In an effort to help digital marketers become more data savvy, Google launched the Analytics Academy in October of last year. The first course Google offered attracted 145,000 students. with more than 30,000 earning a certificate of completion.

Google recently announced they’re launching the next course in the Analytics Academy, called “Google Analytics Platform Principles.” Their next course is an in depth look into how Google Analytics collects, transforms and organizes data.

A better understanding of how Google Analytics works allows businesses to refine their implementation and discover even more valuable data.

• the four components of the Analytics platform: collection, processing, configuration and reporting
• how Analytics collects the data you need across different devices
• how your data is transformed before you see it in your reports
• key concepts for customizing your Analytics data in useful ways

You can sign up here. Registration is completely free, all you need is a Google account. They also have you fill out an extremely brief survey that shouldn’t take longer than a minute.

Even though the course is free, Google adds a little sales pitch at the end of their announcement in case you need a little extra persuasion to enroll in the course. Here are a few snippets from their pitch:

• “If we understand the customer better, we can help them achieve their goals, while we achieve ours…”
• “78% of marketers feel the need to become more data driven… marketers need to know how their campaigns drive direct conversions, and more importantly, how they improve the overall performance of other campaigns…”
• “No matter what your role in business, from marketing to product to PR, you will need to work with data… Make 2014 the year that you invest in yourself and develop your analytical skills.”

Watch the brief video above explaining more about the course and how it’s run.[clickToTweet tweet=”Improve your Digital Analytics Skills with Google Analytics Academy” quote=”Improve your Digital Analytics Skills with Google Analytics Academy”]