Google Analytics Can Make All The Difference

The Journey Begins

When I went to university to study Geography, I developed an affinity for data and trends and had the goal of building a career in renewable energy. Following graduation, I was rejected from every graduate scheme as I didn’t have the relevant experience or a Masters. Although I enjoyed my time at university, doing a Masters just wasn’t for me. Unable to find an opportunity in my area of choice, I had to take on whatever I could to get by.

Traditional VS Digital Marketing

Back in 2014, I was working for an insurance company as a claims assessor. The role offered security, however I wanted to do something that challenged me to be creative and encouraged me continue learning. I knew I needed a change, so I started searching for new jobs online. My search led me to Marketing.

Marketing sounded great. It paid well, offered job security and the opportunity to develop. The problem was, many of the roles I found required a degree or experience in Marketing. I really liked what I was seeing and kept searching for jobs within Marketing. The more I searched the more I wanted to make the jump. Through my search, I discovered a digital marketing role. I didn’t know what digital marketing was, so I started to research. What I found surprised me.

At the time, there wasn’t any official courses that could help me get into Digital Marketing. When I looked through job descriptions, companies wanted somebody with experience using social media and Google Analytics…

What is Google Analytics?

I did some research on the platform and couldn’t believe that Google offered a free course teaching individuals how to Google Analytics. I asked friends and colleagues if they had heard of Google Analytics. I was greeted with blank stares. I took the initiative and started to study Google Analytics everyday after work.

I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get a job in Digital Marketing. All I knew was I had found something that made me excited about the future.

From Zero to Hero

Working through the Google Analytics Academy course was difficult at first, but with time, marketing concepts became easier to grasp. I got through the course but really didn’t know how I could apply my new found knowledge. A search on Google helped me find a blog that shaped the early years of my career in digital — ‘ From Zero to Hero in 5 Steps ‘ by Avinash Kaushik.

The article explained the different career paths an analyst can take and what could be done to get your first job. Avinash explained that to become a data analyst, you could create your very own work experience by:

a. Analysing traffic for friends and family who had an online businesses

b. Creating a blog of your own and posting regular content to drive traffic

** DING **

I didn’t know anybody with a website, so I bought a book that taught me how to build a basic blog on WordPress. After racking my brain to do this, I created a Google Analytics account and added the Google Analytics tracking code to my blog.

From there, I started writing about the things I knew about. I wrote about football, guitars and food. Although there was no structure to my blog, I started to see traffic come through my site. Although the traffic was minimal, I was able to learn how to navigate the platform in real time and start to analyse what was happening.

Within 6 months of blogging and using Google Analytics, I got my first job as a data analyst within an advertising agency in London.

Are you ready to Boss Your Brand?

Google analytics is a great tool for all online business. It is free and can help inform content creation. Through my weekly articles and vlogs, my goal is to help you learn how to use tools like Google Analytics and Facebook to start the conversation you need to achieve your business goals. All you have to do is be committed to learning and making a change.

No matter if you want to build awareness for your coffee shop or you want to become a web analyst yourself, I am certain, I can help point you in the right direction.

So the question is… Are you ready to Boss Your Brand?

Originally published at https://alexrenemartin.com on September 7, 2019.