WebProNews

This week Google unveiled the Data Feed Query Explorer for the Google Analytics Data Export API. This was essentially created to help users get a grasp on what can be done with the API.

"Isolate, integrate, and share the data that you want to see in a huge variety of ways. Still, it's this first step that can be overwhelming," says Nick Mihailovski of the Google Analytics API Team. "How to build a query from scratch, especially when you're used to the point-and-click experience of the your Google Analytics account's reports?"

The Query Explorer allows you to:

- See the data feed request constructed for you as you select different dimensions and metrics

- Figure out exactly which metric/dimension combination works

- Dial in the exact sorting and filtering that you need

- Use the permalink for any query that you build

"The Query Explorer is the perfect place to start exploring the Data Export API," says Mihailovski. "You can use the tool to quickly get data from your Analytics account before you even start to write your first line of code. Log into the tool, select a profile, and get a display of data in seconds. From there, you can figure out just what data you want, while at the same time learning how to use the API."

Documentation links are included with the tool. Users should keep in mind that the tool is in beta. Google says they just wanted to get it released as soon as possible so users could start exploring the API.