Best Free Google Analytics Resources & Tutorials

There are plenty of professionals who are eager to learn Google Analytics but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. On the one hand, it is possible to learn Google Analytics by watching free tutorials and taking on-demand video classes. A surprising amount of free resources are available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program. However, many people find a certificate course very helpful when learning this complex tool.

Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn Google Analytics.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics (or GA) is a tool within the Google Marketing Platform that collects and tracks user data, compiles it into reports, and helps you develop strategies to improve your website or app’s performance. To use GA, you will install a tracking code onto each page of your website. Google collects information about the visitors to your website and what they do there. Google Analytics can help you understand what’s working and what isn’t when it comes to digital marketing strategy, and the best part is that it is free to use.

Google Analytics can be useful simply for yourself if you’re a business owner, or you can use it as part of a marketing team within a larger company. Google Analytics allows you to tailor the data you choose to track depending on your goals. Because digital marketing depends upon identifying a highly targeted audience, GA is the foundation of a successful digital marketing campaign.

Read more about what Google Analytics is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a highly customizable, in-depth tool that offers insights to help your business thrive, and you can use it for free. Although it can initially feel overwhelming and complicated, the information GA provides is worth the effort.

The data that GA collects, stores, and reports on can help marketers learn what strategies are working and what aren’t. It can measure marketing efforts, both on and offline. It can help you make better, more savvy business decisions. The information Google Analytics provides can also identify specific problems or shortcomings on your website. The data you’ll get is specific, targeted information.

You can use Google Analytics to measure the customer experience from when they enter your website or app to when they leave. You can track valuable information such as how they found your site, who purchased something, what pages your visitors looked at, how they moved through the site, and so much more. And while it’s important to know where your website and business are thriving, it’s also critical to understand where you’re falling short and losing customers. Using Google Analytics can help with that, too.

Free Digital Marketing Resources

Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing YouTube channel offers many free digital marketing video tutorials, and the content is updated regularly to present the most up-to-date information in the rapidly changing world of digital marketing. The videos are each about an hour long and include graphics, images, and explanations by digital marketing instructors. Watching these videos is a great way to learn the basics of digital marketing and Google Analytics and decide if you want to change careers.

• Intro to Google Analytics gives an overview of web analytics and Google Analytics in particular. Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of web data to understand and optimize website performance. Google Analytics is a free tool within the Google Marketing Platform that collects data and compiles it into valuable reports that you can use to see who visits your website and what they do there.
• The Pillars of Marketing Success introduces viewers to digital marketing and is an excellent place to start. It covers an overview of different channels, presents a framework for digital marketing success, and discusses the importance of market research and how to do it.
• Website Fundamentals & Conversion Optimization covers best practices for building an effective website, including tips for enhancing your website to increase traffic and actions to improve website performance. It also covers tracking website activity and conversions, which is crucial to increasing sales.
• Dominate Local Search with Google My Business focuses on the importance of local search listing and how to use Google My Business (GMB). The tutorial demonstrates how to add your business to GMB, what is included in a GMB listing, how to complete your GMB profile, and where to get additional help setting up your listing.

Other Free Tutorials

Google Analytics Academy offers numerous classes on its powerful tool, including Google Analytics for Beginners, Advanced Google Analytics, and others. There are also mini-courses available on YouTube to provide an introduction to GA. These courses can help you to prepare for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification Exam. Google recently started offering some classes through Skillshare, but the course and certificate exams are free.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to learn about digital marketing and Google Analytics. Here are some popular offerings.

The Marketing Analytics Show is hosted by Anna Shutko and looks at how marketers use tools like Google Analytics to make better decisions.

Meet the Analytics Stack looks at the creators of products in web analytics and their motivations. This is a good way to find out what people in the data analytics field are working on.

Digital Marketing Madness helps you figure out what is happening in the world of internet marketing. Topics include Google Analytics, SEO, paid search, link building, and more.

Books

While books are technically not free, you can borrow them from the local library without paying. Here are some that are highly recommended.

The Ultimate Guide to Google Analytics: From Beginner to Advanced, by Ron Lee. This step-by-step guide will teach you how to use this powerful tool.

Introduction to Google Analytics: A Guide for Absolute Beginners, by Todd Kelsey. This book teaches you about web analytics so you can understand website performance and marketing campaigns.

The Ridiculously Simple Guide to Google Analytics: The Absolute Beginners Guide to Google Analytics, by Scott LaCounte. This book is for people who are new to web analytics and want to understand what Google Analytics is telling them.

Taking the Next Step

Once you have watched several free tutorials, listened to some podcasts, and read a few books, you may be ready to take the next step and sign up for a paid class in Google Analytics. Many schools offer online courses, some of which are asynchronous classes you can take in your spare time. Bootcamp programs take two to three days to complete. These intensive courses focus exclusively on Google Analytics and other digital marketing subjects.

Noble Desktop offers a Google Analytics Bootcamp that includes setting up a Google account and starting to collect data. Learn how to determine what you need to track, understand Google Analytics reports, find out what is going on with your website, and track the success of digital marketing campaigns. This class will also go over the new GA4 and how it compares to GA Universal, the current version of the tool.

You can take classes in-person or live online from anywhere in the world. Live-online classes have a set-up similar to in-person instruction, with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and share your screen to show you how to do things. You get the same level of attention as in in-person classes.

Key Insights

• Google Analytics (GA) is a powerful free tool that collects data and offers insights into how to improve your online business.
• It can also help you see what your competition is doing right and wrong so that you can alter your strategy.
• Free GA video tutorials are available to help you learn Google Analytics.
• You can listen to podcasts and read books to help you learn also.
• You can receive comprehensive Google Analytics training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.