How to Create a BigQuery Account & Connect It to Looker Studio

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to set up Google BigQuery and connect it to Looker Studio
By the end, you’ll be able to:
✅ Create a BigQuery account and set up your first project
✅ Import and query datasets efficiently (handle 1TB+ data!)
✅ Connect BigQuery to Looker Studio for visual analysis

📌 Why Use BigQuery?

Google BigQuery is a cloud-based data warehouse that allows you to:
✔ Handle huge datasets (1TB+) without slowing down
✔ Query and preview data without sampling issues
✔ Perform fast SQL queries for analysis
✔ Integrate seamlessly with Looker Studio to create reports

💡 Problem with Google Sheets & Google Analytics?

• Google Sheets cannot handle very large datasets (limited to ~10M cells).
• Google Analytics (GA4) samples data, making analysis inaccurate.
• BigQuery provides raw, unsampled data and allows real-time querying.

🚀 Step-by-Step Guide

1️⃣ Create a BigQuery Account

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Click “Select a Project” → Create New Project
3. Enable BigQuery API under the “APIs & Services” tab
4. Set up Billing (Required for full access, but free tier available)
5. Open BigQuery Console under Big Data > BigQuery

2️⃣ Import Data to BigQuery

1. Go to the search bar
2. Type something like covid, ecommerce or GA4

3️⃣ Connect BigQuery to Looker Studio

1. Open Looker Studio (Click Here)
2. Click “Create a New Report”
3. Click “Add Data” → Select “BigQuery”
4. Click on number 4 which is Public Data
5. Type something like covid, ecommerce or GA4
6. Build your dashboard with charts & tables

🎯 Key Takeaways

✅ BigQuery handles large datasets efficiently (1TB+ with fast querying)
✅ Looker Studio transforms BigQuery data into powerful reports
✅ No data sampling issues compared to Google Analytics
✅ Best for eCommerce, business intelligence, and marketing reports

📥 Additional Resources

• Google BigQuery Documentation
• Looker Studio Documentation
• Google Cloud Pricing Calculator