Unit 1: Digital analytics fundamentals
Digital Analytics, AI and Marketing Automation notes · PTU syllabus (MBA 974-26)
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Unit summary
Digital analytics shows what customers do online and which campaigns work. This unit covers the meaning and scope of digital analytics, web analytics concepts, Google Analytics and dashboard interpretation, tracking website traffic and customer behaviour, digital marketing metrics — CTR, CPC, CPA, CPM and ROI — and campaign analytics.
After this unit you can
- Explain the meaning and scope of digital analytics
- Explain web analytics concepts and use Google Analytics
- Track traffic and customer behaviour
- Compute digital metrics and analyse campaigns
PTU syllabus topics
- Meaning and scope of digital analytics
- web analytics concepts
- Google Analytics and dashboard interpretation
- website traffic and customer behaviour tracking
- digital marketing metrics (CTR, CPC, CPA, CPM, ROI)
- campaign analytics
CTR
Clicks / impressions × 100
Bounce rate
Single-page sessions / sessions × 100
Conversion rate
Conversions / sessions × 100
CPA
Spend / conversions
ROI
(Revenue − cost) / cost × 100
Topic 1
Meaning and scope of digital analytics
- Digital analytics: collection, measurement, analysis and reporting of digital data (websites, apps, social, search, email, ads) to understand and optimise user experience and marketing.
- Scope: web and app analytics, social analytics, campaign and attribution analytics, search analytics, customer journey analytics, experimentation (A/B testing).
Topic 2
Web analytics concepts
Users and sessions
Unique visitors and visits
Page views and events
Interactions tracked (GA4 is event-based)
Engagement
Engaged sessions, engagement time, bounce rate
Acquisition
Traffic sources — organic, paid, social, referral, direct, email
Conversions
Key events — purchases, sign-ups, leads
Funnels and paths
Steps users take towards conversion
- Data collection: tracking code or tag (Google Tag Manager), cookies and consent mode, UTM parameters, server-side tracking.
Topic 3
Google Analytics and dashboard interpretation
- GA4 is event-based: every interaction (page view, scroll, click, purchase) is an event.
- Reports: acquisition (traffic sources and campaigns via UTM parameters), engagement (pages, events, engaged sessions), monetisation (revenue, purchases), retention (returning users), demographics and technology.
- Key concepts: users, sessions, engagement rate, conversions (key events), funnels and path exploration, audiences for remarketing, integration with Google Ads and BigQuery.
- UTM tagging: source, medium, campaign, term, content — to attribute traffic correctly.
Topic 4
Tracking website traffic and customer behaviour
- Traffic analysis: volume and trends, sources and mediums, landing pages, devices and locations.
- Behaviour analysis: pages per session, scroll depth, site search, path exploration, drop-off points in funnels, heat maps and session recordings (Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar).
- Cohort analysis: retention of users acquired in the same period.
Topic 5
Digital marketing metrics
CTR
Clicks ÷ impressions × 100
CPC
Cost ÷ clicks
CPM
Cost ÷ impressions × 1,000
CPA
Cost ÷ conversions
Conversion rate
Conversions ÷ clicks × 100
ROAS
Revenue ÷ ad spend
ROI
(Revenue − cost) ÷ cost × 100
Example
A campaign spends ₹50,000 for 5,00,000 impressions, 10,000 clicks and 250 sales worth ₹2,00,000. CTR 2%, CPC ₹5, CPM ₹100, conversion rate 2.5%, CPA ₹200, ROAS 4×.
- Interpretation: a high CTR with low conversion points to landing page or offer problems; low CTR points to targeting or creative issues.
Topic 6
Campaign analytics
- Set-up: clear objective and KPI, UTM tagging, conversion tracking, control groups where possible.
- Analysis: performance by channel, campaign, creative and audience; cost efficiency (CPA, ROAS); attribution across touchpoints; incremental lift.
- Optimisation: shift budget to best performers, refine targeting, test creatives and landing pages.
Key terms
- Digital analytics
- Measurement and analysis of digital data
- Session
- A group of user interactions within a time frame
- Bounce rate
- Share of sessions without engagement
- Cohort analysis
- Tracking groups of users over time
- UTM parameters
- URL tags identifying campaign sources
Quick revision
- Scope of digital analytics.
- Users, sessions, events, engagement, acquisition, conversions, funnels; tags and UTMs.
- GA4 reports and dashboards.
- Traffic and behaviour tracking; heat maps; cohorts.
- CTR, CPC, CPM, CPA, ROAS, ROI; campaign analytics.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.Define digital analytics.
- Q2.Distinguish users and sessions.
- Q3.What is an event in GA4?
- Q4.What is cohort analysis?
- Q5.State the formulas for CTR and CPA.
- Q6.Why are UTM parameters used?
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the meaning and scope of digital analytics.
- Q2.Explain web analytics concepts and Google Analytics.
- Q3.Discuss tracking of website traffic and customer behaviour.
- Q4.Explain digital marketing metrics and campaign analytics with an example.
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