Answer
Data connection takes data from GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and other ad platforms (and GMC when needed) and lands the consolidated data in Google BigQuery first, for later use in different ways. Report consolidation brings data that already exists on each platform into one Data Studio visualization, so the team shares one reading of performance. Performance upload uses offline data to send actual offline or CRM closed-deal figures back to ad platforms, or to send ad-spend data that cannot be integrated back to Google Analytics. This service does not include multi-channel attribution or media-mix modeling. Identity matching converts CRM personal data (PII) into a secured SHA-256 format for ad platforms to match identity, and can match GA4 user data back to the CRM. Matching does not cover every cross-platform user. Real-time audience segmentation, cross-channel activation, and a CDP platform are not included.