I wanted to encourage my Digital Marketing Bootcamp students and everybody that for any reason has or plan to use Google Analytics to get the Google Analytics Certificates. I had never done it, so I decided to take the Beginner and Advanced certificates to experience it myself.
Google Analytics for Beginners Certificate
I started with the Google Analytics for Beginners. This is the entry level certificate. I’m not trying to mislead you, but this certificate is super easy. My Digital Marketing students should be able to pass it as soon as they finished my class. The assessments questions are really easy and the certification covers all the basic of Google Analytics, from the purpose to standard reporting.
Here is the list of topics grouped by units. The entire certification process, from watching the videos to taking the tests will take between 4 and 6 hours.
Unit 1: Introducing Google Analytics
- Lesson 1: Why digital analytics?
- Lesson 2: How Google Analytics works
- Lesson 3: Google Analytics setup
- Lesson 4: How to set up views with filters
Unit 2: The Google Analytics Interface
- Lesson 1: Navigating Google Analytics
- Lesson 2: Understanding overview reports
- Lesson 3: Understanding full reports
- Lesson 4: How to share reports
- Lesson 5: How to set up dashboards and shortcuts
Unit 3: Basic Reports
- Lesson 1: Audience reports
- Lesson 2: Acquisition reports
- Lesson 3: Behavior reports
Unit 4: Basic Campaign and Conversion Tracking
- Lesson 1: How to measure Custom Campaigns
- Lesson 2: Tracking campaigns with the URL Builder
- Lesson 3: Use Goals to measure business objectives
- Lesson 4: How to measure Google Ads campaigns
- Lesson 5: Course review and next steps
Now I can say that this certification is doable and my students should take advantage of what they learn in my class and take the test!
Advanced Google Analytics Certificate
After completing the Beginner certificate I decide to have some more fun and I registered for the Advanced Google Analytics Certificate. Leveraging my long experience as Google Analytics user, This certificate is more challenging than the previous one. I was able to go through all the topics without any road block. Here and there I was able to learn about features that I didn’t know and to clarify some topics where I had little or no experience. The certification walks the student through several topics, from the standard Tracking code, to Custom Metrics, Custom Dimensions, etc. Some space is allocated for important topics that only few GA use regularly, like Event Tracking and Remarketing Audiences.
Here is the list of topics grouped by units. The entire certification process, from watching the videos to taking the tests will take between 4 and 6 hours.
Unit 1: Data Collection and Processing
- Lesson 1: Google Analytics data collection
- Lesson 2: Categorizing into users and sessions
- Lesson 3: Applying configuration settings
- Lesson 4: Storing data and generating reports
- Lesson 5: Creating a measurement plan
Unit 2: Setting Up Data Collection and Configuration
- Lesson 1: Organize your Analytics account
- Lesson 2: Set up advanced filters on views
- Lesson 3: Create your own Custom Dimensions
- Lesson 4: Create your own Custom Metrics
- Lesson 5: Understand user behavior with Event Tracking
- Lesson 6: More useful configurations
Unit 3: Advanced Analysis Tools and Techniques
- Lesson 1: Segment data for insight
- Lesson 2: Analyze data by channel
- Lesson 3: Analyze data by audience
- Lesson 4: Analyze data with Custom Reports
Unit 4: Advanced Marketing Tools
- Lesson 1: Introduction to remarketing
- Lesson 2: Better targeting with Dynamic Remarketing
- Lesson 3: Course Summary
I can now say that the Advanced Google Analytics Certification is also doable but it will requires more attention and possibly more time.
Franco Folini 