Analytics with Google Course Overview 2025 – Acadomi

Analytics with Google Course Beginner’s Guide to GA4 & Web Insights

This beginner-friendly course is designed to introduce learners to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and web analytics fundamentals. Whether you’re running a website, managing content, or exploring a digital marketing career, this course will equip you with the knowledge to track user behavior, measure performance, and make smarter decisions using data.

Starting from scratch, you’ll learn how to set up your own Google Analytics account, connect it to a website, interpret reports, and track key metrics such as traffic sources, user engagement, events, and conversions. The course also walks you through real-world use cases and practical tips to help you apply insights in a business or marketing context.

No technical or coding experience is required. You just need access to a website (real or test), a Google account, and the willingness to learn and practice hands-on exercises. By the end of the course, you’ll have the confidence to read and analyze web performance reports and support better digital strategies.

Ideal Target Audience

This course is perfect for beginners and those looking to add analytics skills to their toolbox:

• Small business owners and entrepreneurs
• Digital marketing beginners
• Bloggers, eCommerce store owners, and content creators
• Marketing students and interns
• Career switchers entering digital or analytical roles

Estimated Duration

Course Format

• Step-by-step video lessons
• Guided walkthroughs for GA4 setup
• Hands-on practice with a test website or real project
• Interactive quizzes and short assignments
• Final project: Analyze and present a website’s user behavior

Whether you’re looking to enhance your digital marketing capabilities or begin a career in analytics, this course offers the perfect starting point. By developing a solid foundation in GA4 and web analytics, you’ll be able to better understand your audience, optimize content, and contribute to business growth using data.

Module 1: Introduction to Google Analytics

This module provides a solid foundation for understanding digital analytics and its role in online business success. You’ll learn what web analytics is, why it’s important, and how Google Analytics 4 (GA4) helps you collect, analyze, and interpret data from your website. By the end of this module, you’ll have a clear grasp of how analytics can support data-driven decisions and improve performance.

Lesson 1.1: What is Web Analytics?

In this lesson, you’ll be introduced to the concept of web analytics and how it fits into digital marketing. You’ll discover how businesses use analytics to understand visitor behavior, improve user experience, and drive growth.

Learning Objective: Understand the role of analytics in a digital strategy.

Recommended Resource: Blog post from the Google Analytics Help Center

Exercise: Write down 3 real-world business questions that can be answered using web analytics (e.g., “Which marketing channel brings the most traffic?”).

Lesson 1.2: What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?

This lesson introduces Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google’s latest analytics platform. You’ll explore how GA4 differs from the old Universal Analytics and why it’s designed for a privacy-first, cross-platform future.

Learning Objective: Understand GA4’s purpose and its differences from Universal Analytics.

Tool: Google Analytics Demo Account

Exercise: Access the GA4 demo account and explore key sections like Realtime, Reports Snapshot, and Engagement Overview. Write down 3 insights or features you noticed.

Module 3: Navigating the GA4 Interface

This module helps you become confident with the GA4 interface. You’ll learn how to access and interpret key data points that show how visitors interact with your site. By the end, you’ll know where to find essential metrics like user sessions and engagement, and how to track user activity in real time. You’ll also explore built-in reports that reveal the user journey from acquisition to conversion.

Lesson 3.1: Understanding the GA4 Dashboard

In this lesson, you’ll explore the main GA4 dashboard and get familiar with its layout. You’ll learn about the core metrics that give a snapshot of your website’s performance and user engagement.

Key Metrics Covered: Users, Sessions, Engagement, Events

Exercise: Log into your GA4 property and locate each of the key metrics listed above. Write down what each one represents and where to find it in the dashboard.

Lesson 3.2: Realtime Reports

Learn how to view user activity as it happens in real-time. This is helpful for testing events, tracking launches, or monitoring live campaigns. You’ll explore the Realtime section of GA4 and see how users navigate your site at any moment.

Learning Objective: Monitor user activity as it happens through the Realtime report.

Exercise: Open your website in another browser tab or device. Then, go to the Realtime report in GA4 and watch your activity appear live. Identify your current location, device, and page viewed.

Lesson 3.3: Reports Snapshot & Life Cycle Reports

This lesson introduces you to the GA4 “Reports Snapshot” and “Life Cycle” sections. These areas show an overview of user behavior from acquisition through engagement and retention, helping you understand your user journey.

Learning Objective: Understand the overview of key reports and track how users find and interact with your content.

