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Ritu Singh

In this hands-on course, Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals, you’ll learn how to effectively set up, use, and interpret data in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — Google’s latest and most advanced analytics platform.

Whether you're a beginner or transitioning from Universal Analytics, this course will help you gain the skills you need to confidently navigate GA4. You’ll start by creating your GA4 property and installing the tracking code using tools like Google Tag Manager or gtag.js. Then, you’ll dive into data streams, enhanced measurement, and understanding how event-based tracking works in GA4.

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In this hands-on course, Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals, you’ll learn how to effectively set up, use, and interpret data in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — Google’s latest and most advanced analytics platform.

Whether you're a beginner or transitioning from Universal Analytics, this course will help you gain the skills you need to confidently navigate GA4. You’ll start by creating your GA4 property and installing the tracking code using tools like Google Tag Manager or gtag.js. Then, you’ll dive into data streams, enhanced measurement, and understanding how event-based tracking works in GA4.

Next, you’ll explore GA4’s core reports — including traffic acquisition, engagement, demographics, and user retention. You’ll learn how to analyze where your users come from, what actions they take, and which pages or campaigns are performing best. You’ll also discover how to set up custom events and conversions tailored to your business goals.

Through step-by-step lessons, you'll gain practical experience with GA4’s Explorations, custom reports, filters, and segments — helping you turn raw data into actionable insights. You’ll also learn to avoid common mistakes and set up a clean, reliable analytics foundation from the start.

This course is perfect for marketers, website owners, small business owners, students, and aspiring data analysts. No prior experience with Google Analytics is required.

By the end, you’ll be able to confidently use GA4 to make smarter, data-driven decisions that improve your website’s performance and support your marketing goals.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Set up a google analytics 4 (ga4) property from scratch for websites and apps.
  • Navigate the ga4 interface and understand key sections like home, reports, explore, and admin.
  • Install ga4 tracking code using google tag manager or gtag.js.
  • Configure data streams for collecting data from websites and mobile apps.

Syllabus

Create a new GA4 property and configure basic settings
Introduction
Set up web data streams for tracking website activity
What is Google Analytics 4?
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Coming soon We're preparing activities for Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals. These are activities you can do either before, during, or after a course.

