Google Analytics Learning Resources Roundup
There’s a lot to know about Google Analytics, but fortunately, there are lots of places to learn about it. Here’s a roundup of links to some of the most helpful information on Google Analytics. See a resource that you love that’s missing? Leave a comment.
Documentation
First off, the Help Center has pretty good documentation about all kinds of basic questions about Google Analytics.
For more in-depth technical documentation, there’s also the Google Code site. This is a great reference if you’re a web developer and JavaScript-savvy. It tells you all about how the tracking code works and how you can customize it.
Videos
If you’re a visual learner who’d rather see it than read about it, there are two great sources of videos for learning about Google Analytics.
First, there are the GAIQ lessons, which walk through a lot of the basics of how to use Google Analytics.
There’s also a Google Analytics YouTube channel which has videos with lots of tips and tricks for using GA.
Books
People always ask me for good books about Google Analytics. The only book that’s really out there is Brian Clifton’s Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, which covers both analysis (how to use Google Analytics) and configuration (how to set it up). But even though it was only published last year, it’s already pretty out of date with the new features that have been released since then. (That’s the downside of quick innovation cycles clashing with the slow publishing schedules of books.)
For a guide to configuration and implementation, there’s a great e-Book, Justin Cutroni’s Google Analytics Shortcut. The current edition of this is a little out-of-date too, but it’s being updated right now.
Although it’s not specifically about Google Analytics, I can’t mention books about analytics without mentioning Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics: An Hour A Day, which is just an excellent resource for you to think about what you really want to accomplish with web analytics and how to get there.
Blogs
There are just a ton of great blogs from Google Analytics Authorized Consultants and others on Google Analytics. Here are just a couple of my favorites, but there are lots to choose from. These are pretty focused on GA and related topics, but there’s also a whole blogosphere out there for information about web analytics in general.
Personalized Help
If you have a quick question about Google Analytics, try the Help Forum. (And don’t forget to search the forum’s archives — your question may have already been answered.)
If you’re still struggling with an issue, think about contacting a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant like us. We can help you in a variety of ways, from personalized webinars and training to projects to audit your analytics setup, get it configured for you, or help you analyze how visitors use your site.
