Google Analytics

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These lessons contain everything you need to know to dominate Google Analytics and get your Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ).  All of this material comes directly from the Google IQ Course, Google Webmaster Blog, Adwords and Webmaster Tools. I have compiled and reorganized the course study so it can be more easily referenced, linked to and shared. On each page of the 15 part course, you will see notes and explanations that will help you understand each lesson.

Feel free to chime in or ask questions in the comments of each lesson page!

Lesson 1

Working with Report Data: (7:43 minutes)

1. how to set date ranges and comparison date ranges
2. how to graph data and access report views
3. how to quickly filter and sort data in reports
4. when to use annotations
5. how to identify metrics and dimensions
6. how to segment data using Advanced Segments

Lesson 2

Time Metrics: (2:30 minutes)

1. how Time on Page and Time on Site are calculated
2. how Avg. Time on Page and Avg. Time on Site are calculated

Lesson 3

Traffic Sources: (6:09 minutes)

1. about the different kinds of traffic sources
2. how to identify quality traffic
3. how to identify revenue and conversion drivers
4. what kinds of information to look for in keyword reports
5. how campaign attribution works in Google Analytics

Lesson 4

Content Reports: (2:43 minutes)

1. how to use the Pages and Content Drilldown reports
2. how to use the Landing Pages report
3. how to use and interpret the Navigation Summary report
4. how to use and interpret the Entrance Paths report

Lesson 5

Campaign Tracking and AdWords Integration: (12 minutes)

1. how to track campaigns using tagged links
2. how to track AdWords campaigns
3. when to use autotagging and how it works
4. how to enable autotagging
5. where to find AdWords data in your reports
6. the expected kinds of data discrepancies between AdWords and Analytics data
7. when and how to manually tag URLs
8. how to use the URL Builder
9. best practices for tagging links

Lesson 6

Analysis Focus – AdWords: (6:57 minutes)

1. how to use the Clicks tab metrics in AdWords reports
2. how to analyze the effect of search result position on performance
3. how to track audio and TV campaigns in AdWords
4. how to track ad performance

Lesson  7

Goals in Google Analytics: (10 minutes)

1. the purpose of using goals, goal values, and goal funnels
2. the different kinds of goals
3. when to use each Goal URL Match Type
4. how to assign meaningful values to goals
5. how goal conversions differ from transactions

Lesson 8

Filters in Google Analytics: (11 minutes)

1. when to apply filters in Google Analytics
2. how filters act on data
3. how to create custom filters
4. the differences between the different kinds of filters (i.e. exclude, include, etc)
5. how to filter Google AdWords traffic
6. how to use filters and profiles together to track certain kinds of traffic
7. best practices for using filters

Lesson 9

Regex and Google Analytics: (9:25 minutes)

1. when to use regular expressions in Google Analytics
2. how to use the most common metacharacters: dot, backslash, etc.
3. how often your data is updated and how Google stores it
4. some examples of common regular expressions in Google Analytics

Lesson 10

E-commerce Tracking: (4:30 minutes)

1. where to find ecommerce metrics in reports
2. how to enable and track ecommerce

Lesson 11

Advanced Segmentation: (3 minutes)

1. how Advanced Segments differ from filtered profiles
2. how to create and modify an Advanced Segment

Lesson 12

Analytics Intelligence: (3:13 minutes)

1. how to interpret alerts
2. the difference between automatic and custom alerts
3. how to create a custom alert

Lesson 13

Internal Site Search: (7:30 minutes)

1. why internal site search is important
2. how to find site search information in your reports
3. how to set up Site Search
4. how Site Search metrics differ from the metrics in other reports

Lesson 14

Event Tracking and Virtual Pageviews: (7:21 minutes)

1. when to use virtual pageviews versus event tracking
2. how to generate a virtual pageview
3. how to track an event using _trackEvent()
4. the relationship between Categories, Actions, Labels, and Values
5. best practices for setting up Event Tracking

Lesson 15

Multi-Channel Funnels: (5 minutes)

1. how to identify each role in a conversion path
2. how to interpret the Multi Channel Funnel metrics