Career center

Learners who complete Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Web Analyst
A Web Analyst is crucial for interpreting website and app data to understand user behavior and drive performance improvements. This course, Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals, provides the precise hands-on training you need to excel in this role. You will learn to effectively set up, use, and interpret data in Google Analytics 4, which is the industry-standard platform for web analytics. The course will equip you with skills to navigate core reports like traffic acquisition and engagement, create custom reports, and use powerful Explorations to turn raw data into actionable insights, making you adept at guiding data-driven decisions for optimal website performance. This is a foundational course for any aspiring Web Analyst.
Digital Entrepreneur
A Digital Entrepreneur, such as a website owner or small business owner, needs to intimately understand their online presence to drive success. This Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course is perfectly tailored for a Digital Entrepreneur, empowering you to confidently use GA4 to make smarter, data-driven decisions that improve your website’s performance and support your marketing goals. You will learn to set up your GA4 property, track user actions with event-based tracking, and analyze core reports to understand where users comes from and what actions they take, ensuring your online ventures are built on solid data insights.
Conversion Rate Optimization Specialist
A Conversion Rate Optimization Specialist focuses on improving the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action. This course, Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals, is exceptionally well-suited for a Conversion Rate Optimization Specialist. You will learn how event-based tracking works in GA4, how to set up custom events and conversions tailored to business goals, and how to analyze user actions. By gaining practical experience with GA4’s Explorations, custom reports, filters, and segments, you will be able to identify user behavior patterns, pinpoint areas for improvement, and validate your optimization strategies with reliable data.
E-commerce Manager
An E commerce Manager oversees the online sales operations and performance of a business. This Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course is highly valuable for an E commerce Manager, as it directly equips you with the skills to monitor and improve online sales performance. You will learn to set up custom events and conversions relevant to the e-commerce funnel, analyze traffic acquisition, and understand user engagement across product pages. By gaining practical experience with GA4’s reports and Explorations, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize the customer journey, improve conversion rates, and achieve sales objectives.
Digital Marketing Specialist
A Digital Marketing Specialist relies heavily on data to optimize campaigns and achieve marketing goals. This Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course is directly applicable to the daily tasks of a Digital Marketing Specialist, as it teaches you to analyze campaign performance and user engagement. You will gain practical experience in setting up GA4 properties, understanding traffic acquisition and conversion events, and integrating GA4 with platforms like Google Ads. By learning to interpret data in GA4, you will be able to confidently make smarter, data-driven decisions that improve marketing effectiveness and support strategic objectives on an ongoing basis.
Marketing Analyst
A Marketing Analyst specializes in measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course is exceptionally relevant for a Marketing Analyst, teaching you to assess campaign performance and user behavior with precision. You will learn to analyze traffic acquisition, engagement, and conversion reports, and how to integrate GA4 with Google Ads. This comprehensive training in setting up, using, and interpreting GA4 data empowers you to make smarter, data-driven decisions that significantly enhance marketing strategies and demonstrate clear return on investment.
Growth Marketing Manager
A Growth Marketing Manager drives customer acquisition, activation, and retention through data-informed strategies. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course is highly relevant for a Growth Marketing Manager. It teaches you to analyze traffic acquisition, engagement, and user retention reports, providing direct insights into what drives growth. You will learn how to set up conversion events, understand event parameters, and use GA4’s advanced features like Explorations to identify growth opportunities. This practical knowledge allows you to effectively measure, iterate, and optimize your growth initiatives for maximum impact.
Data Analyst
