October 2024 Google Analytics Training for Certification Study Group

Want to dramatically improve your SEO skills? Want to be a better online marketer? Earn your Google Analytics Certification!

A few months ago, a few of us gathered to study together for our Google Analytics Certification. We had a great time and learned a lot- especially about Google Analytics 4. It was such a good time that I decided to do it again in August 2023.

Why learn Google Analytics?

What about Google Analytics makes learning how to use it essential? First of all, Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics tool worldwide, providing valuable information about your website’s effectiveness and marketing efforts overall.

Additionally, some of the other benefits of Google Analytics include:

• It offers a basic, free version that provides significant data.
• Setting up Google Analytics is simple.
• It has a user-friendly interface.
• With Google Analytics you can collect data, analyze data, and visualize data using its customizable reports and dashboards.
• In addition to the free basic version, you can use advanced Google Analytics when needed.
• It offers quick and easy integration with other Google products like Google Tag Manager and Google Data Studio.
• It offers post-click integration with non-Google traffic sources, including Facebook, Bing, and Yahoo.

Who should take the Google Analytics Certification?

You don’t have to be data analysts for Google Analytics to be useful. Anyone interested in better promoting their business through their website will benefit from this certification, whether or not you’re using search engine optimization to promote your business. It’s not that websites that use Google Analytics inherently do better in marketing. Learning Google Analytics, however, helps you make better marketing decisions. This could include:

• People who are confused about GA4 want to learn how to use the most widely used data analysis tools. If you’re familiar with Universal Analytics, come with your questions to learn how it’s different now.
• Business owners who want to make sure they understand what marketing efforts are working- and which aren’t using marketing analytics.
• Marketers who want to show the success they’re getting from their efforts.
• Web developers and designers who want to learn Google Analytics to offer more value (and show value) from their products.

What will you get from this Google Analytics Study Group?

There’s a lot to gain from joining this group:

• How to understand the data in Google Analytics.
• How to set up my account for the most detailed data collection.
• What’s important.
• More important- what’s not important in Google Analytics
• How to connect my data with my clients’ marketing ROI.
• I’ll add my experience working with the Google Analytics platform for some insider tips.
• You’ll receive certification from Google (after you take their exam). You’ve learned a lot! Flex and show potential clients how much you know with the Google Analytics Certification!

How will this Study Group work?

Starting on October 7th, we will meet (every Monday from 4 to 5 pm Eastern Time) for an hour to review what we’ve learned. That means you’ll be expected to complete the different video lessons in the Google Analytics course before attending the study group session. Expect this to take a couple of hours (on top of study group time) each week.

Here’s the schedule:

• October 7th: Introductions and Expectations.
• October 14th: Come prepared to discuss “Get started using Google Analytics”
• October 21st: Come prepared to discuss “Manage GA4 Data and Learn to Read Reports”
• October 28th: Come ready to discuss “Dive Deeper into GA4 Data and Reports”
• November 4th: Come prepared to discuss “Use GA4 with Other Tools and Data Sources”
• At that point, you should be equipped to take the Certification Exam!
• November 11th: Meeting to Celebrate the Completion of our Exams.

For each week, I will:

• Record the call and send it to all participants. This way, if you have to miss a week, you can keep up with other people’s questions.
• Come prepared with a brief lesson covering the topics about which we’re discussing.
• Answer your questions about the content or return with answers from the previous week.

Here’s what you’ll need to join the group:

1. A Gmail or Google account so you can log in to Google’s lessons here: https://skillshop.docebosaas.com/learn/courses/14810/google-analytics-certification?hash=7781f7767ef5c075241bcd38e87742df3f31eec1&generated_by=7874113
2. A free Zoom account. We’ll meet online. While we’d love to see your smiling face, you’ll at least need to be at a computer so we can share screens.
3. A couple of hours to review Google’s material each week and time to meet with the study group. I’d estimate two or three hours each week. It will take you an additional two hours to take the exam.
4. Pick a website you’d like to focus your attention on. This might be your business website. It might be a client’s website. You might manage several websites, but pick one to focus on, and I think you’ll get more out of this.
5. Access to a Google Analytics account. If you don’t have one, I might be able to help by giving you access to a test account. Just ask.

Although this latest group has already started, you can fill out the form (below) to find out the next time we run this group.