Google Analytics Academy Launches 2 New Courses!

The Analytics Academy is back and better than ever! Ok, it didn’t actually go anywhere, but there are a few important changes with this update which will hopefully help you in your analytics education! There is a new URL, a new look and feel, TWO NEW COURSES, and evergreen certification opportunities! You can now access the Analytics Academy directly at https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/ We’ve updated the look and feel of the new site Two new courses are replacing the old Digital Analytics Fundamental and Platform Principles courses. The new courses are called ‘Google Analytics for Beginners’ and ‘Advanced Google Analytics’ Google Analytics for Beginners: teaches the the basic features of Google Analytics including how to create an account, implement tracking code, analyze basic reports, and set up goals and campaign tracking. Advanced
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Step by Step: Using GTM Workspaces

There are many use cases you may want to explore for GTM Workspaces (see the HC article here), but I wanted to take the opportunity to run you through a simple one: I have some edits in progress in my container that I’m not ready to publish, but I need to launch a new tag to add the Optimize code snippet to my website. This is a perfect use case for using a Workspace in Google Tag Manager. Step 1: Create a new Workspace To create a new workspace, on the left hand nav, click into the place that says ‘Default Workspace’. This will open a slider showing your current workspaces, and on the top right hand side there is a blue plus arrow. Clicking it will open an additional
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Step-by-Step: Linking Your Google Analytics and Optimize Accounts and Installing the Optimize Snippet

To begin using Optimize, you must first setup your account and container (see this post with a Step-by-Step of how to do that), and then link your Google Analytics property to your Optimize account. In this post, I’ll show you how to setup your linking. Step 1: After logging into optimize.google.com, and after having setup your account and container, you should see something like the below container, ready for you to create your first experiment. Before we do that, however, I’d recommend linking your Google Analytics property first (note: you can do this in any order, but to launch an experiment you must have a linked GA property, and the Optimize snippet on your page, so I like to do these steps first). On the right hand nav bard, on step number 2,
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Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Google Optimize Account and Container

Optimize is Google’s new A/B & Multivariate testing tool. The free version is rolling out in Beta now (sign up here to receive your invitation) and is a great tool to start your Optimization efforts. To begin using Optimize, you must first setup your account. This requires a few key steps, which I’ll go through in detail below. Step 1. Follow the link in your email invite to get to optimize.google.com. You’ll be taken to the below screen with the CTA ‘Get Started’. Email invite to Google Optimize Google Optimize Welcome Screen You’ll then be taken through a couple of screens to choose your email and data privacy settings: Email preferences. I suggest saying Yes to all to stay up to date on announcements, training, etc Data sharing preferences. I suggest saying
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Step-by-Step: QA Your GTM Container with Preview and Debug Mode

Previously, I’ve showed you how to implement a basic Google Analytics page view tag, event tags, and outbound link tracking using Google Tag Manager. An important step prior to publishing any tag in GTM is to QA the tag prior to publishing. You can do this with the ‘Preview and Debug’ mode in GTM. This functionality can help ensure that your tags are firing correctly, as well as highlight any potential discrepancies in the tag setup prior to publishing to your production environment. This is a quick process that you can accomplish in just a few steps: Step 1: Setup your tag. In this case, I’m testing a new pageview tag called ‘gaPageview Test’ on this blog, kristaseiden.com. You can see the tag and trigger setup here: Step 2: Once you’ve completed the tag you’re working on, you’ll want to go into the ‘Preview and Debug’ mode via the button in the upper left hand corner of the
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Women in Tech: Working in a World of Unconscious Bias (and what you can do about it)

As #womenintech, #ILooklLikeAnEngineer, and prominent voices such as Anne-Marie Slaughter and Susan Wojcicki become more and more mainstream in everyday conversation, and the topic of equality in the workplace gains traction, I have to pause and reflect on how this growing movement of support for women’s equality has impacted me and those around me. As women, we have made huge strides since gaining the right to vote via the 19th amendment in 1920. I can’t sit down and write an article like this without a hat tip (or a bonnet tip) to the likes of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many other brave women who paved the way for women’s equality, dating as far back at the 1840’s. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s with three older sisters and two
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Custom Funnels Joins the Periodic Table of Google Analytics!

A couple weeks ago I was in Australia for the Loves Data Analytics Conference and had a chance to chat with Jeff Sauer, better known as @Jeffalytics, about some of my favorite Google Analytics 360 reports. You may be familiar with Jeff’s Periodic Table of Google Analytics. I’m excited to say that I’ve added a new element, Custom Funnels. I’ve written about Custom Funnels before, and am always excited to share more about them, because they can be so powerful, especially for remarketing based on fallout from a determined path, such as a checkout funnel. Check out some of my thoughts in this video:   Watch @kristaseiden explain how to 📈🚀💪 make your #business #data speak volumes with @googleanalytics 3️⃣6️⃣0️⃣ feature – Custom Funnels! pic.twitter.com/BoNkUPxEX4 — Jeffalytics (@jeffalytics) November 11,
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How to Improve Engagement Tracking with Event Tracking

Better data enables better decision making, and it begins with how you track it – to provide more context to what’s already out there. Because by knowing more about the context, you’ll be better equipped and informed. When I’m interviewing prospective interns or senior roles for our marketing team and we get to questions about their knowledge of Google Analytics, I always ask them two questions to get a sense of their proficiency level: Have you worked with Advanced Segments Do you know how to use Event Tracking and can you explain how it works? To me, both are essential for getting a better sense of the data and the users on your site. With this post I’d like to explain the importance of Event Tracking and how we use
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Reflecting on 4 Years at Google

Reflection is part of growth. Looking back and examining what has gone by, what has been accomplished, where I’ve fallen short, and where I still need to improve is an important exercise to move forward. This morning, I read back through my blog post reflecting on my first year at Google, and I was surprised to remember how much happened in that first year. It made me think about all that’s happened since, and most recently, this past year at the Goog. I’m writing this post while on vacation in the Philippines, at the tail end of a quarter long assignment to work in Asia. If that one sentence doesn’t sum up the adventure that the past 4 years has brought me, I don’t know what can. To hear more
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