How Long Does it Take to Learn Google Analytics?

Like many aspiringData Analysts, you might want to learn Google Analytics but worry that it will take too much time. While it can take as little as six hours to get through a class on Google Analytics, you will probably need to practice the web analytics techniques before you grasp the material well. The precise amount of time it will take to master Google Analytics depends upon how comfortable you are working with numbers, how much time you have to devote to study, and whether or not you can take a class.

Keep reading about how you can learn Google Analytics and some resources to help speed the process along.

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.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Google Analytics

There is no getting around the fact that Google Analytics is complicated and takes a while to learn. Experts say it takes four to six months to learn GA, but this can vary quite a bit. It can take as little as two hours to complete a self-paced class, but most people report that they need to stop and start a lot to understand the information thoroughly. Working with data can initially feel overwhelming, but practice and taking a class can help.

Other Factors

Other factors affect how long it can take to learn Google Analytics. The time you have to study, how easily you pick up on new information, your feelings about numbers, whether you can take a class, and your persistence also impact how long it will take to learn GA.

Amount of Study Time

When you are learning something new, it helps to devote as much time to it as possible. If you only have a few hours a week to spend, it will take longer to learn Google Analytics, but if you can spend a couple of hours a day, you will learn GA much faster. Try to find spots in your schedule to slip in some study time.

Learning Curve

We each have our own learning curve; some of us pick things up quickly, and others need to work harder at it. This will affect how long it takes you to learn Google Analytics. Signing up for a class can make the process easier and quicker.

Math Phobia

How quickly you pick up math concepts also affects how long it will take to learn Google Analytics. If you like working with numbers and data, your learning time will be shorter. If you would like some help with this somewhat complicated subject, it’s definitely a good idea to take a class.

On Your Own or Take a Class

You can learn Google Analytics on your own. You can watch free tutorials and use other resources like podcasts and books. Some people have managed to teach themselves Google Analytics, but most find it easier to learn new material by taking a class. You have an instructor who can steer you toward the most important information, and you can ask questions when you need to.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Mastering a tool like Google Analytics takes a lot of practice. In addition to instruction, practice using GA will help the concepts stick. It’s one thing to read how to do it, but setting up a website and practicing the principles and techniques of GA will teach you much more.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

There is no doubt about it: Google Analytics is a challenge. If you know nothing about web analytics, you can expect to feel a bit overwhelmed at the beginning, especially if you are trying to learn Google Analytics on your own. But if you keep at it, you will eventually get it, especially if you sign up for a class.

There are also some skills that lead to a successful data analytics career. Some technical skills that will help you get a job in data analytics are knowing how to set appropriate goals, track that data, and interpret the results. Some personality traits that can help are logical problem-solving, curiosity, and persistence.

As far as cost is concerned, you don’t have to pay to use Google Analytics. All you have to do is sign up for a Google account and get started. You can create custom dimensions and metrics to gather the information you want. This allows you to get precise data points to help you make decisions for the future. But signing up for a course is a good investment when it comes to learning Google Analytics.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Google Analytics.

Watch a Free Google Analytics Online Course

If you are not quite ready to commit the time and funds to a bootcamp or certificate course, there are free tutorials and online courses available to learn Google Analytics. These tend to be overviews and introductions, but there is enough information to help you decide if you want to go further.

Noble Desktop offers an Intro to Google Analytics to introduce you to the powerful tool. This class walks you through opening a Google account and placing tracking codes so you can collect website data. Learn to understand where website traffic is coming from, identify your top-performing channels and gain insight into the behavior of website visitors. Google offers free classes on GA for beginners and advanced students, plus a class on building reports and using Google Tag Manager. Simplilearn and Great Learning also offer free introductory classes.

Read about more free Google Analytics videos and online tutorials.

Learn Google Analytics with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you want to change careers and become a Digital Marketing Data Analyst, you can sign up for Google Analytics Bootcamp. This two-part class will teach you how to set up an account, know which metrics to track, and understand the Google Analytics reports. The classes also cover upcoming changes to Google Analytics when GA4 replaces GA Universal in July 2024.

Another way to prepare for a career as a Data Analyst is a digital marketing certificate course. Noble’s Digital Marketing Certificate includes the digital marketing, SEO, and Google Analytics bootcamps, plus Google Ads and classes on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter marketing, as well as content marketing with blogs.

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.
• Google Analytics can be somewhat complicated to learn, so classes are helpful. You can study GA in-person, live online, or in on-demand classes.
• Learning to use Google Analytics well can take four to six months.
• Other factors that influence learning time are:
• Study time
• Learning curve
• Math phobia
• Taking a class
• practicing
• There are free GA training classes available, too.
• You can receive comprehensive Google Analytics training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.