Learning Google Analytics is a smart investment for your career or business. But how do you go from zero to data superhero? This list of resources will help you compose your ideal learning path, regardless of whether you are a GA4 beginner, intermediate or expert user.
Table of contents
What is your current GA4 level?
Before exploring different learning sources for GA4, it is good to know what level you are currently at: beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Unless you're a total newbie, the answer is not that easy because of 4 reasons.
- GA4 is a totally different beast than Universal Analytics (UA). Even if you have mastered UA, you will start your GA4 learning path on a beginner level.
- The ultimate purpose of GA4 is to turn website and app analytics data into profound conclusions, an actionable marketing task list and business decisions. You need to have at least a bit of background in other fields, such as web design and development, content, SEO, PPC, marketing.
- GA4 is still under development and even if you have outgrown the beginner’s stage, you will face new features and possibilities as they appear.
- Unlike learning, for instance, a language, there are no official standards and requirements that define the different levels.
What follows below may therefore not completely match your interpretation of GA4 skill level.
In all cases, it is worth looking into the beginner’s list of learning resources for everybody.
Google Analytics 4 for beginners
A Google Analytics 4 beginner is typically somebody who is new to analytics, or has played a bit with another analytics platform before.
As said 4 lines above, even experts can profit from following GA beginner courses. But which ones are worth spending your limited and precious time on?
Let's find it out.
Skillshop GA4 beginner course
Google’s Skillshop is not the best starting point to learn Google Analytics 4. There is only one course for absolute beginners and it focuses mainly on Ads. Still, this course gives a general understanding and a sneak peek of the GA4 interface.
Link:
Useful for:
Marketers and business owners who are mainly interested in measuring the ROI of Ad campaigns in GA4.
Pros
- It’s free. You only need to register with your Google Account.
- Online 50 minutes, so you can easily squeeze this into your busy agenda.
Cons
- The primary focus is on Ads. That makes sense from Google’s point of view, but marketing is much more than paid advertising.
- The course was launched on November 21 and has not been updated since. A lot has changed in GA and Ads since.
Alternative
If you prefer reading over pausing videos, we published two articles on our blog that cover the key topics of this course in depth.
Periodic table of Google Analytics 4
One of the most challenging parts of Google Analytics 4 for beginners is to understand how all the features, reports, data, metrics, graphs, configurations and settings are related to one another.
Link:
Useful for:
Beginners, intermediate and advanced GA4 users.
Pros:
- Composed by GA expert Jeff Sauer and updated with the latest information.
- Free online resource.
- The table is interactive. Click on an element to jump to a definition. Then, you can even dive deeper into a certain topic.
- You can download the GA4 periodic tables as a cheat sheet that will assist you on your learning path.
Cons:
- It’s completely up to you to decide where to start and where to go from there. If you have absolutely no clue what you are going to do with GA4, you’d better bookmark the page and come back at a later time.
Alternative:
Google offers something similar. This page contains a list of topics to support articles. It is not the most sexy spot on the Internet. But, at least, Google did an attempt to declutter the chaos of its support site.
Learning Google Analytics on YouTube
On YouTube, you can find tons of free courses about Google Analytics 4. And that can be both a good and a bad thing.
Links:
Useful for:
Beginners to experts who prefer to learn by watching videos.
Pros:
- YouTube is free.
- Even if you are a different type of learner, seeing how others are working in GA4 can save you tons of time.
- Subscribing to a channel is easy. Click on the bell and you will get a notification when a new video is available.
- You can start a conversation on YouTube, but it may take time to get answers.
Cons:
- Your videos may be interrupted with ads.
- YouTube requires some self discipline from learners.
Online learning platforms
If online learning on your own is your thing, you can find a bunch of GA4 beginner courses on learning platforms.
Link:
Useful for:
Self-disciplined and highly motivated GA4 beginners.
Pros:
- Online courses are outlined learning paths. As a student, you go through the lessons without having to wonder what to learn next.
- Depending on the course, you can download a slide deck of presentations, transcripts, files, guides. That not only saves you time with taking screenshots. Having ready-made keynotes and summaries is a true asset for students.
- Quizzes to test your knowledge. Although you can easily cheat with most of them, what would be the point of following the course?
- Decent online courses offer you a certificate of completion. You can showcase this on your social media or website.
Cons:
- Most online learning platform courses are paid.
