Yesterday, I passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ) test with a score of 91%. It’s a 70 question online exam which you have an hour and a half to complete and you have to get 80% to pass (Google recently increased the pass rate from 75% and the reduced the time allowed by 30 minutes). I didn’t find this to be too much of an issue as I still had 15 minutes spare.
The test comprises of multiple choice questions, usually with 4 answers to choose from. Some however, are the ‘check all that apply’ type, which I found the trickiest.
Preparing for the GAIQ test
Before you take the GAIQ exam, the best resource for preparation is Google’s Conversion University lessons, which are broken down in to easily digestible segments. It goes through the fundamental basics, which are easy and mostly common sense to more advanced analytic code placing and report generation. I would recommend still reviewing all the lessons, especially for those ‘check all that reply’ questions. The lessons are set out in a sensible order, but content is explained quickly so be prepared to hit the pause button frequently, especially if you are planning to take notes. The lessons which I think were the most useful in terms of passing the test and, the ones you should refresh/familiarise yourself with are:
- Profiles in Google Analytics
- E-Commerce Tracking
- Filters in Google Analytics
- Domains and Sub-Domains
- Cookies and Google Analytics
My test included a lot of Adwords related questions, which although is covered in the lessons I think I would have struggled a bit if I was not familiar with running campaigns. Therefore, I’d recommend signing up to an Adwords account to get a feel of how it works.
Although I think the Conversion University lessons cover most things I have in the past found both Avinash Kaushik’s books; Web Analytics 2.0 and Web Analytics: An Hour a Day really easy to read and digest. I did read somewhere that most of the exam questions were generated from Brian Clifton’s Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics book and I could see why. Definitely a helpful book and it includes a handy 50% off voucher for the GAIQ exam, saving $25 and effectively making the book free!
During the GAIQ test
With 70 questions and an hour and a half to complete, this only gives you very limited time to go research the questions (a minute or so per question). However, some of questions you will easily breeze through, leaving enough time to do a bit of research for those trickier ones. The resources that I recommend having open in your browser during the test are:
- Google Search – The answer to most things, although you won’t pass without preparation.
- Google Analytics – Make sure you’re logged in
- IP Address Range Regex Tool – I had a IP range question, which I just plugged into this tool
- Cookie Reference – There were lots of cookie questions
The best tool was the Conversion University itself. I set up the below page to be able to quickly find the information I was looking for across all the lessons:
- Conversion University Notes – Really useful if you use ‘ctrl F’
Conclusion
I hope you found this post useful in preparing for the exam. The test isn’t too difficult as long as you’ve had experience with Google Analytics and use the above tips to brush up and refresh on the things you’re unfamiliar with.
You will be awarded with the following certificate as a PDF file that you can print and put on your wall if you’re that way inclined :p 
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
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Web Analytics 2.0
