Build a Lightweight CDP with Segment and BigQuery

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Ever wanted to build your own Customer Data Platform (CDP) but felt overwhelmed? You’re not alone. The good news is — it’s totally doable. And you don’t need an army of engineers or a fancy enterprise tool. All you need is Segment, BigQuery and a pinch of know-how.

Let’s take a fun and simple journey into building a lightweight CDP to track, store, and analyze customer data. Ready? Let’s gooo 🚀

What’s a CDP and Why Should You Care?

A Customer Data Platform collects and centralizes customer information. That means you get a 360° view of your users — how they behave, what they love, and where they drop off.

Traditionally, building a CDP was no joke. Big budgets. Complex systems. Tears.

But now, tools like Segment and BigQuery make it easy, fast, and fun. Here’s what we’ll do:

  • Use Segment to track user behavior
  • Send that data to BigQuery
  • Query, visualize and make smart decisions

Step 1: Getting Data In with Segment

Segment is like a magical funnel. It captures data from your website or app and routes it to tools like BigQuery, Google Analytics, or Slack (if you’re into that).

Here’s what Segment does a-maz-ing-ly well:

  • Collects clean, structured data
  • Requires minimal code
  • Works with loads of tools

To get started:

  1. Create a Segment account
  2. Add your website or app as a source
  3. Install the Segment SDK

Let’s say we’re tracking an ecommerce site. Add this simple snippet to your site’s head tag:

<script>
  !function(){var analytics=window.analytics=window.analytics||[];if(!analytics.initialize)
  if(analytics.invoked)window.console&&console.error("Segment snippet included twice.");else{
  analytics.invoked=!0;analytics.methods=["trackSubmit","trackClick","trackLink","trackForm",
  "pageview","identify","reset","group","track","ready","alias","debug","page","once","off","on"];
  analytics.factory=function(t){return function(){var e=Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
  e.unshift(t);analytics.push(e);return analytics}};for(var t=0;t<analytics.methods.length;t++){
  var e=analytics.methods[t];analytics[e]=analytics.factory(e)}analytics.load=function(t){
  var e=document.createElement("script");e.type="text/javascript";e.async=!0;
  e.src="https://cdn.segment.com/analytics.js/v1/" + t + "/analytics.min.js";
  var n=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n)};
  analytics.SNIPPET_VERSION="4.1.0";
  analytics.load("YOUR_WRITE_KEY");
  analytics.page();
  }}();
</script>

Replace YOUR_WRITE_KEY with the one from your Segment dashboard. Boom. You’re tracking page views!

Want to track user sign-ups too?

analytics.track('Signed Up', {
  plan: 'Pro',
  source: 'Landing Page'
});

Every time a user signs up, Segment sends this data to its pipeline. Next stop: BigQuery!

Step 2: Send Data to BigQuery

Head to your Segment dashboard and discover the power of Destinations. Add BigQuery as a destination and configure it with your Google Cloud project.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A Google Cloud Platform account
  • A BigQuery dataset
  • Service account key in JSON format

Segment will ask for this info and handle the rest. Channels are open: your event data starts flowing into BigQuery in real-time ⚡

You’ll see tables like:

  • pages: page visits
  • tracks: events like sign-ups, purchases
  • identifies: user identification and traits

Step 3: Making Magic with SQL

Now the fun begins. You have a mountain of data at your fingertips. Let’s dig into it with some simple SQL queries.

Want to know how many sign-ups happened by day?

SELECT 
  DATE(event_timestamp) AS signup_date,
  COUNT(*) AS total_signups
FROM 
  `your_project.your_dataset.tracks`
WHERE 
  name = 'Signed Up'
GROUP BY 
  signup_date
ORDER BY 
  signup_date;

Or how about checking which plan is most popular?

SELECT 
  properties.plan AS plan_type,
  COUNT(*) AS total
FROM 
  `your_project.your_dataset.tracks`
WHERE 
  name = 'Signed Up'
GROUP BY 
  plan_type
ORDER BY 
  total DESC;

BigQuery’s SQL is lightning-fast, even for huge datasets. Perfect for when your startup becomes Internet-famous. 🌟

Step 4: Turn Data into Beautiful Dashboards

You’ve got the data. You’ve got the insights. Now, make it pretty.

The easiest way? Connect BigQuery to Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio).

With just a few clicks you can:

  • Visualize user trends
  • Track marketing performance
  • Share dashboards with your team

Don’t like charts? Export a CSV. Build a Slack alert. Send an email. It’s your data. Party with it 🎉

Tips to Keep It Smooth

Okay, you’ve got this CDP rolling. Here are a few pro tips to keep it stress-free:

  • Name events consistently: “Signed Up” is not the same as “Signup”.
  • Track context: Add device type, source, campaign info — the more context, the better.
  • Use userId wisely: Identify users after login or signup to connect anonymous and known interactions.
  • Set up transformation: Use dbt or SQL views to clean and model your data.

A Lightweight Powerhouse

With just two tools — Segment and BigQuery — you’ve built something powerful. You’re capturing customer interactions. You’re organizing it in a database built for speed and scale. You’re extracting insights that fuel smarter decisions.

And it didn’t take 12 months or a team of 20 people. It took you, a little time, and a willingness to learn.

Give yourself a high five 🙌

What’s Next?

Want to go further? Here are some fun directions:

  • Add reverse ETL to feed data back to CRM or email tools
  • Build LTV and churn prediction models
  • Use dbt for smarter transformations
  • Set up automations with Airflow, Zapier or Retool

The sky’s the limit. Your lightweight CDP is only the beginning. 🚀

Happy tracking!