You can adjust the metric/dimension selection at any time by going to the data source settings and clicking Edit Configuration. Changes take effect on the next sync.
Data Freshness
Google Analytics data is subject to processing delays. GA4 typically has a 24- to 48-hour delay for finalized data. Preliminary data is available sooner but may change slightly as Google processes it.
clariBI syncs the data as reported by Google at sync time. If you notice small discrepancies between clariBI and the GA4 interface, the data may not be fully processed yet.
Handling Sampling
For properties with very high traffic volumes, GA4 may return sampled data (an estimate based on a subset of sessions). clariBI displays a sampling indicator when this occurs. To reduce sampling:
- Narrow the date range
- Reduce the number of dimensions requested
- Use the GA4 BigQuery export for unsampled data (connect via the BigQuery data source type)
Connecting Multiple Properties
If you manage multiple GA4 properties (different websites, apps, or business units), you can connect each as a separate data source in clariBI. This allows you to:
- Build separate dashboards for each property
- Create cross-property comparison reports by placing widgets from different sources on the same dashboard
- Track organization-wide metrics by combining data in the AI conversational interface
Each property connection uses one of your plan's data source slots.
Using GA Data in clariBI
Once connected, you can:
- Build dashboards with GA metrics using line charts, bar charts, and metric widgets
- Run AI analyses -- ask questions like "What drove the traffic increase last week?" or "Which channels have the highest conversion rate?"
- Generate reports that combine GA data with other sources for a complete business view
- Set goals tracking specific GA metrics (e.g., "Reach 10,000 monthly active users by Q4")
Troubleshooting
Authorization fails: Make sure third-party cookies are enabled in your browser during the OAuth flow. Some ad blockers interfere with Google's authorization page.
No properties appear: Your Google account may not have access to any GA4 properties. Check your permissions in the Google Analytics admin panel.
Data seems incomplete: Check the date range configuration and remember GA4's processing delay. Data for the current day is always preliminary.
Sync errors after initial success: Your refresh token may have been revoked. Go to the data source settings and click Reauthorize to generate a new token.