How to Prepare for the Google Analytics IQ Exam

This week, we concluded our Study Group for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam. I took some notes that might be helpful if you plan on taking the exam, as well.

The material that Google provides (to study for the exam) is comprehensive. It’s divided into two classes: Basics and Advanced. Below you’ll find transcripts of each of the lessons (as of April 2020).

If you want a TL:DR; skip to the bottom of these lists.

Google Analytics Basics Class Outline

  1. Introducing Google Analytics
    1. Why digital analytics?
      1. Customer journey mapping: the path to loyalty
      2. Adopt new data strategies for better marketing
    2. How Google Analytics works
    3. Google Analytics Setup
      1. Set up the Analytics tag
      2. View the history of account changes
      3. Diagnostics messages
      4. Common account issues
      5. User permissions
      6. Using App and Web Properties
    4. How to setup views with filters
      1. How to verify your filter
      2. About regular expressions
      3. LunaMetrics Basic Google Analytics Filters
      4. LunaMetrics Regular Expressions guidebook (PDF)
  2. The Google Analytics interface
    1. Navigating Google Analytics
    2. Understanding overview reports
    3. Understanding full reports
    4. How to share reports
    5. How to setup dashboards and sharing
  3. Basic Reports
    1. Audience Reports
      1. Overview of Audience Reports
    2. Acquisition Reports
      1. Traffic Source dimensions
      2. Analyze Channel contribution
    3. Behavior Reports
      1. Exit rate vs. bounce rate
  4. Basic campaign and conversion tracking
    1. How to measure custom campaigns
      1. Best practices for creating Custom Campaigns
      2. LunaMetrics 4 steps to better campaign data in Google Analytics
    2. Tracking campaigns with the URL builder
      1. Campaign URL Builder tool
      2. UTM Tracking template
    3. Use goals to measure business objectives
      1. Match Types: Begins with, Equals to, & Regular Expression
      2. Goal templates in the Solutions Gallery
      3. LunaMetrics Deleting Goals in Google Analytics
    4. How to measure Google Ads campaigns
      1. How to link and unlink your Analytics and Google Ads account
    5. Course Review and next steps
      1. Monitor account health performance
      2. Diagnostics and troubleshooting

Google Analytics Advanced Class Outline

  1. Data collection and processing
    1. Google Analytics data collection
    2. Categorizing into users and sessions
    3. Applying configuration settings
    4. Storing data and generating reports
    5. Creating a measurement plan
  2. Setting Up Data Collection and Configuration
    1. Organize your Analytics account
    2. Set up advanced filters on views
    3. Create your own custom dimensions
    4. Create your own custom metrics
    5. Understand user behavior with event tracking
    6. More useful configurations
  3. Advanced analysis tools and techniques
    1. Segment data for insights
    2. Analyze data by channel
    3. Analyze data by audience
    4. Analyze data with custom reports
  4. Advanced marketing tools
    1. Introduction to remarketing
    2. Better targeting with dynamic remarketing
    3. Course summary

That’s a lot- give me the summary!

Yes, it is a lot to know. Now you know how valuable the Certification is! It’s not easy to learn all this material and pass this test!

No, I didn’t make a perfect score on the test. 80% is a passing grade.

Unfortunately, as well, the price to pay for this free material is listening to Google pitching their products a lot (including for Google Ads and their remarketing product). To skip the sales pitch and get to the meat, you could consider reviewing these items…

The Most Important Lesson

If you only have time for one single lesson, I’d suggest the most important one is about how to create a measurement plan for your business (Transcript).

This tells you what you should look at (and maybe, what you should ignore) within all of Google Analytic’s data with a goal of actually helping your business.

A Course Overview

Perhaps you want to learn all this material covers in a short summary. This can give you an idea of all the material the course covers, in case you want to attempt to earn the IQ certification someday. If this is you, read the transcripts for the two course summaries (the last items in the two lists, above):

Another Study Group?

I’d love to host another study group covering Google Analytics (and maybe other certifications). If you want to hear when I do another study group, just signup for a free account at The SEO Game Plan and I’ll tell you when the next one starts.

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