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Guides

Practical guides for marketers who own their data.

Platform how-tos, best-practice setup, and the explanations that don't have obvious answers. GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, Merchant Center, and BigQuery.

Cornerstone guides

Start here

Three learning paths, in reading order

Platform
Level
GA4 · Beginner

GA4 101: What is Google Analytics?

Just built a website and starting to think about marketing? Start here: why measuring matters, what Google Analytics actually does, and how to set it up, before any jargon.

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GA4 · Intermediate

GA4 102: Events, Sessions, Users and Reports

The working vocabulary: the event model, the four report areas, and the three counting units behind every chart.

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GA4 · Beginner

GA4 Events 101: Events, Parameters and Key Events

What an event is, the standard events, parameters, key events, and when a custom event is genuinely needed.

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GA4 · Advanced

GA4 Events 102: Advanced Parameters, the dataLayer and Ecommerce

Naming that survives growth, quotas and cardinality, cleanup patterns, dataLayer wiring and the ecommerce event set.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Google Tag Manager and the dataLayer

How GTM, the dataLayer and GA4 hand data to each other, with a first look at server-side and the Measurement Protocol.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Useful GA4 Breakdowns: Channels, Content and Audiences

Channel groupings, brand vs non-brand, content grouping and custom dimension scope.

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GA4 · Intermediate

GA4 Key Reports: Standard Reports vs the Explore Tab

When the standard reports are enough, when to open Explore, and the scope and sampling traps.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Connecting GA4 to Ad Platforms

The Google Ads link in depth, and why the walled gardens never match GA4.

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GA4 · Advanced

GA4 and BigQuery: When, Why and How

When the export is worth it, what marketers do with it, and the schema in plain English.

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GA4 · Advanced

Server-Side Tracking and Google Tag Gateway

What sGTM and Tag Gateway change, where the Measurement Protocol fits, and when the infrastructure earns its keep.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Trusting Your GA4 Numbers: Attribution, Discrepancies and Filtering

Attribution models, the Search Console gap, and keeping internal traffic out.

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GA4 · Beginner

UTM Parameters: The Right Way to Tag Your Campaigns

Inconsistent UTM tagging is the most common source of broken channel attribution. A complete reference for teams who want clean data.

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GA4 · Beginner

GA4 and Clearly: Where Cross-Platform Reporting Picks Up

GA4 measures the site. Clearly pulls ad spend, search and site data into one plain-English report. Where each fits.

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Search Console · Beginner

Google Search Console for Beginners

Clicks, impressions, CTR and average position: what each one means and how they move together.

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Search Console · Beginner

Clicks, Impressions, CTR & Position: A Worked Example

One scenario that shows how the four organic-search metrics move together, and where they mislead.

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Google Ads · Beginner

Google Ads Reporting for Beginners

Account structure and the metrics that matter, CTR, CPC, ROAS and CPA, each with its formula.

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Google Ads · Beginner

ROAS, CPA and Conversion Value, Explained

The three numbers clients ask about, with their formulas and how to set sensible targets.

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Google Ads · Intermediate

Building Client-Ready Google Ads Reports

Campaigns, ad groups, keywords: what to show, what to hide, and how to structure reports that tell a clear performance story.

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Merchant Center · Beginner

Google Merchant Center for Beginners

The product feed, the offer attributes that drive it, and reading performance by product and brand.

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Merchant Center · Beginner

Free Listings vs Shopping Ads

Same product feed, two placements: where each shows, what it costs, and how to read them.

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Meta · Beginner

Meta Ads Metrics Explained: CPM, CTR, Frequency & ROAS

The four numbers as a chain, not a list: where to diagnose, and why you never average a ratio.

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Meta · Intermediate

Creative Fatigue on Meta: Spot It in Your Numbers

Frequency up, CTR down, CPM up: the pattern that warns you two weeks before ROAS does.

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Meta · Intermediate

The Three Creative Formats Every Meta Ad Set Needs

Square image, feed video, vertical video: the minimum set that unlocks every placement, and the safe zones.

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Meta · Intermediate

Brand vs Performance Creative on Meta

Two jobs, two creative styles, two scoreboards: why judging both by ROAS kills the wrong campaigns.

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