When you think of “programming languages for data,” Javascript probably doesn’t even make the list. Yet, if you’re using Dataform, it’s almost impossible to avoid. As you’ll learn in this article, Dataform is Javascript all the way down. Even SQLX files that you write are pretty much just Javascript files under the covers. So shed …
You may have heard about Dataform or even be curious about using it. If so, you’re in the right place. My goal in this post is to introduce the tool and the interesting story and technology behind it. We’ll start with a brief history, then zoom through the context in which it arose, and finally …
How does Dataform work? A primer on the ref function Read More »
You may have heard the hype about integrating Google Search Console and Google BigQuery using the new Bulk Export feature. If you’re like me, you recognize the power of analyzing SEO data with SQL or the BI tool of your choice (you’ve probably heard of Looker and Looker Studio.) Or you might be thinking to …
Google Search Console to BigQuery: The Complete Guide to GSC Bulk Export Read More »
I’ve had a few SEO consulting projects lately that have given me a chance to work with many more keywords than anybody should be working within a spreadsheet. When I come across these types of projects, I use the same workflow: bring all the data into a database and run the analyses in SQL. I …
SQL for SEO: A step-by-step keyword analytics tutorial Read More »
The SQL LISTAGG function in Snowflake or Redshift (or STRING_AGG in BigQuery) are aggregation functions that condense textual data into easy-to-view reports. Similar to other aggregation functions (like SUM or MAX), these functions aggregate data according to the column names in a GROUP BY clause. This is a common pattern for rolling up a column …
A better way to LISTAGG in Google Sheets (with Pivot Tables) Read More »
In the first post in the Minimum Viable Data Stack series, we set up a process to start using SQL to analyze CSV data. We set up a Postgres database instance on a Mac personal computer, uploaded a CSV file, and wrote a query to analyze the data in the CSV file. That’s a good …
Setting up Airbyte ETL: Minimum Viable Data Stack Part II Read More »
“A spreadsheet is just data in single-player mode” Last week I made a mistake. I boldly claimed that “A spreadsheet is just data in single-player mode.” And while I stand by that claim. I didn’t expect to be called to account for it. As it turns out, the post was pretty popular and I think …
From Spreadsheets to SQL: Step One towards the Minimum Viable Data Stack Read More »
As a data analyst, your credibility is as valuable as your analytical skills. And to maintain your credibility, it’s important to be able to answer questions correctly and consistently. That’s why you must be careful to integrate reproducibility into your SQL analyses. This tutorial is going to show you how you can use Redshift User …
Intro to SQL User-Defined Functions: A Redshift UDF Tutorial Read More »
As a digital marketer, I use SQL every single day. And looking back on my career so far, it would be fair (though a bit reductive) to say that I could define my career by two distinct periods: before I learned SQL and after I learned SQL. The two periods are distinct for three main …
Getting Started with SQL for Marketing (with Facebook Ads Example) Read More »
This is part t in the $10k Technical Skills for Digital Marketing Series. Part one introduced the importance of learning client-side technologies and offers a plan to learn Javascript, HTML and CSS for digital marketing. This post broadens the picture by introducing server-side programming and databases, which together compose web applications. Understanding how web applications work …
Learn Programming and Databases for Digital Marketing | $10k Tech Skills 2/4 Read More »
