The Easiest Way to Blast Through Google Analytics for Beginners

A student experience by Kaila D.

Beastnotes
3 min readFeb 29, 2020

If you are interested in learning about Google Analytics, getting the free Google Analytics Academy Certification and want to do it in the most efficient way possible, then this post is for you. Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful and useful source of data for anyone with a website, furthermore a Google Analytics certification is a stepping stone towards improving your career. It goes without saying that Google Analytics is ubiquitous on the internet and among marketers and developers alike.

Google Analytics can provide you with information like:

  • How did my site visitors find my site?
  • Where do my site visitors live?
  • What content do they like the most?
  • What content isn’t working for them?

The course towards certification starts with Google Analytics for Beginners in the Google Analytics Academy. This is a free certification, and the course consists of videos, demos, and assessments. To pass this section, you must succeed in all 4 assessments, which are 10–16 question tests.

Me and my friends at Beastnotes have put together a note taking template to nearly guarantee you pass each assessment on the first try by making it super easy to take notes. The template helps you take notes that zero in on the most important questions and topics.

Normally, the assessments might require you to jump back to videos from the unit you just watched as there is a lot of information to unpack from these 3–10 minutes of instructors talking to you. It’s easy to see why the questions being asked in the assessment are reiterating important information you should know- but if you are like me, you will really only learn once you start using the program for real.

Jumping back to the videos prolonged the time I could spend on the Academy each day. My schedules and responsibilities made this a challenge. (And I struggle to pay attention to repetitive instruction because I thought I was over all that in college? Right?)

Beastnotes is a chrome extension that is designed specifically for taking notes for certification courses like Google Analytics- I can watch the videos and my note taking appears to the right of my screen, doesn’t get in the way, I don’t have to pause the video and jump to another screen, I don’t have to slow down, I can just type away and blast through each Unit like the maniac typist I really am.

Taking notes in context with the Beastnotes extension

Furthermore, in the Beastnotes Template for Google Analytics there are key questions in each unit that are specific questions to answer while watching the videos, and with that information you can then take the assessment with your notes right there!

This greatly reduced the amount of time it took me to get through the Academy. Honestly I wish I had thought of it sooner, because I know how efficient approaching the course this way could be.

I just want to reiterate- I really feel everyone should know the basics of Google Analytics, at the very least it is incredibly interesting. Also- it’s completely free.

Check out the Beastnotes GA course template here and have fun blasting through to your certificate:

www.beastnotes.com

Creating a Beastnotes notebook with the GA template

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