- The completion rate of online courses is low. Students often start their journey in full enthusiastic mode. And then life comes in between to cover all those good intentions under a layer of other priorities.
GA4 online crash course
What if you could combine all the advantages of GA4 beginner courses and get even more value?
Link:
Useful for:
Marketers who want to learn GA4 on their own as little as in a weekend. But you can follow the courses during the week too.
Pros:
- 14 recordings of the best moments of the live training sessions with Jeff Sauer, founder and lead instructor of Data Driven U.
- Debugging SOPs
- Access to our private DDU community, where you can network with peers, ask questions and a lot more.
- Report templates that you can immediately use.
Cons:
- Recorded lessons require self discipline from students. But, you won’t be bored. Learning from Jeff is fun.
Learning GA4 for intermediate users
It’s impossible to define what an intermediate GA4 user actually knows and can do. So, let’s assume the following:
An intermediate level GA4 student can set up a GA account, navigate through the reports, configure basic settings, configure conversions, and export or share data.
Google Skillshop GA4 intermediate course
Besides the beginner’s course, Google’s Skillshop contains 2 resources for intermediate Google Analytics 4 users. One of those resources is the official Google Analytics Certification.
Links:
Useful for:
Intermediate GA4 users who want to obtain the official GA certification.
Pros:
- Online and free.
- The official Google Analytics resources.
Cons:
- If obtaining a GA certificate is your goal, this is the way. But just as with UA, the actual value is questionable.
GA4 Standard Operating Procedures
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the closest thing to a Google Analytics 4 manual. If you are a marketer, run an agency or work for an organization, this is by far the fastest way to get GA work for you or your clients.
Link
Pros
- SOPs are a huge time-saver. Even if you are not familiar with a GA4 topic, you can get results for your business or clients in no time.
- Unlike most learning sources, our SOPs are updated with the latest procedures.
- You are not a robot, following steps. Each SOP gives you a brief explanation and brief background so that you also understand what you are actually doing.
Cons
- SOPs are playbooks and by definition do not contain all the theoretical background information. If something is not clear, you will need to figure it out on your own.
GA4 learning resources for advanced users
There are not a lot of courses for GA4 experts. The platform is still young and specialists have either already found their way, or the topics are too niche to create courses around it.
However, that doesn’t mean you are left in the dark.
LinkedIn learning
LinkedIn contains a learning section. The courses are popular because they are affordable, integrated with LinkedIn, and promoted through the network platform.
Link:
Useful for:
Professionals who want to get beyond intermediate level GA4 topics.
Pros:
- LinkedIn learning is a nice learning platform in general.
- You can immediately post your certificate on your LinkedIn Profile.
Cons:
- Paid course, but you can try LinkedIn learning free for one month.
- 1h 23 minutes seems a bit short to become an advanced GA4 user.
Custom Google Analytics 4 training
As an enterprise or big organization, custom GA4 training is the best choice for your teams.
Link:
Useful for:
Businesses and organizations who want to train their staff.
Pros:
- Live online at a moment that doesn't conflict with your agenda.
- Interactive with direct answers from expert Jeff Sauer.
- Excellent opportunity to meet colleagues in a learning environment.
- Customized to your needs and organization.
- Assurance that your employees attend the training.
Cons:
- Paid training.
- Limited slots available.
As you can see, there is no lack of resources to learn GA4.
But before you take off, allow me to share a couple of motivational words.
Pep talk to get you started learning GA4, now
Do you remember that annoying question that had been bothering you for a long while: is GA hard to learn?
Heck yes it is tough. And no.
But who cares? If you took the time to read this article, you already decided to dive into GA4.
And if you don’t put your idea into action, soon your analytics office wall of fame will be paved with certificates of
- colleagues who are suddenly invited to attend the weekly meetings with the board of directors. Not to serve coffee, but to help them make better decisions.
- your competitors who are stealing away clients from your agency or freelance business.
Even GA4 experts need to learn beginner topics
The platform is changing rapidly, so always double check the sources are up to date.
Also, stay away from learning sources that are about Universal Analytics, because that thing will sunset halfway 2023.
While learning, the best thing is to put the theory into practice. You don’t even need to run a website to master GA4.
I hope this list of resources answers your important question: how to learn Google Analytics 4?
On behalf of the Data Driven U team, I wish you a pleasant and exciting journey. Don’t forget to bookmark this page. Or subscribe to our newsletter.
Then, buy a cape and a mask, because you will go from analytics zero to superhero in no time.
