Advanced Optimization & Experimental Design
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Advanced Optimization & Experimental Design
This course is part of AI Marketing Analytics Specialization
Included with
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Design and evaluate statistically sound A/B tests.
Build forecasting models for campaigns and budget planning.
Use GA4 insights to identify funnel and tracking issues.
Recommend data-driven optimization strategies across channels.
Details to know
June 2026
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There are 10 modules in this course
Move beyond reporting and learn how to optimize marketing performance using experimentation, forecasting, and advanced analytics workflows. In this course, you’ll design A/B tests, evaluate statistical significance, create forecasting models, and use GA4 insights to improve campaign execution and measurement quality.
You’ll learn how to structure meaningful A/B tests with clear hypotheses, success metrics, sample-size planning, and evaluation criteria. You’ll also create forecasting models that project future campaign performance and budget requirements using historical marketing data and trend analysis. In addition, you’ll analyze GA4 implementations to identify tracking gaps, troubleshoot instrumentation issues, and improve campaign attribution accuracy. Throughout the course, you’ll use optimization frameworks to recommend tactical and strategic marketing improvements across multiple channels. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to execute data-driven optimization strategies that combine experimentation, forecasting, and analytics into actionable marketing recommendations.
Learners will systematically plan, execute, and analyze A/B tests for email campaigns to make data-driven decisions that improve campaign performance.
What's included
3 videos1 reading3 assignments
3 videos•Total 9 minutes
- The Business Value of Systematic Testing•2 minutes
- A/B Testing Strategy Fundamentals•4 minutes
- Developing an A/B Test Plan•3 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- What to Test in Email Campaigns•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 35 minutes
- Run Smart A/B Tests - Course Assessment•15 minutes
- Hands-On Activity: Create an A/B Testing Plan•15 minutes
- A/B Testing Fundamentals Assessment•5 minutes
Historical performance trends rarely tell the full story without accounting for seasonality, promotions, and external events that influence campaign performance. This module focuses on refining forecasting models by identifying recurring seasonal patterns, applying seasonal adjustments, and incorporating promotional impacts into budget planning workflows. Learners examine how to distinguish meaningful trends from random fluctuations and improve forecast accuracy during high-variance periods such as holiday campaigns or promotional peaks. The module emphasizes practical decision-making and forecast refinement techniques used in real marketing planning environments. By the end of this module, you will be able to adjust forecasting models for seasonality and produce more reliable campaign budget projections.
What's included
3 videos2 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 11 minutes
- Predict the Future, Protect the Budget•2 minutes
- Fundamentals of Marketing Forecasting•5 minutes
- Demo: Building a Forecast in Excel/Sheets•4 minutes
2 readings•Total 10 minutes
- Choosing and Preparing Forecasting Inputs•5 minutes
- Exemplar for Hands-On Activity: Project Next Quarter's Spend•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 25 minutes
- Hands-On Activity: Project Next Quarter's Spend•20 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Forecasting Basics•5 minutes
Forecasting is a critical marketing planning skill because campaign budgets and performance targets often need to be defined before complete data is available. This module introduces practical forecasting methods used to project ad spend, lead volume, and conversion outcomes from historical campaign data. Learners explore core forecasting concepts, including linear regression, moving averages, and data preparation, while comparing spreadsheet-based and AI-assisted forecasting workflows. The module emphasizes evaluating assumptions, interpreting outputs, and selecting the right forecasting approach for different planning scenarios. By the end of this module, you will be able to construct a forecast model and project next quarter's spend and conversion volumes.
What's included
3 readings3 assignments
3 readings•Total 15 minutes
- Accounting for Seasonality and Externalities•5 minutes
- Refining Models for Future Promotions•5 minutes
- Exemplar for Hands-On Activity: Adjust a Seasonal Budget•5 minutes
3 assignments•Total 35 minutes
- Quiz: Marketing Forecasting•10 minutes
- Hands-On Activity: Adjust a Seasonal Budget•20 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Seasonal Logic•5 minutes
Learners will master the systematic process of using Google Analytics model comparison tools to analyze user behavior patterns and align marketing campaigns with specific market demand phases for optimal targeting and performance.
What's included
3 videos3 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 13 minutes
- Why Market Demand Alignment Matters for Campaign ROI•3 minutes
- Understanding Google Analytics Model Comparison Framework•5 minutes
- Implementing GA Model Comparison Tools•5 minutes
3 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Market Demand Phases and Analytics Segmentation•8 minutes
- How-to Guide: Strategic Campaign Alignment Analysis•10 minutes
- Setting Up Campaign Alignment Analysis in Google Analytics•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 17 minutes
- Model Comparison and Campaign Alignment Knowledge Check•5 minutes
- Create Market Demand Phase Analysis Report•12 minutes
Learners will master comprehensive attribution frameworks to evaluate true campaign effectiveness across multiple channels, quantify cross-channel impact beyond simple last-click analysis, and develop data-driven budget reallocation strategies.
