It is good to have desires. One will be overwhelmed with joy when those materialize. I felt the bliss when I was selected by Nabler-The Digital Analytics Company. When I took the decision of a horizontal shift to the digital marketing arena from an entirely different field, the passion and the will to explore the exciting, new-generation marketing styles were the only things which fueled my run.
Soon, I was sitting in the training room for new entrants. The training process at Nabler is called ‘DABC’, which, in turn is an acronym for Digital Analytics Boot Camp. I was in the 3rd batch and the first day went like a breeze. Nothing big. Just a few hours of meeting fellow boot campers and the introduction from the company side. One point worth noting here is the approach of the training process. Each vertical was dealt from the elementary level and then taken to complexity. The transition was smooth and went without any hefty jerks. Initial phases went on with the fundamentals of digital marketing which gave us immense insights on the how and why we need to measure the same.
We got to know the ‘Real’ Digital Analytics, when the sessions for Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ) kick started. Google itself provides materials for the preparation for GAIQ exam, but one would lack the hands-on experience and understanding if he or she watches only the videos from Google. Here we got an edge. All of us were given access to the Google Analytics interface of a test-website data and when learning happens at a point where theory and practical meet, Voila! Puzzle pieces fall in place.
Why track a website? Data analysis is not a new field and people have been analyzing lots and lots of data. Still, why to put an eye on web data? The answer didn’t take long to pop up. Online Marketing is one branch of marketing where the actual impact of the effort taken, can be known using Digital Analytics. The extent of this was taught with practical examples from Google Analytics. The understanding led to us to imagine dazzling possibilities.
In GAIQ, I was one among the folks who got stuck often. “Where to look?”, “What to look at?” and “How to look for it?”. These were the common questions which caused bottlenecks. “How to use the tool?” was the first thing in which we were trained in. The case-studies and hands-on approach to Google Analytics made us understand what data to look at and where. As the access of an active Google Analytics profile was given, it was pretty much easy to absorb the concepts and try out the learning in real time.
Starting from the fundamentals like Dimensions and Metrics to advanced cases like Regular Expressions and Tracking Code tweaks, the training kept the momentum of learning at a fast yet steady pace. Regular Expressions was too complex to understand, and only when we were provided with separate sessions on Regex were we able to appreciate its usage. The expertise of the trainer in using the tool and providing insights made us understand the varied sources of traffic to a website, how that traffic is tracked, how ad campaigns are tracked and how all the components interact with each other to give valuable inferences.
As an analyst, it is imperative to know that inferences really matter. A good inference could make or break a report. It is the starting point of analysis. The importance of inference and analysis were the two points that was inculcated in GAIQ. Thus, a great deal of Google Analytics usage experience and plenty of inputs from Nabler’s Digital Analytics Boot Camp made me a Google Analytics Qualified Individual. I am well aware that this was just a beginning and that a long road lies ahead of me. I am gearing up!