A one-page Google Analytics Certification reference: the assessment facts plus the core GA4 concepts you must know. Use it for final review. Confirm all current details on the official Skillshop and Analytics Help pages.
Assessment facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cost | Free (no exam fee; all Skillshop training is free) |
| Where | Online on Google Skillshop, no proctor |
| Based on | Google Analytics 4 (GA4) |
| Pass mark | 80% or greater |
| Questions / time | Not published by Google (third parties report ~50 questions; confirm at exam time) |
| Retake | Wait 24 hours if you do not pass; no limit on attempts |
| Validity | 1 year (expires after 12 months; retake to renew) |
| Prerequisite | None - no degree, fee or experience gate |
The four GA4 skill areas
- Set up a GA4 property - accounts, properties, data streams; the event-based model.
- Collect data - automatically collected events, enhanced measurement, custom events and parameters.
- Use reporting tools - standard reports plus the Explore workspace.
- Recognise key measurement features - key events, audiences, attribution, data retention.
GA4 in one screen
- Event-based model - everything is an event with parameters; there are no separate pageview, session or transaction hit types like in Universal Analytics.
- Automatically collected events - GA4 logs some events with no setup (e.g. first_visit, session_start).
- Enhanced measurement - optional automatic tracking of scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video and file downloads.
- Custom event - an event you define for an action GA4 does not capture by default.
- Key event - an important event you mark as such; this is GA4’s version of a conversion.
- Explorations - the Explore workspace for deeper analysis: free-form, funnel, path, cohort, segment overlap.
- Audience - a group of users defined by behaviour or attributes; GA4 can build predictive audiences too.
- Attribution - how GA4 credits conversions across the touchpoints in a journey.
- Data retention - how long GA4 keeps user- and event-level data for explorations.
Universal Analytics vs GA4 (one line)
GA4 is event-based, so UA ideas like sessions-as-the-core-unit, hit types and goals do not map across - study GA4 concepts, not UA.
Common traps
- Revising Universal Analytics instead of GA4 - the certification is GA4-based.
- Confusing it with the Google Ads certifications - those are separate, paid-media assessments.
- Treating it as permanent - it expires after 12 months and must be renewed.
- Chasing third-party “answers” - that breaches Google’s policy and teaches you nothing usable.