Exercise: Go to the “Traffic Acquisition” report in your GA4 property. Identify the top 3 sources (such as Google, Direct, Facebook) that bring users to your site and note how they differ in engagement.

Module 3: Navigating the GA4 Interface

This module helps you become confident with the GA4 interface. You’ll learn how to access and interpret key data points that show how visitors interact with your site. By the end, you’ll know where to find essential metrics like user sessions and engagement, and how to track user activity in real time. You’ll also explore built-in reports that reveal the user journey from acquisition to conversion.

Lesson 3.1: Understanding the GA4 Dashboard

In this lesson, you’ll explore the main GA4 dashboard and get familiar with its layout. You’ll learn about the core metrics that give a snapshot of your website’s performance and user engagement.

Key Metrics Covered: Users, Sessions, Engagement, Events

Exercise: Log into your GA4 property and locate each of the key metrics listed above. Write down what each one represents and where to find it in the dashboard.

Lesson 3.2: Realtime Reports

Learn how to view user activity as it happens in real-time. This is helpful for testing events, tracking launches, or monitoring live campaigns. You’ll explore the Realtime section of GA4 and see how users navigate your site at any moment.

Learning Objective: Monitor user activity as it happens through the Realtime report.

Exercise: Open your website in another browser tab or device. Then, go to the Realtime report in GA4 and watch your activity appear live. Identify your current location, device, and page viewed.

Lesson 3.3: Reports Snapshot & Life Cycle Reports

This lesson introduces you to the GA4 “Reports Snapshot” and “Life Cycle” sections. These areas show an overview of user behavior from acquisition through engagement and retention, helping you understand your user journey.

Learning Objective: Understand the overview of key reports and track how users find and interact with your content.

Exercise: Go to the “Traffic Acquisition” report in your GA4 property. Identify the top 3 sources (such as Google, Direct, Facebook) that bring users to your site and note how they differ in engagement.

Module 4: Events and Conversions in GA4

This module focuses on how Google Analytics 4 tracks user interactions through events and how to define key actions as conversions. Understanding events and conversions is essential for analyzing what users do on your website — from page views to purchases. You’ll learn how to view default events, create custom ones, and mark them as conversions to measure business goals effectively.

Lesson 4.1: Understanding Events in GA4

In GA4, almost every user interaction is treated as an event. This includes page views, button clicks, scroll depth, and video plays. In this lesson, you’ll get familiar with the automatically collected events and how they help build user activity reports.

Examples of Events: Page views, link clicks, scrolls, file downloads

Exercise: Open your GA4 property and go to the “Events” report. Make a list of at least 5 events that are being tracked by default, and note where each is triggered on your site.

Lesson 4.2: Creating and Modifying Events

Sometimes the default events aren’t enough — you might want to track specific actions like a form submission or video view. This lesson teaches you how to create and modify events directly in the GA4 interface without needing code.

Tool: GA4 Event Settings (Configure > Events > Create Event)

Exercise: Create a custom event in GA4. For example, if a user clicks a specific call-to-action button, set up an event to track that interaction. Test it by triggering the event and verifying it in the Realtime report.

Lesson 4.3: Setting Up Conversions

Not all events are equally important. Conversions help you highlight critical actions like lead form submissions, purchases, or sign-ups. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to mark important events as conversions for better performance tracking.

Learning Objective: Learn how to mark key events as conversions in GA4 to measure business goals.

Exercise: Choose a custom event (e.g., form submission or “Thank You” page view) and mark it as a conversion in your GA4 settings. Use the Realtime or DebugView report to confirm it’s tracking correctly.

Module 5: Audience, Demographics, and Tech Insights

In this module, you will learn how to understand your website visitors through GA4’s Audience reports. By analyzing user attributes like location, language, age, gender, and devices, you can tailor your content and optimize the experience for your target users. These insights help you make smarter marketing decisions and identify opportunities for growth.

Lesson 5.1: Audience Overview

This lesson introduces the Audience Overview section in GA4. You’ll explore key user metrics such as new versus returning users, their geographical locations, and preferred languages. These insights are crucial for understanding who your audience is and how to connect with them more effectively.

Key Metrics: New vs. Returning Users, Geo (Location), Language

Exercise: Open your GA4 property and navigate to the User > Demographics section. Identify the top 3 countries or regions your users come from, and note the primary languages spoken by your audience.

Lesson 5.2: Demographics & Interests

In this lesson, you will learn how to access data on your users’ age, gender, and interests. GA4 collects this data once Google Signals is enabled, helping you understand your audience on a deeper level and refine your targeting efforts.

