How To Use Google Analytics Api In Java

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by

Vector Linux
in

Rephrased: Google Analytics is a robust tool that enables tracking and analysis of user activity on your website. As a developer, you may desire to go beyond the typical web interface and programmatically access Google Analytics data. In this article, I will provide guidance on utilizing the Google Analytics API in Java.

Setting Up Google Analytics API

To get started, you will need to have a Google account and create a project in the Google Developers Console. Once you have set up your project, you can enable the Google Analytics API by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Google Developers Console and select your project.
  2. Click on the “Enable APIs and Services” button.
  3. Search for “Google Analytics API” and click on it.
  4. Click on the “Enable” button.

Now that you have enabled the API, you will need to create credentials to authenticate your Java application.

Creating Credentials

To create credentials for your Java application, follow these steps:

  1. Go back to the Google Developers Console and select your project.
  2. Click on the “Credentials” tab in the sidebar.
  3. Click on the “Create credentials” button and select “Service account”.
  4. Fill in the required information and click on the “Create” button.
  5. Download the JSON file containing your credentials.

Make sure to keep your credentials file secure, as it contains sensitive information.

Setting Up Dependencies

To use the Google Analytics API in your Java project, you will need to add the necessary dependencies to your build file. If you are using Maven, you can add the following dependency:


<dependency>
<groupId>com.google.api-client</groupId>
<artifactId>google-api-client</artifactId>
<version>1.31.0</version>
</dependency>

If you are using Gradle, you can add the following dependency:


implementation 'com.google.api-client:google-api-client:1.31.0'

Authenticating with Google Analytics API

Now that you have set up the API and obtained your credentials, you can authenticate your Java application. Here is an example of how to authenticate using the Google Analytics API:


GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.fromStream(new FileInputStream("path/to/credentials.json"))
.createScoped(Collections.singleton(AnalyticsScopes.ALL));

Replace “path/to/credentials.json” with the actual path to your credentials file.

Accessing Google Analytics Data

With authentication in place, you can start accessing Google Analytics data. Here is an example of how to retrieve the number of sessions for a specific date range:


Analytics analytics = new Analytics.Builder(GoogleNetHttpTransport.newTrustedTransport(), JacksonFactory.getDefaultInstance(), credential)
.setApplicationName("Your Application Name")
.build();

Get get = analytics.data().ga().get("ga:YOUR_VIEW_ID", "2019-01-01", "2019-01-31", "ga:sessions");
GaData data = get.execute();
System.out.println("Number of sessions: " + data.getTotalsForAllResults().get("ga:sessions"));

Replace “YOUR_VIEW_ID” with the view ID of your Google Analytics property.

Conclusion

Using the Google Analytics API in Java opens up a world of possibilities for tracking and analyzing user behavior on your website. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily set up the API, authenticate your application, and start accessing Google Analytics data programmatically. With the power of Java, you can customize and automate your analytics workflows to gain deeper insights into your website’s performance.