freecourses.digital
Lesson progress: 0 of 2 activities done
All lessons in Digital and Web Analytics Lesson 2.3 of 32

Module 1: Introduction to Digital Analytics

  1. 1.1What is digital analytics?
  2. 1.2The four types of analytics
  3. 1.3Connecting analytics to business objectives and KPIs

Module 2: Analytics Data and Measurement Planning

  1. 2.1How to build a measurement plan
  2. 2.2Key metrics for each marketing channel
  3. 2.3Data sources, collection, and data quality
  4. 2.4Segmentation and personalization

Module 3: Web Analytics Fundamentals

  1. 3.1Users, sessions, page views, and events
  2. 3.2Traffic sources, channels, and UTM parameters
  3. 3.3Landing pages and user behavior
  4. 3.4Engagement metrics and conversion metrics
  5. 3.5Reading reports, trends, and anomalies

Module 4: Analytics Tools and Platforms

  1. 4.1Google Analytics 4 fundamentals
  2. 4.2Google Search Console performance data
  3. 4.3Adobe Analytics overview
  4. 4.4Tag management and tracking implementation
  5. 4.5Connecting tools and choosing the right stack

Module 5: Conversion Funnels and Optimization

  1. 5.1What is a conversion?
  2. 5.2Conversion funnels and drop-off points
  3. 5.3How to calculate conversion rate
  4. 5.4Prioritizing conversion improvements
  5. 5.5Introduction to A/B testing

Module 6: Digital Marketing Performance Analysis

  1. 6.1Measuring SEO and paid advertising performance
  2. 6.2Social, content, and landing page performance
  3. 6.3Comparing acquisition channels
  4. 6.4Evaluating campaigns and avoiding vanity metrics

Module 7: Reporting, Visualization, and Insights

  1. 7.1Building a marketing performance report
  2. 7.2Data visualization and dashboards
  3. 7.3Comparing periods and benchmarking
  4. 7.4Turning data into actionable recommendations

Module 8: Analytics Projects and Practical Assessment

  1. 8.1Analytics case study: Isla Coffee Co.
  2. 8.2Final assessment: digital analytics case study

Data sources, collection, and data quality

What we will go through

  • The three types of data by source
  • How tracking actually collects data
  • Common data quality problems and fixes

Short answer

Analytics data comes from three sources: first-party data you collect yourself, second-party data shared by a partner, and third-party data bought from others. It is collected through tags, app SDKs, cookies, forms, and integrations. No data is perfect, so filter internal traffic, audit tags, and read analytics as trends, not exact counts.

Three types of data

  • First-party data: collected by the business itself (website analytics, CRM, purchase records). Most valuable and most reliable.
  • Second-party data: another company’s first-party data shared through a partnership.
  • Third-party data: bought or aggregated from outside providers. Less reliable and increasingly limited by privacy rules.

How data is collected

Common methods include tracking tags (JavaScript on web pages), SDKs in mobile apps, cookies and identifiers, server-side tracking, forms and surveys, and platform integrations through APIs.

Data quality problems

  • Ad blockers and cookie consent choices that block tracking.
  • Duplicate or missing tags.
  • Internal traffic from staff inflating numbers.
  • Bot and spam traffic.
  • Platforms counting the same thing differently.
  • Sampling and data thresholds in reports.

Good practice: filter internal traffic, audit tags regularly, write down your definitions, and treat analytics as accurate for trends rather than exact counts. The Philippine Data Privacy Act and the EU’s GDPR also require consent and responsible handling of personal data.

Quick quiz

1. Which data does a business collect directly?
2. Which can make analytics numbers too low?

Your action

Key terms

First-party data
Data a business collects directly from its own audience.
Tag
A code snippet that sends data to a platform.
Internal traffic
Visits from your own staff.
Consent
A user's permission to track or store their data.

Questions beginners ask

Why is my analytics lower than my sales system?

Ad blockers, cookie refusals, and tracking gaps hide some visits. Your sales records are the truth for revenue.

Does the Data Privacy Act apply to analytics?

Yes. Collect personal data only with consent and handle it responsibly.

Related lessons

Want someone to set up your analytics and reporting while you learn? The team at Remar Digital can help.