GAIQ Test Preparation – Tips from the Veteran + GAIQ Sample Questions

Yesterday I passed the GAIQ (Google Analytics Individual Qualification) Test (test required to become/retain Google Analytics Certified Individual) for the second time. To be honest I didn’t do any preparation for this test. I passed this test before, in October of 2010 and got the GAIQ score of 95%.  So I was pretty confident that I will pass it again. Though I passed the test, it was a narrow escape.  My GAIQ score this time was 82%.  This score may look good on the surface but it can’t be considered very good when the passing score is 80%.

What went wrong 

My aim was to score above 90. So what went wrong this time? There are three things which didn’t go in my favor:

i. I got the questions which one can least expect in great numbers.

ii. The questions were taking me longer to answer than the allotted time frame. Last time i completed the test long way before the allotted time-frame and that too in one go without pausing the test even once. 

iii. The answers I thought are correct were not correct according to Google (which is obvious anyways).

Needless to say, i took this test lightly and was nowhere as prepared as i was in my first test.

The worst part of the GAIQ Test

The worst part is that, you can never know which answers were incorrect and what are the correct answers. So even if you retake the exam just to improve your score, it won’t make much difference as you can make the same mistake twice. There are 70 questions asked in this test and you get 90 minutes to complete the test. This means you have slightly less than 1 and ½ minute to answer each question.

From where Google selects questions for GAIQ Exam

One thing that I am 100% sure of now, is that Google doesn’t ask all the questions from the prescribed syllabus. When the first time I passed the test, I got few questions which I haven’t read anywhere in the Conversion University chapters. This time I got such questions even in greater number. It may be due to because I didn’t go through the updated syllabus.  But when I later looked for the answers even in the updated syllabus they were nowhere to be found. Google seems to be using Google Analytics help articles and Google Analytics developers guide & reference to frame questions in addition to the conversion university chapters.

Cheating is not going to help

I get dozens of emails regarding preparing and taking the GAIQ exam all the time. Many people ask, can they pause the test and cheat. The answer is yes. You can get away with this tactic for some of the questions.  But usually such questions are so basic (like what is the difference between third party and first party cookies) and few that I think you should already know their answers regardless of your decision to take the test.  I mean what is the point of getting the label of ‘certified’ if one struggle with such basic questions.

The new GAIQ Practice Test format

Over the last couple of years, Google has moved away a lot from the factual straightforward questions to logical reasoning based questions. So if you think you can read the question, pause the test, search the internet and get the answer, then my friend it is not going to work. You may be able to answer few questions with this tactic but it is highly unlikely that you will pass the test esp. the new one which is full of logical reasoning based questions.

If you wish to pass this test, then you must develop a good practical understanding of various reports, metrics and features of Google Analytics.  For example, just knowing the basic facts about filters through conversion university chapters is not enough. You must have practical knowledge of implementing filters.

Google is unlikely to ask you questions like ‘what is a filter’ or ‘what are the different types of filters’. It may ask you, which of the following filter is the best solution to solve the problem or whether a particular filter is correct. To answer such questions, not only you must have good knowledge of regular expressions but you must also know how filters are actually created and processed and which filter type is the best solution for a particular problem.

Here is what i got in my test (GAIQ Sample Questions for you)

This time I got questions on new topics like real time reporting, cross domain tracking and conversion attributions. Needless to say, the new GAIQ test is based on the latest version of Google Analytics. I also got lot of questions on regex and filters, where mostly I was asked to verify whether a particular regex is the best match to solve the problem.

Now I am going to ask you few questions which I got in my test. Let us see how many of the questions you can answer. Let me know the answers in the comments below because I am still not sure about few of them:

Q1. You notice that the Goal conversion rate in your site search terms report is different from the Goals menu report, what is the likely reason for this discrepancy?
a. This is a bug, the figures should match
b. Not all visits include a site search, only those which did are included in the conversion rate calculation in the site search terms report.
c. The site search terms report is only able to show goal conversion rates for one of our goals.
d. Of those who perform a search during their visits, fewer are likely to convert

Q2. You manage a website that sells household appliances. Your website assigns the product id 17 (pid=17) to all pages related to refrigerators. You would like to have a profile where your data includes only pages on your site related to refrigerators. Which of the following would accomplish this?
a. Filter-1: Type: Custom Search and Replace; Field: Request URI ; Search for “pid=17” and replace with “/refrigerator”
Filter-2 Type: Custom include; Field: Request URI ; Pattern: “/refrigerator”
b. Filter-1: Type: Custom include; Field: Request URI ; Pattern: “/refrigerator”
Filter-2 Type: Custom Search and Replace; Field: Request URI ; Search for “pid=17” and replace with “/refrigerator”
c. Either of these would work

Q3. Why might your reports show visits coming from a paused or discontinued campaign?
a. Because visitors originally referred by that campaign are now returning via another Adwords campaign.
b. Because visitors originally referred by that campaign are now returning as direct visitors
c. Because visitors originally referred by that campaign are now returning via organic search.
d. Because visitors originally referred by that campaign will always be reported as coming from that campaign.

Q4. Does Google Analytics track visits to cached pages?
a. Yes
b. No

Q5. You define a goal using regular expression match and the following regex:
^products/show\.[a-zA-z]+
Which pages will count as conversions? Select all that apply
i. http://www.abc.com/shop/products/show/?prodid=1012
ii. http://www.abc.com/sales/products/show.aspx
iii. http://music.abc.com/shop/products/show.php?id=167012
iv. http://www.abc.com/show/products?prodid=7012

Future of the GAIQ Exam

As Google will enhance the features of Google Analytics, the test is only going to become more difficult as then you need to be aware of many more metrics, reports and features.

Few final tips to help you in your GAIQ Training

Before you start the test, read the instructions carefully. You can pause the test as many times as you wish. You can change the answers as many times as you like. Make sure you answer all the questions. When you take the test, answer all the questions you know as quickly as possible.  Decide whether or not you can answer a question within 15 seconds. If you are not sure of the answer then mark the question and move on. Don’t waste your time. Once you have answered all the questions, go through the questions you have marked.  If you are not able to answer a marked question within 30 to 40 seconds then pause the test and think about it.  Don’t waste your time thinking about a question for several minutes when the test is running.  Remember the clock is ticking and you have 70 questions to answer. Best of luck.

Please share your experience if you have recently taken this exam.  If you like this post then you should subscribe to my blog and follow me on twitter.

Other Posts you may find useful:

• How Cross Domain Tracking in Google Analytics Works
• How Google Analytics Uses Cookies – Ultimate Guide
• Is your conversion Rate Statistically Significant?
• How to optimize Organic Search Campaigns without Keyword Referral Data
• What you should know about historical data in Web Analytics
• What is fundamentally wrong with your Conversion Rate
• You are doing Google Analytics all wrong. Here is why
• Google Analytics Shortcuts: Tricks, Tools, keyboard & APIs
• Social interactions tracking through Google Analytics
• Google Analytics Account Setup Checklist
• Event Tracking – Google Analytics (Simplified Version)