Learning Objective: Learn about user demographics and interests to personalize marketing campaigns.

Exercise: Enable Google Signals in your GA4 settings. After 24–48 hours, go to the Demographics report and identify the top age group and gender of your audience. Also, review any interest categories if available.

Lesson 5.3: Technology & Devices

Knowing what devices, browsers, and operating systems your visitors use helps you improve user experience and site performance. In this lesson, you’ll explore the Technology section of GA4 to see how users are accessing your content.

Learning Objective: Identify the most common devices and platforms your users use.

Exercise: Go to the Tech > Overview report in GA4. Identify the top devices (desktop, mobile, tablet) used by your visitors. Review your site on the most common device to ensure it offers a smooth experience.

Module 6: Traffic Acquisition and User Behavior

In this module, you’ll learn how to track where your users are coming from and how they behave once they arrive on your website. Google Analytics 4 provides detailed acquisition and engagement reports that show which traffic sources are most effective, how long users stay, and how they navigate through your content. These insights help optimize your content, improve campaign performance, and boost user satisfaction.

Lesson 6.1: Traffic Source Reports

This lesson introduces the key acquisition metrics in GA4. You’ll learn how to interpret source, medium, and campaign data to understand which platforms drive the most valuable traffic to your site.

Key Metrics: Source (origin), Medium (channel), Campaign (tagged links)

Exercise: Open the “Traffic Acquisition” report in GA4. Identify your top 3 traffic sources and analyze which ones bring the most engaged visitors.

Lesson 6.2: User Engagement & Session Metrics

Engagement metrics show how users interact with your site after they arrive. In this lesson, you’ll explore how GA4 calculates engagement rate, average engagement time, and sessions to help measure content performance.

Learning Objective: Understand how users interact with content across different pages.

Exercise: Compare the engagement rate and average engagement time of two key pages or blog posts. Identify which one performs better and hypothesize why.

Lesson 6.3: Landing Pages & User Flow

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to identify landing pages—where users first enter your site—and analyze how they move through your content. You’ll also discover how to spot drop-off points or pages that keep users engaged.

Learning Objective: Track the entry points and navigation patterns of users on your website.

Exercise: Go to the “Landing Page” report. Find a page with high bounce rate or low engagement. Then identify a page with high user retention. Analyze what might be causing the difference.

Module 7: Reporting, Insights, and Sharing

In this final module, you’ll learn how to create insightful reports in GA4, customize dashboards to track key metrics, and share findings with stakeholders. These skills are essential for communicating the value of your digital efforts and making data-driven decisions within your team or organization.

Lesson 7.1: Exploration Reports

The GA4 “Explore” feature allows you to create in-depth, visual reports that help uncover user behavior patterns. This lesson focuses on using funnel exploration to visualize where users drop off in key flows like checkout or sign-up processes.

Tools: GA4 Explore

Exercise: Use the “Funnel Exploration” feature to build a basic funnel (e.g., homepage → product page → checkout). Note where most users drop off.

Lesson 7.2: Creating Custom Reports & Dashboards

Learn how to create tailored reports and dashboards that highlight the most important KPIs for your business or team. This lesson focuses on selecting relevant dimensions and metrics for recurring performance reviews.

Learning Objective: Customize your GA4 workspace for efficient monitoring.

Exercise: Build a simple dashboard or custom report that tracks weekly page views, conversions, and top sources. Use it as your “Weekly Marketing Snapshot.”

Lesson 7.3: Sharing and Exporting Reports

This lesson covers how to export GA4 reports and share them effectively with team members, clients, or other stakeholders. You’ll explore the available formats and best practices for presenting insights clearly.

Formats: PDF, CSV, Google Sheets

Exercise: Export any report (e.g., Traffic Acquisition) as a PDF or Google Sheet. Create a simple presentation slide or email summarizing the key findings for a mock stakeholder.

Module 8: Basic Integration and Real-World Use Cases

In this final module, you’ll explore how Google Analytics integrates with other tools and supports real-world marketing strategies. From tracking eCommerce sales to ensuring privacy best practices, this module will help you use GA4 more effectively in practical scenarios.

Lesson 8.1: GA4 and Google Ads Integration

Connect your GA4 property with Google Ads to track conversions and optimize campaigns. This integration gives you better visibility into how paid ads are driving performance.

Objective: Track campaign performance and conversions.

Exercise: If possible, link your GA4 account with a demo or test Google Ads account. Review how campaign data appears in Acquisition reports.