For an aspiring Data Analyst, proficiency in web analytics platforms is a highly sought-after skill. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course provides a strong foundation in a specific, critical domain of data analysis. You will gain hands-on experience in setting up and interpreting data from Google Analytics 4, including creating custom reports and Explorations, setting up segments, and applying filters to refine data. This training in turning raw data into actionable insights will significantly prepare you for roles where you must confidently use data to make smarter, evidence-based decisions across various business functions.
Search Engine Optimization Specialist
A Search Engine Optimization Specialist needs to measure the impact of their strategies on website traffic and user engagement. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course helps build a foundation in understanding how users arrive at and interact with a website, which is invaluable for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist. You will learn to analyze traffic acquisition reports to see where users come from, explore engagement metrics, and identify which pages or campaigns are performing best. This insight can directly inform your SEO efforts, allowing you to make data-driven decisions to enhance organic visibility and improve overall site performance.
Business Intelligence Analyst
A Business Intelligence Analyst aggregates and analyzes data to support strategic business decisions across an organization. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course will help build a foundation for a Business Intelligence Analyst in understanding and extracting insights from web analytics data, a crucial data source for many businesses. You will gain practical experience in turning raw GA4 data into actionable insights through custom reports, Explorations, and segments. This proficiency in interpreting digital performance metrics will enable you to contribute valuable perspectives to broader business intelligence initiatives and strategic planning.
Product Manager
A Product Manager frequently needs to understand how users interact with digital products and features to make informed development decisions. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course may be useful for a Product Manager seeking to leverage data for product strategy. You will learn to explore engagement reports, user retention, and identify what actions users take within your website or app. While not the sole tool, GA4 skills can help you analyze product performance, track feature adoption, and gain insights into user demographics. This knowledge helps support data-driven product enhancements and contribute to overall product success.
User Experience Researcher
A User Experience Researcher investigates how users interact with products to inform design decisions. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course may be useful for a User Experience Researcher by providing quantitative data to complement qualitative research findings. You will learn to analyze user engagement, explore user demographics reports, and understand actions users take on a website or app. This can help identify areas of friction or success in the user journey. The ability to interpret GA4 data can help validate assumptions, inform hypothesis generation for further research, and provide a broader context for user behavior.
Chief Marketing Officer
A Chief Marketing Officer sets the strategic direction for marketing and relies on data to make high-level decisions. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course may be useful for a Chief Marketing Officer to gain a comprehensive understanding of the foundational web analytics data that informs their team's strategies. While this role typically requires an advanced degree and extensive leadership experience, understanding how to interpret traffic acquisition, engagement, and conversion reports in GA4 can help validate strategic choices, guide marketing investments, and ensure the entire function is operating with a data-driven mindset.
Content Strategist
A Content Strategist develops and manages content plans, requiring an understanding of how content performs. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course may be useful for a Content Strategist, as it provides tools for evaluating content effectiveness. You will learn to analyze engagement reports, identify which pages are performing best, and understand user retention related to content consumption. This quantitative insight into content performance allows you to make data-driven decisions about what content resonates with your audience, optimize existing content, and plan future content initiatives to support business and marketing goals more effectively.
Analytics Engineer
An Analytics Engineer focuses on designing and building data pipelines and structures to support analytics. The Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals course may be useful for an Analytics Engineer, providing a fundamental understanding of how GA4 collects data and its underlying structure, particularly regarding event parameters and data streams. While this role typically requires advanced technical skills and often an advanced degree, comprehending GA4 setup and data collection methods, including installing tracking codes with Google Tag Manager, is a foundational piece. This knowledge helps ensure clean, reliable data for more complex engineering tasks.

