Welcome to Analytics Fundamentals Course

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of analytics. Analytics is a critical discipline that enables businesses to make data-driven decisions.

Course Content

In this course, you will learn:

• Basic Concepts: What is analytics and why is it important?
• Data Collection: How do you collect data from your website?
• Measurement Metrics: Which metrics should you track?
• Reporting: How do you visualize your data?

What is Analytics?

Analytics is the process of analyzing data to extract meaningful insights. It is critical for businesses because:

1. It helps you understand customer behavior
2. It allows you to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
3. It makes your business decisions data-driven

Basic Analytics Terms

// Example: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) event tracking
gtag('event', 'page_view', {
  'page_title': 'Home Page',
  'page_location': window.location.href,
  'page_path': window.location.pathname
});

Important Metrics:

• Page Views: How many times a page has been viewed
• Session: The time a user spends on the site
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of targeted actions completed

Data Collection Methods

There are several methods to collect data from your website:

1. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics tool. Setup is simple:

<!-- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

2. Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is used to manage tags:

// GTM Data Layer example
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'purchase',
  'transactionId': '12345',
  'value': 99.99,
  'currency': 'USD'
});

Measurement Metrics

Traffic Metrics

Metric	Description
Users	Number of unique users who visited the site
Sessions	Total number of user interactions
Page Views	Number of pages viewed
Average Session Duration	Average time users spend on the site

Conversion Metrics

// E-commerce conversion tracking example
gtag('event', 'purchase', {
  'transaction_id': 'T12345',
  'value': 250.00,
  'currency': 'USD',
  'items': [{
    'item_id': 'SKU123',
    'item_name': 'Product Name',
    'price': 250.00,
    'quantity': 1
  }]
});

Reporting and Visualization

You can use various tools to visualize your data:

1. Google Analytics Dashboard: Pre-built reports and customizable dashboards
2. Google Data Studio: Create visual reports
3. Excel/Google Sheets: For simple analyses

Example Report Structure

## Monthly Analytics Report

### Traffic Summary
- Total Users: 10,000
- New Users: 7,500 (75%)
- Returning Users: 2,500 (25%)

### Traffic Sources
1. Organic Search: 45%
2. Direct Traffic: 30%
3. Social Media: 15%
4. Referral: 10%

### Conversion Analysis
- Total Conversions: 250
- Conversion Rate: 2.5%
- Average Value: $150

Practical Examples

Example 1: Page View Tracking

// Send custom event on a specific page
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
  // Send event when page loads
  gtag('event', 'page_view', {
    'page_title': document.title,
    'page_location': window.location.href
  });
});

Example 2: Button Click Tracking

<!-- HTML -->
<button onclick="trackButtonClick('download-pdf')">
  Download PDF
</button>

<!-- JavaScript -->
<script>
function trackButtonClick(buttonName) {
  gtag('event', 'click', {
    'event_category': 'button',
    'event_label': buttonName
  });
}
</script>

Conclusion

Analytics is critical for your business success. With what you’ve learned in this course:

• You will understand data collection processes
• You will be able to track important metrics
• You will be able to make data-driven decisions

Next Steps:

1. Create a Google Analytics account
2. Add tracking code to your website
3. Review your first reports
4. Track metrics regularly

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Note: This course is free and accessible to everyone. Check out our premium courses for more advanced topics.

Resources:

• Google Analytics Documentation
• Google Tag Manager Guide
• Analytics Best Practices