How to Learn Google Analytics

If you want to learn Google Analytics so you can switch careers, you can study in person, live online, or take an on-demand class. Learning Google Analytics can be challenging, and classes can help you master the information. The number of options for learning Google Analytics might be overwhelming at first glance. There are books, video tutorials, classes, and more to choose from; it all depends on your learning style and personal preferences.

Here, we’ll discuss the various methods of learning Google Analytics so you can make an informed decision about how you’d like to get started.

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.

In-Person Google Analytics Training

Taking a class can be a big help when you try to learn new information, especially a technical subject like Google Analytics. With a class, many people prefer to have a teacher to interact with and answer questions, but in-person offerings can be limited.

Noble Desktop has an in-person Google Analytics Bootcamp in New York City. This two-day bootcamp takes a deep dive into Google Analytics and its many applications. Learn how to set up an account and understand what you should be tracking. This class will give you a solid understanding of the tool and how to optimize its wealth of data to your advantage. The class also covers GA4, the latest version of Google Analytics, to help you get on a path to success once GA4 is ready for full adoption. You also have the option to take a class through Google Academy or ONLC Training Centers. Ledet Training also offers a Google Analytics 101 class.

You can find in-person Google Analytics classes near you on Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me page.

Live Online Google Analytics Training

You can also take live online classes to learn Google Analytics. These classes run at the same time as an in-person class, and you can attend from your location just by logging in. You can ask questions and get help from the instructor if you have a computer and a stable internet connection. With permission, the instructor can take over your screen to demonstrate examples. Live online classes are just like being in the classroom, except you can attend class from anywhere, and there is no commute.

Noble Desktop’s Google Analytics Bootcamp in New York City is available live online. The instructor and in-person students are in a classroom in New York, but you can follow along on your computer. You get the same content in-class students do, except it is much more convenient. Other schools offer live online Google Analytics training classes, too. Certstaffix also offers a three-day GA class, and Ziggourat Formation has a two-day class. You can find additional live online Google Analytics classes on Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me page.

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

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.

On-Demand Google Analytics Classes

You also have the option to sign up for asynchronous video training courses to learn Google Analytics. Many paid and free classes allow you to learn at your own pace and repeat lessons to review the information you didn’t understand the first time. However, you won’t be able to ask a question or help with an exercise during an on-demand class.

Many training companies offer a free trial of one week up to a month. You might be able to finish a course before your free trial is up. LinkedIn Learning offers many on-demand video classes with a one-month free trial. You can take classes on many aspects of Google Analytics, including beginner and advanced Google Analytics and GA4, marketing strategies, and setting and measuring goals.

Which Learning Method is Right for Me?

With so many different resources available to help beginners learn Google Analytics, you might be unsure which one is best for you. Everyone has different learning styles and preferences, and you can experiment with multiple tools to see which one feels right for you. One of the great things about directing your own learning is that you get to pick which combination of tools you prefer; you don’t have to stick with what a teacher chooses.

It’s also essential to consider your current schedule before selecting a learning method. If you have a lot of responsibilities like a full-time job or family commitments, you may not be able to devote time to a structured course that requires you to attend at the same time every day. In this case, a self-paced class or video tutorials may be better since you can access them when your schedule allows. On the other hand, those with a more flexible schedule may prefer a structured course offered in-person or live online.

Why Learn Google Analytics?

Google Analytics helps you meet your marketing goals by providing highly targeted data. The data you collect will depend on what type of business or industry you are in. Deciding what goals to set is an essential first step to learning GA.

If you have an ecommerce site, your goal may be selling products or services, so the data you’d want to collect might be the actions visitors to your website take. If you have a purely information-based website, your goals may be for lead generation or simply to help customers find information. If you have a media site or a blog, your goal might be measuring engagement and frequency, such as how often users visit pages and how long they stay. If you’re using your website or app purely for branding purposes, you may want to collect data that measures awareness, engagement, and loyalty. 

Another goal might be to see more of your target audience visiting your website or app. No matter your goals, setting up the correct parameters in GA will help you see if you’re meeting them or falling short and how to tweak the future strategy to get the results you want.

Read more about why you should learn Google Analytics.

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.

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. The program 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 through on-demand classes. There are free training classes available, too.
• You can receive comprehensive Google Analytics training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.