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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

Written by Carrie Albright

Senior Account Manager

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

Of all Google exams, the Google Analytics exam is by far the scariest, even for PPC veterans. If you

pass the Google Analytics test, you without a doubt know your stuff. You’re not only capable of

getting into Google Analytics and tinkering around, but you’re familiar enough with the tools and

reports it offers to make a significant impact on your PPC efforts.

First and foremost, be sure to consult Google’s resources. While you may feel ready for anything,

it is 100% advisable to keep the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ) test materials,

including links to the Google Analytics Academy, on hand during your test, as it more thoroughly

covers the detailed content you need.

The Basics of Taking The examLet’s go over the basics that you need to know in order to take (and pass) this exam:

• You have 90 minutes to answer 70 questions.

That means you only have 77 seconds to answer each T/F/Multiple Choice question, which also

means you aren’t going to have time to look up every answer. You need to be prepared to take the

test.

• You can no longer mark or skip questions for later completion. You answer as you go and

that’s it.

• You cannot pause this test.

• The passing score is 80% and it’s good for 18 months.

• While the guide is extensive, the Google Analytics test focuses fairly specifically on a set

of concepts – which is covered in this whitepaper.

conTenT ReviewI’ve used the study guide, my notes, and the actual test questions to highlight the themes that

consistently appear in the exam. This will allow you to study the most relevant material and perhaps

realize the areas that will need more of your attention before taking the exam.

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

The Fundamentals

There aren’t a lot of introductory questions. Some do pertain to the features you might use more

often, but I wouldn’t label this as “beginner” material.

Audiences: What does the Audience tab of your Google Analytics report tell you? What hidden

gems are found within it? Although you have probably flipped through it a hundred times, there are

pretty valuable segments within this tab, so give it a second look before taking the exam.

Segmentation: When it comes to segmentation, it’s important that you know where to find your

options (all along the left-hand column in Analytics) and also why you might use them. What value

does segmenting provide in your analysis?

On a related note, Dimensions & Metrics are also areas of interest in this exam.

• Do you know what a dimension is? (Hint: It’s a way of grouping data, such as City or

Campaign)

• What about a metric? (Hint: It’s a quantifiable piece of data, like Transactions or

Pageviews).

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

Sessions: A basic understanding of the verbiage used in Google Analytics will help exponentially.

Use your study guide as a resource and make sure to quickly double check when it starts getting

fuzzy.

Data source: Sometimes the most basic concepts

can trip you up. An example is the very data you’re

using in Google Analytics everyday. Where does

this data come from? Although a lot comes through

your Google Analytics tag, some data, such as the

demographic and interest data, comes through

Analytics from the third-party DoubleClick cookie

(for web traffic).

Speaking of being caught off guard, let’s move into the section covering additional content, divided

into General topics, the Detailed stuff, content that’s covered a little more In-Depth, and then of

course, some Odds & Ends.

The geneRalThere are big picture concepts included in the exam. These may seem a bit obvious or a bit broad,

but trust me- you want to prep for these topics by name.

Micro conversions vs. Macro conversions: Although this sounds pretty straightforward, you can find

yourself overthinking what each means. Break it down for yourself, nice and simple: the “macro” is

the thing you want them to do. The “micro” is any other action that indicates a visitor is potentially

going to convert.

Tracking: When creating a manually built Google Analytics tag, there are a few items that must be

included:

• Source (such as Google or LinkedIn)

• Medium (such as email or cpc)

• Campaign (such as Snowblowers)

Note!

A session is a group of interactions that take

place on your website within a given time

frame (default in Google Analytics is 30 min,

but this can be altered by you if you’d like).

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

All the other utm parameters are optional, but be sure to look into what they mean before taking

this exam. What are the types of sources and media? What does utm_content and utm_term refer

to? What does Google Analytics track automatically?

Vocabulary: Don’t forget to keep your Google Analytics terms list handy, as mixing up the

specifics behind Returning Users, Visitors, and Sessions is inexcusable when it comes to your

Google Analytics certification. Can’t remember what a Site Speed report is? How about PII?

Grab that guide and hang on to it for the next 90 minutes.

The DeTailsWe all know what it’s like to sit down to an exam and find ourselves saying “They really wanted me

to know that?” – These are the funny little questions that might fall on a particular term or maybe

just something specific you hadn’t thought to look into. You can certainly use your Google

Analytics certification study guide to look them up, but to save you a few precious moments,

here are a couple of tip-offs:

Channels:

• What is a channel?

• What are your default channels?

• What exactly does the Attribution model tell you?

• If you haven’t used the Multi-Channel Funnel report or the Attribution Model tools, this

is a great learning moment. Get in there and build yourself a few models.

• Learn what a First-click versus Linear model means! Focus on what a MCF requires and

what variations are available in the Attribution Model.

Measurement plan: This refers to the process you should use to plan how you’ll use Google

Analytics. Review this video by Justin Cutroni (in unit 2 lesson 4) and make sure to note the details,

including the implementation plan and the technologies that make tracking your analytics possible.

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

in-DepTh conTenTThere are recurring themes in this exam. The following are a few topics I advise you to dedicate a

bit of extra time to. Some are tricky concepts that can be easily confused and some are processes

whose details might be less familiar. Give these topics a second look before engaging in the test.

Defining Goals & Events: For this topic, walk through the entire process of setting up a goal.

• How do you define the goal page and what is included?

• Why is it useful to assign a value to a goal?

• How does a goal differ from e-commerce tracking?

• Why is the tracking of an event significant?

Setting Up Views and Properties: How do you set up a view or property? Walk through the details

of these pages to verify that you know your stuff. When it comes to views, prepare for scenarios

where you’ll need to explain how you might set up a view for a particular purpose.

Filters: You might think you know filters, but this exam may catch you off guard.

• How are filters used?

• Why might you keep one unfiltered view in your account?

• What are the purposes of filters?

To answer these questions, look to the Google Analytics guide for answers beforehand and even dur-

ing the exam.

oDDs & enDsIntelligence: Although this topic doesn’t get a lot of questions, you’ll want to review exactly what

Intelligence Reporting is, so that when a question pops up (I promise, it will), you can see it from a

mile away and choose the correct answer.

Measurement Protocol: You may never use the MP in your regular life, but spend a moment looking

into its role in Analytics, as well as the Data Import feature. While they’re not heavily emphasized,

skimming these tools will make a few questions on the exam a bit more familiar.

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What You Need To Know About The 2015 Google Analytics Exam

Real Time: This data is a great way to check in on your performance and which pages are

appropriately tracking your Analytics traffic.

Buzz Words: When you encounter a question with no major buzzwords, this is your chance to use

what you know of PPC common practices and strategies. An example might end the scenario with

the question “Which of the listed objectives are most relevant for content publishers?” This is

where you take a moment to breathe and think through the bigger picture of website analysis.

make suRe You aRe pRepaReDIf you find that you have a lot that looks new or unfamiliar, spend some time reviewing the guide,

take some practice tests on iPass and re-read whitepapers and posts like this one that highlight

what’s currently present on the exam. Remember to breathe and not to overthink things. And most

of all, good luck!

hanapinmarketing.comHanapin Marketing is a paid search agency based in Bloomington, Indiana. Founded in 2004, the company

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