Using Looker BI with Power My Analytics

Using Looker BI with Power My Analytics

Info
Looker BI (Beta) is a premium add-on that turns your warehoused marketing data into interactive dashboards and automated alerts, powered by Google's Looker. Because each workspace is configured and managed by our team, onboarding is hands-on and starts with a quick conversation with us.

Why Use Looker BI?

With Looker BI connected to your Power My Analytics data, you can:
  • Build interactive dashboards on top of your marketing data, with drill-downs and custom explores.
  • Set alerts that notify you automatically when metrics cross the thresholds you care about.
  • Explore and visualize data from across your connectors in one place.
  • Add your own views, explores, and measures as your reporting needs grow.

Who Can Use Looker BI?

Looker BI is a premium, white-glove service available to customers on a Custom plan (formerly Enterprise) with BigQuery exports enabled. Your marketing data is exported from the Hub into your own BigQuery dataset (using Data Builder exports), which Looker then connects to.

Alert
Because Looker BI includes hands-on onboarding and ongoing support from our team, it carries premium pricing. Please contact our sales team to discuss pricing and confirm it's the right fit for your needs before getting started.

How Onboarding Works

Looker BI onboarding is currently a guided, manual process handled by our team. To get started, contact our sales team at sales@powermyanalytics.com. We'll walk you through connecting your BigQuery data and setting up your Looker workspace.

Before you reach out, complete the one-time setup below so we can configure your connection quickly.

Before You Begin: Create a Service Account

Looker connects to your BigQuery dataset using a dedicated Google Cloud service account that you create and control. A service account is a special Google account used by software rather than a person: it's what lets Looker read your data, and because you create it, you decide exactly which dataset Looker can see.

You'll do this in the Google Cloud Console in three short parts: create the service account, create a key, and give that account access to your dataset.

Step 1: Create the Service Account

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, open the navigation menu and go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.

  1. Click + Create service account.


  1. Enter a name (for example, "looker"). A description is optional, so you can leave it blank. Click Create and continue.


  1. In the Permissions step, open the Select a role menu and choose BigQuery > BigQuery Job User. This role lets the account run queries against your data.


  1. You can leave the optional Service account users role and Service account admins role fields blank.


  1. Click Continue, then Done to finish creating the account.


Step 2: Create a Key

This downloads a small JSON file that Looker uses to authenticate.
  1. Back on the Service Accounts page, click the looker account you just created.


  1. Open the Keys tab, then click Add key > Create new key.


  1. Choose JSON and click Create.


  1. The key downloads to your computer and now appears in the list as Active. Click Close.
  1. Save the JSON file somewhere secure that you can share with us later.


Notes
Your JSON key file is a credential that grants access to your data. Store it securely and share it with us only through a secure channel. If you ever lose access to the key, you can simply create a new one.

Step 3: Grant the Service Account Access to Your Dataset

Now give the account permission to read your data. In BigQuery, data is organized as Project > Dataset > Data Table. Your dataset can be one you populated from Power My Analytics Data Builder, the Google Analytics native BigQuery export, or another source.
  1. Open BigQuery. In the Explorer, find your dataset and click the three dots next to the dataset (not the project or a table).


  1. Choose Share > Manage permissions.


  1. Click + Add principal.


  1. Open the JSON file you downloaded and copy the client_email value.


  1. Paste that email into the New principals field.


  1. Select the role BigQuery > BigQuery Data Viewer, then click Save.


What to Send Us

When you contact us, please have the following ready:
  1. Your GCP project ID.
  2. Your service account JSON key file.
  3. The BigQuery dataset name you granted the service account access to.
  4. (Optional) A Git repository URL, if you'd like to own your LookML code. If you don't provide one, we'll set this up for you.
  5. The list of email addresses you'd like us to invite to your Looker workspace.

What You'll Get

Once onboarding is complete, you'll have:
  1. Invitations to your Looker workspace for each email you provided.
  2. A project with a working connection to your BigQuery dataset.
  3. The ability to edit views, add explores, and build your own dashboards.

Logging In

After we've set up your workspace, you'll receive an email invitation from Power My Analytics.
  1. Open the invitation email and click the link to create your account.


  2. Enter your name, email address, and a password. Once your account is created, you'll be directed to Looker automatically.


  3. For future visits, sign in at powermyanalyticsbi.cloud.looker.com/login. After you log in, you'll land on the Looker home page.

Creating and Deploying Your First View

Before you can explore your data, your project needs a View: a LookML file that tells Looker how to read the tables in your BigQuery dataset. Creating one is a quick save, validate, and deploy flow, and you won't need to write any code.
Notes
The example screenshots show Google Analytics data from the native BigQuery export. Your File Browser will show the dataset you shared with us, and the default schema works as-is.
  1. Switch to Development Mode using the toggle in the left menu.


  2. Go to Develop in the left menu.


  3. Click your project. It should be the only one listed.


  4. Looker opens the File Browser for your project. You can adjust the schema here if needed; most users won't need to change anything.


  5. Click Save Changes.


  6. Once your changes are saved, click Validate LookML.


  7. Click Commit Changes & Push.


  8. Describe any changes you made in the Message field, then click Commit.


  9. Click Deploy to Production.

That's it: your View is created, and you're ready to explore data and build dashboards.


Exploring Looker BI Data


With your View deployed, you can explore your data, build visualizations, and save them to dashboards.

Run Your First Exploration

  1. In the File Browser, click the dropdown next to the View you created and click the Explore option (in this example, Explore Events).


  2. Find the dimensions and measures you want to explore, and click each one to add it to the query.


  3. Click Visualization to choose a visualization type, then click Run.


  4. Your visualization appears.

Save a Visualization to a Dashboard

  1. Click the gear icon in the top right corner, click Save, and choose whether to save to a new or an existing dashboard.


  2. If you're creating a new dashboard, name it, choose which folder should contain it, and click Save.


  3. Click View Dashboard to open the dashboard with your new visualization added.




You can find your dashboard anytime under Folders, inside the folder you chose.


Create a Board (Optional)

Boards let you pin your favorite dashboards in one place for quick access.
  1. From the home page, create a new board.


  2. Give it a name and click Create Board.

Questions?

To get started or ask about pricing, contact our sales team at sales@powermyanalytics.com. For general questions, you can also submit a ticket.

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