Reading list

We've selected 21 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Google Analytics 4 Fundamentals.
Comprehensive technical guide that serves as an excellent primary reference for mastering the GA4 interface and data model. It provides significant depth on the platform's machine learning capabilities and its integration with BigQuery, which adds more breadth to the course's reporting modules. Industry professionals frequently use this text to understand the shift from session-based to event-based tracking. It is particularly helpful for those looking to move from basic setup to advanced data analysis.
Is highly practical and aligns perfectly with the course's objective of setting up and interpreting data for business goals. It useful reference tool for marketers who need to translate raw event data into actionable insights regarding traffic and engagement. The author recognized authority in the Google marketing ecosystem, lending the book significant reputation. It is best used as a companion guide for the 'Creating and Modifying Events' section of the syllabus.
Offers a very structured approach to GA4, making it helpful for students who prefer a linear progression similar to the course syllabus. It excels at explaining the 'Enhanced Measurement' features and how to verify that data is being collected correctly. It is more valuable as a current reference for implementation than as a high-level strategy book. The author's clear instructions help learners avoid the common setup mistakes mentioned in the course.
Is an essential prerequisite for the course module on installing GA4 tracking code using Google Tag Manager. It provides a deep dive into tags, triggers, and variables, which are vital for the event-based tracking model of GA4. As a technical reference, it helps learners troubleshoot data streams and ensure accurate data collection. It is widely considered a standard reference for technical marketers and data analysts.
Deep dive into the more technical and mathematical aspects of GA4, such as attribution modeling and data sampling. It is an excellent reference tool for students who want to go beyond the course basics into advanced custom event configuration. It provides specific strategies for optimizing conversions and improving ROI. It is highly recommended for those pursuing a career specifically in digital analytics.
Is frequently used as an academic textbook and provides a broader context for why GA4 is necessary in modern digital marketing. It covers the theoretical aspects of user demographics, retention, and the customer journey. It adds breadth to the course by connecting GA4 data to wider marketing strategies and social media analytics. It is particularly useful for students taking the course for academic or professional development reasons.
Provides a high-level overview of the analytics landscape, making it a great tool for professional development. It helps students understand how GA4 fits into the broader ecosystem of digital advertising and consumer behavior. It useful reference for the course's module on integrating GA4 with Google Ads. The author, a former Google executive, brings immense authority and industry context to the subject.
This more concise, project-based alternative to the author's other works, focusing on the immediate needs of GA4 implementation. It provides step-by-step instructions for the course's 'Installing GA4' and 'Enabling Enhanced Measurement' modules. It very useful reference tool for the initial setup phase of a project. It helps learners avoid common pitfalls in tag deployment and data layer configuration.
Provides the strategic 'big picture' that GA4 fits into, making it a great resource for the 'Traffic Acquisition' and 'Retention' modules. It is frequently used as a textbook for digital marketing certifications. It helps learners understand how to use GA4 data to inform a holistic marketing strategy across multiple channels. It is published recently and is highly regarded for its practical frameworks.
While not a GA4 manual, this book is an essential supplement for the 'Creating Custom Reports and Explorations' section of the course. it teaches learners how to turn the raw data found in GA4 into persuasive visual stories for stakeholders. It is highly reputable within the data field and provides the soft skills needed to make data-driven decisions. This is more valuable as additional reading for those who want to master the interpretation of GA4 reports.
Massive resource that provides the academic and professional background for digital analytics. It standard textbook in many universities and covers the integration of analytics into every stage of the marketing funnel. It adds significant breadth to the course by discussing long-term planning and optimization. It is an authoritative reference for any serious marketing professional.
Great resource for students who want to use GA4 data for predictive modeling and customer segmentation. It adds depth to the course's 'User Retention' and 'Demographics' sections by introducing machine learning concepts. It is more valuable as a forward-looking reference for those transitioning into data science roles. The book bridges the gap between marketing metrics and data science applications.
Valuable supplement for the 'Explorations' and 'Custom Reports' sections of the course. It teaches how to export GA4 data and perform advanced statistical analysis in Excel. It is frequently used as a textbook in business schools and provides a solid bridge between web data and business forecasting. It adds breadth by teaching analytical techniques that GA4's standard reports cannot perform alone.
Offers a broad perspective on how to use analytics to understand consumer behavior, which complements the 'User Engagement' section of the course. It is used by industry professionals to develop a more sophisticated approach to data interpretation. It provides the background knowledge needed to turn GA4 metrics into strategic business recommendations. The book is published recently and reflects modern analytical challenges.
Although published prior to GA4, this is the definitive foundational text for the entire field of web analytics. It provides the essential background knowledge on measurement strategy and KPI selection that students need before they begin technical setup. It is best used as additional reading to understand the 'Trinity' of web analytics: behavior, outcomes, and experience. The author's authority in the field remains unmatched.
Provides the strategic framework for choosing which GA4 events and conversions actually matter for different business models. It is excellent additional reading for entrepreneurs and small business owners taking the course. It helps learners move from just 'collecting data' to 'collecting the right data.' It highly popular and reputable book in the startup and technology fields.
Since GA4 offers a free native export to BigQuery, this book vital reference for students who want to advance into data analysis. It explains how to store and query large datasets, which is the logical next step after mastering the GA4 interface. adds significant technical depth for aspiring data analysts. It challenging but rewarding read for those looking to bypass the limitations of the GA4 UI.
Since the course includes a module on integrating GA4 with Google Ads, this workbook vital companion. it provides the context for how GA4 data is used to optimize ad spend and track campaign performance. It highly practical reference for marketers who are taking the course to improve their digital advertising results. The author is well-known for his practical, hands-on teaching style.
Useful reference for the 'Custom Reports' part of the syllabus, especially for those who need to share GA4 data with non-users. It teaches how to build effective dashboards that can pull data from various sources. It adds depth to the reporting side of the course by offering alternative ways to present GA4 insights. It practical guide for those who want to master data communication.
Provides a reputable framework for identifying the most important metrics to track in GA4. It is more valuable as additional reading for those in management or leadership roles who need to justify marketing spend. It adds breadth to the course by focusing on the financial and strategic impact of data. It classic text that remains highly relevant for professional development.

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