Lesson 8.2: Use Case: eCommerce Tracking

GA4 is powerful for online stores. In this lesson, you’ll explore how GA4 tracks product views, cart actions, purchases, and revenue—all critical for eCommerce growth.

Objective: Understand how GA4 supports product analytics.

Exercise: Visit the GA4 demo account and navigate to the eCommerce report. Note metrics like purchase count, revenue, and top-selling items.

Lesson 8.3: Analytics Best Practices

A successful analytics setup requires following best practices. This includes ensuring data privacy, obtaining user consent, and keeping naming consistent across events and campaigns.

Topics: Data privacy, user consent, consistent naming conventions

Exercise: Write a simple checklist for your GA4 setup covering privacy, permissions, and event naming consistency. Use it to audit your analytics implementation.

Recommended Tools & Resources

To get the most out of this Google Analytics course, it’s important to use the right tools and resources during your learning journey. Below is a curated list of platforms, software, and learning hubs that will help you practice, implement, and deepen your understanding of analytics in real-world situations.

Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google’s analytics platform. It offers event-based tracking, deeper insights, and predictive capabilities. This is the primary tool you’ll be learning throughout the course. Be sure to create your own property or use the GA4 demo account for practice.

Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager allows you to add and manage marketing tags (such as tracking pixels or analytics codes) on your website without editing code directly. It’s essential for implementing custom events and conversions in GA4. Familiarizing yourself with Tag Manager will give you greater flexibility and control.

GA4 Demo Account

Google offers a free demo account with real data from their merchandise store. This is a great way to explore reports and practice using the GA4 interface without needing your own website. You’ll use it frequently for exercises throughout the course.

Google Skillshop – Analytics Courses

Google Skillshop is an official learning platform where you can find in-depth tutorials and certification programs for Google Analytics. While this course gives you a beginner-friendly roadmap, Skillshop can complement your learning with structured lessons from Google itself.

Google Tag Assistant (Chrome Extension)

This Chrome extension helps you verify that your Google tags (Analytics, Tag Manager, Ads) are installed correctly on your site. It’s a handy tool for troubleshooting and confirming whether data is being sent properly.

Screencasting Tools (Loom or OBS)

Recording your screen as you practice helps reinforce your learning. Loom is a simple browser-based tool for quick recordings, while OBS Studio offers more advanced capabilities for detailed tutorials. Use these tools to document your walkthroughs or to present assignments.

Final Project: Capstone Assignment

The final project is designed to help you apply everything you have learned throughout the course in a practical and meaningful way. By working on a real or test website, you will demonstrate your ability to implement, configure, and analyze Google Analytics 4 data using Google Tag Manager and other tools. This capstone assignment acts as your final assessment and also helps you build a portfolio piece to show future clients or employers.

Project Objective

Apply your GA4 and Tag Manager knowledge to a live or test website. Successfully configure tracking for key events and analyze user behavior through custom reporting.

Project Tasks

• Connect a GA4 Property: Set up and link a Google Analytics 4 property to your site using Google Tag Manager. This includes placing the GA4 configuration tag and verifying that it is working correctly.
• Track Custom Events: Set up tracking for at least two custom events such as button clicks, form submissions, or video views. These should be created and triggered through Google Tag Manager, then verified in the GA4 real-time and events reports.
• Set a Conversion: Choose one of your custom events and mark it as a conversion in the GA4 admin settings. This will allow you to measure actions that are valuable to your site, such as leads, purchases, or sign-ups.
• Create and Export a Custom Report: Build a custom exploration report inside GA4 to analyze user behavior. Focus on important metrics such as user engagement, traffic sources, or conversions. Export the report as a PDF or CSV file for submission or presentation.
• Summarize Insights: Write a short summary (200–300 words) explaining what the data tells you about user behavior on the site. Highlight any trends, issues, or opportunities based on your analysis.

Submission Guidelines

Submit your exported custom report along with a document that includes screenshots of your GA4 property, custom events, conversion settings, and your written summary. If you’re using a test website, you can use platforms like Google Sites or WordPress with demo content.

Evaluation Criteria

• Correct configuration of GA4 via Google Tag Manager
• Successful tracking and naming of custom events
• Proper setup of a conversion action
• Well-organized and insightful custom report
• Clarity and depth in the final summary

Master Google Analytics 4 from Scratch

Learn how to set up, track, and analyze your website performance using GA4. This beginner-friendly course gives you all the tools to grow with data.