Forum Discussion
Discrepency between Google analytics connector and google analytics
Hi Everyone, Has anybody used the Google analytics connector in Power BI. I am using it to do reporting on our Intranet. But I am running into discrepancy issues between GA and the GA connector in Power BI. I did a bit more research and found that it uses the Google Core reporting API V2 and the issue is due to a limitation on the API part. It said that you need to reduce your API calls in such a way that the 500k session limit is not crossed. If it crosses that limit, GA samples your data and returns an estimated number. But even if I pull results for 1 week worth of data where I don't cross the return call threshold, the numbers between Google Analytics and what the connector returns, don't match. Has anybody else come across this issue?.
6 Replies
Hi Greg, thanks for your reply. I did do my research and I agree that the second post does make a lot of sense, But sampling is only supposed to happen if you cross the 500k session threshold. In that case, the second solution would be helpful. But, I am running into discrepency issues with 7 days worth of data where I don't cross the threshold set by Google Analytics. This is the part that I don't understand. Is there an issue with the connector, the way it is calling and using the Core reporting API?. Or is it an issue with the documentation.
- Well, my understanding of the issue is that Google changes their core reporting API fairly frequently so since the Microsoft connectors and such rely on this core reporting API, when changes are made there can end up being discrepancies. Now, that's the official line as I understand it.
- Yes, this is a well known issue. Search the forums for similar threads, there are quite a few of them.
Hi mady90 ,
The Google Analytics content pack and the connector in Power BI Desktop rely on the Google Analytics Core Reporting API. As such, features and availability may vary over time.
The connector is a Third-Party Service, it warns about how features and availability may change over time, and other clarifications when you use it in power bi desktop.
About changing APIs:
Although we attempt to release updates in accordance with any changes, the API may change in a way that affects the results of the queries we generate. In some cases, certain queries may no longer be supported. Due to this dependency we cannot guarantee the results of your queries when using this connector.
More details on changes to the Google Analytics API can be found in their changelog.
Best Regards,
Yingjie LiIf this post helps then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
