Skillshop Google Analytics 4 Certification Course: Structure Overview

Earlier, you could learn how to work with Analytics thanks to the courses Google Academy - there is analytics for beginners, for intermediate users and advanced course. The Google Analytics 360 course was available separately. However, Google did not develop a separate course for Analytics 4, and the Academy recommends on its page free GA4 Skillshop courses.

These courses are also designed for 3 levels. As you go through the modules, you will answer one or two questions about the topic, and they will allow you to get a mark in the "Passed" checkbox and move on. But at the end of the third level, Certification awaits you: you will need to pass a test of 50 questions in 75 minutes, while answering correctly more than 80% of them. If you succeed, you will receive the Google Analytics 4 Certificate:

If you decide to take courses, then please note that it is better to do this from the desktop. These courses, like Google Academy courses, are interactive. This means that you will get acquainted with the functions of analytics in practice, and access to a demo account (Google Analytics demo account) will be shared for these purposes.

The course is in English.

Tip: if you don't know English at all (for example, I had an Intermediate level at the time of the course, and I understood most of the information), install an extension like XTRANSLATE, which can translate a whole page or select paragraphs/sentences/words on the original page.

I - Beginner Course

Before starting the course, you will be required to complete a survey to assess your knowledge.

Next, you need to practice working with a Google Analytics demo account. The Google Analytics demo account is available to everyone (you only need to have a Google account), and the data is real (these are users of the Google Merchandise Store and the Flood-It account!).

The next step is to access a demo Google Merchandise Store Analytics account and a Flood-It account!

The next step is to get to know the "workspace", i.e. Analytics, the Advertising workspace section and its basic concepts.

Even at the end of these "preparatory" steps, at the end of each step there will be a question, the correct answer to which will allow you to get a "Pass" mark. It's like a turn-based strategy, the next mission in which will not open without completing the previous one.

Learn how Google Analytics can give you the information you need to achieve your marketing goals about the core measurement features in Analytics that can show you the effectiveness of your online marketing efforts and help you generate more revenue. The content of the modules of the GA4 course for beginners is as follows:

• 💡 Module 1: How users find your site (Search, Referrals, Mail, Social networks, Paid advertising in SERP and contest and email) + Analytics tools.
• 💡 Module 2: Conversions. Setting up conversions and events. Simulated conversions.
• 💡 Module 3: Attributes. Attribution models (last click, first click, even distribution across all channels, positional distribution, temporal distribution, and distribution based on data).
• 💡 Module 4: audience research + creating custom audience reports. Overview of autoreports and custom audience reports.
• 💡 Module 5: Integration of Analytics and Google Ads.

The course ends with a questionnaire.

II - Intermediate

The course again begins (as well as ends) with a questionnaire to assess your knowledge and skills. The course description promises: "Get even more out of your Google Analytics data! Learn how to control the data you collect, combine data from other sources, and learn about your options if you need enterprise analytics features." The content of the GA4 Intermediate course modules is as follows:

• 💡 Module 1: data control in Analytics. Configuring data processing in such a way that it does not violate user privacy policy.
• 💡 Module 2: Module 2: integration of analytics with other services that collect data about users. Integration methods (Google and Firebase SDK + events, Measurement Protocol and simple import).
• 💡 Module 3: Integration of Analytics with other resources (Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, Firebase).
• 💡 Module 4: Export Analytics data to BigQuery.
• 💡 Module 5: Enterprise Functions with Analytics 360.

III - Intermediate

The third course is the longest and, according to the authors' calculations, it should take almost 5 hours, including certification. Its description is: "Get certified by Google Analytics by demonstrating your understanding of Google Analytics 4 properties, including how to set up and structure a property, and use various reporting tools and features. Get certified by completing an assessment." The content of the GA4 Intermediate course modules is as follows:

• 💡 How to use digital analytics to grow your business.
• 💡 Resources in GA4.
• 💡 Set up an Analytics account for your business.
• 💡 Dataflows in Analytics.
• 💡 Reports in Analytics.
• 💡 Research in analytics.
• 💡 Google Analytics setup menu.
• 💡 Google Analytics admin menu.

Also during the course of the third course there will be tours and interactive lessons for a better acquaintance with the interface. Even in this complex of modules, after passing the certification, there will be an opportunity to take additional optional 3 lessons called Study Google Analytics 4 properties.

At the end (as well as at the very beginning) - an assessment of your knowledge.

Instead of conclusions

Despite the fact that I prefer to learn tools in practice rather than in theory, I find the courses useful and allow you to better understand the capabilities of Analytics 4. You can also say that the courses are non-linear: the same topics can be repeated at different levels with deepening into the topic at more complex stages.

You can complete all three levels in a day or two if you already have at least some knowledge of analytics. If not, I recommend that you first check out the older Google Academy courses on Universal Analytics and Analytics 360, as there you can learn the basic concepts, and interactive tasks and a more interesting system of questions after each module will help to consolidate knowledge. To be honest, I took this course for show and to get a certificate. It is also possible to take only the advanced course and get just a certificate, but this approach makes me feel incomplete, so I started with the Beginner course. I added the certificate to myself in linkedin: