--- title: "Web Analytics with Google Analytics 4 — free course" description: "Plan, tag, analyze and report with GA4, Tag Manager, BigQuery and Data Studio, accurately, with consent built in and AI used safely" url: https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4 updated: 2026-10-05 --- Data & analytics · Intermediate · 415 minutes · free · updated Sep 2026 # Web Analytics with Google Analytics 4 Plan, tag, analyze and report with GA4, Tag Manager, BigQuery and Data Studio, accurately, with consent built in and AI used safely - **Lessons:** 20 in 7 modules - **Video lectures:** 20 lectures, 164 minutes - **Updated:** Sep 2026 ## Tools you'll use - Google Analytics 4 - Google Tag Manager - BigQuery - Data Studio - Google Analytics Data API - Google Analytics MCP server - Consent mode - Google Sheets - Python - Claude - ChatGPT - Gemini [Start the course](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/from-goals-to-kpis) ## About this course Most analytics setups fail long before anyone opens a report: nobody agreed what to measure, events were named at random, campaign links were untagged and consent was an afterthought. This course fixes that from the ground up, current to September 2026. You will build a **measurement plan** tied to business goals, master the **GA4 event model** (events, parameters, key events and custom definitions), implement tracking with **Google Tag Manager and a data layer**, enforce **UTM discipline**, and understand **consent mode** and its real effect on reports, modeling and exports. Then you will turn data into decisions with reports, explorations, attribution and incrementality tests, **Data Studio** dashboards, the **BigQuery export** with reusable SQL, and **AI-assisted analysis** (Ask Advisor, Gemini, MCP) verified with a repeatable ladder. Built for marketers, freelancers, agency analysts and founders who want analytics they can trust and explain. ## What you will learn - Write a measurement plan that links business objectives to KPIs, events, targets and decisions - Design and lint a GA4 tracking plan with consistent names, parameters and key events - Implement and QA GA4 through Google Tag Manager, a data layer and automated contract tests - Keep channel data clean with an enforced UTM taxonomy and leak-detection queries - Explain consent mode, modeling thresholds and privacy duties, and quantify consent effects - Answer business questions with reports, explorations, BigQuery SQL and incrementality tests - Build decision-focused Data Studio dashboards and verify AI-assisted analysis before sharing ## Course content ### Measurement strategy before tools Start with the business, not the tag. Build a measurement plan and set up a GA4 property that reflects it. - [From business goals to KPIs](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/from-goals-to-kpis): 10 min - [Designing a tracking plan and naming conventions](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/tracking-plan-and-naming): 11 min - [Setting up a GA4 property the right way](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/ga4-property-setup): 10 min ### The GA4 data model Understand events, parameters, key events, e-commerce data and custom definitions — the building blocks of every GA4 report. - [Events, parameters and user properties](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/events-parameters-user-properties): 11 min - [Key events and e-commerce tracking](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/key-events-and-ecommerce): 12 min - [Custom definitions, scopes and core metrics](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/custom-definitions-and-metrics): 10 min ### Tagging with a tag manager Implement GA4 reliably using a tag manager, a data layer and a rigorous QA process. - [Tag manager fundamentals: tags, triggers and variables](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/tag-manager-fundamentals): 11 min - [The data layer and custom events](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/data-layer-and-custom-events): 12 min - [QA, debugging and release discipline](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/qa-and-debugging): 10 min ### Campaign tracking, consent and privacy Keep acquisition data clean with UTM discipline, and collect data lawfully with consent mode and privacy-by-design. - [UTM discipline and channel groupings](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/utm-discipline): 11 min - [Consent and consent mode concepts](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/consent-mode-concepts): 11 min - [Privacy by design and data governance](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/privacy-by-design): 10 min ### Reports and explorations Navigate GA4's standard reports confidently and use explorations to answer specific business questions. - [Reading standard reports with confidence](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/standard-reports): 11 min - [Explorations: funnels, paths, segments and cohorts](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/explorations): 12 min - [From data to insight: an analysis workflow](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/from-data-to-insight): 10 min ### Attribution, dashboards and analytics operations Understand attribution honestly, build decision-focused dashboards and run analytics as an ongoing practice. - [Attribution concepts and their limits](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/attribution-concepts): 12 min - [Dashboards that drive decisions](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/dashboards-that-drive-decisions): 11 min - [Running analytics as an ongoing practice](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/analytics-operating-rhythm): 10 min ### BigQuery export and AI-assisted analysis Use the raw GA4 export with reusable SQL, and bring AI (Ask Advisor, Gemini, general assistants and MCP) into analysis with a verification ladder. - [The GA4 BigQuery export: setup, schema and SQL you will reuse](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/bigquery-export-and-sql): 8 min - [AI-assisted GA4 analysis: Ask Advisor, Gemini, MCP and a verification ladder](https://optimizeall.com/learn/web-analytics-with-ga4/ai-assisted-ga4-analysis): 8 min ## Certificate: Certified GA4 Web Analyst The holder can plan, implement and interpret Google Analytics 4 measurement: translating goals into KPIs and tracking plans, implementing events through Tag Manager and a data layer, keeping campaign data clean, respecting consent and privacy, querying the BigQuery export, and turning reports, experiments, dashboards and verified AI analysis into defensible recommendations. - **Final assessment:** 25 questions, 40 minutes - **Passing score:** 80%