What's included
1 video2 readings4 assignments
1 video•Total 7 minutes
- GA Attribution Model Configuration and Analysis •7 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
- Multi-Touch Attribution Models and Cross-Channel Analysis•10 minutes
- How-to Guide: Strategic Campaign Alignment Analysis•10 minutes
4 assignments•Total 65 minutes
- Comprehensive Attribution Framework Development •17 minutes
- Attribution Model Analysis Knowledge Check •3 minutes
- Automated Marketing Insight Systems: Validation and Optimization Strategies•15 minutes
- Automated Marketing Insight Systems: Validation and Optimization Strategies•30 minutes
Standard analytics reports often provide surface-level metrics but fail to explain how users actually move through a digital experience. In this module, you will use GA4 Explorations to uncover deeper behavioral insights through funnels, pathing analysis, and free-form reporting. You will learn how to analyze users, sessions, events, and traffic sources while identifying where conversion journeys break down. Through guided demonstrations and hands-on practice in the GA4 Demo Account, you will apply practical analysis workflows used by marketing teams to improve campaign and website performance. By the end of this module, you will be able to build GA4 explorations and identify actionable funnel and pathing insights from behavioral data.
What's included
3 videos2 readings2 assignments
3 videos•Total 14 minutes
- The Power of GA4 Explorations•3 minutes
- Funnels, Paths, and Free-form Reports•7 minutes
- Building a Custom Conversion Funnel•5 minutes
2 readings•Total 10 minutes
- Interpreting GA4 Exploration Outputs•5 minutes
- Exemplar for Hands-On Activity: Trace a High-Value Path•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 25 minutes
- Hands-On Activity: Trace a High-Value Path•20 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Exploration Logic•5 minutes
Reliable analytics depends on accurate event tracking and consistent data instrumentation across the customer journey. In this module, you will audit GA4 event implementations, identify tagging gaps, and evaluate whether collected data supports meaningful reporting and attribution analysis. You will examine event structures, parameter naming conventions, Enhanced Measurement configurations, and real-time validation workflows using DebugView and browser inspection tools. The module emphasizes practical troubleshooting and communication skills needed to create actionable tagging recommendations for technical teams. By the end of this module, you will be able to analyze GA4 instrumentation issues, identify critical tracking gaps, and recommend improvements that strengthen reporting accuracy and marketing decision-making.
What's included
1 video2 readings3 assignments
1 video•Total 4 minutes
- Demo: Auditing with DebugView•4 minutes
2 readings•Total 12 minutes
- Audit Checklist for GA4 Tagging•7 minutes
- Exemplar for Hands-On Activity: Create a Tagging Improvement Plan•5 minutes
3 assignments•Total 35 minutes
- Quiz: GA4 Insights•10 minutes
- Hands-On Activity: Create a Tagging Improvement Plan•20 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Instrumentation•5 minutes
When growth plateaus, the instinct is to run more campaigns — but without a clear diagnostic of where the funnel is breaking down and what is actually worth testing, additional spend compounds the problem rather than solving it. This project module places learners in the role of Senior Performance Analyst at ScaleUp SaaS, tasked with building the data-backed case for Q4 investment before leadership commits the budget. The work spans four connected analytical disciplines: deriving a growth multiplier from historical data to establish what the business can expect if nothing changes, using GA4 path exploration to identify and prioritize the single highest-impact conversion bottleneck, designing a structured A/B test with a specific, behavior-grounded hypothesis to address it, and translating all three into a seasonally adjusted budget proposal and a set of concrete tracking fixes that will make the results measurable. Each section sharpens the next, so the final document reads as one coherent argument rather than four separate analyses. By the end of this module, you will be able to build a forecast from historical trend data, diagnose a conversion funnel bottleneck with supporting evidence, design a testable A/B experiment hypothesis, and produce a growth plan with resource and instrumentation recommendations a VP-level stakeholder can act on.
What's included
3 readings1 assignment
3 readings•Total 12 minutes
- Why This Project Matters•3 minutes
- Project Requirements•4 minutes
- How to Build a 12-Month Optimization Strategy•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
- Project: The 12-Month Optimization Strategy•60 minutes
Technical skill without visible evidence is invisible to a hiring manager. This module focuses on closing the gap between what you have built and how the market sees it — translating program projects, SQL queries, and dashboards into a professional brand that passes both algorithmic and human review. Learners build an analytics-focused portfolio using the business impact formula, craft ATS-optimized resume language that connects technical methods to measurable outcomes, and apply AI-era framing that signals responsible, strategic tool use. The emphasis throughout is on the distinction between listing capabilities and demonstrating them: a dashboard with annotated findings, a hypothesis-first experiment write-up, and a power verb paired with a business outcome tell a fundamentally different story than a skills list. By the end of this module, you will be able to frame your analytical work as impact-first portfolio evidence, write resume bullets that pass ATS screening and hold a hiring manager's attention, and present a public-facing Data Studio dashboard that communicates analytical judgment within seconds of being opened.
What's included
4 videos1 reading2 assignments
4 videos•Total 16 minutes
- A Day in the Life of a GTM Lead•5 minutes
- The Evolution of the Marketing Analyst Role•3 minutes
- Building a Technical Marketing Portfolio•4 minutes
- Demo: Polishing Your Data Studio Portfolio•4 minutes
1 reading•Total 5 minutes
- ATS-Optimized Resumes for Analysts•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 25 minutes
- Hands-on Activity: The Project Impact Summary•20 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Branding and Portfolios•5 minutes
Getting to the final round of a marketing analytics interview requires three distinct capabilities — and most candidates prepare for only one or two of them. This module breaks down the full CB2 interview structure: the technical screen that tests whether you can work with data, the case study that tests whether you can think strategically under ambiguity, and the behavioral stage where technically strong candidates most often lose ground. Using a four-step framework for structuring case study responses and a realistic role-play with a Director of Analytics persona, learners practice diagnosing a rising CPA problem, connecting attribution logic to their findings, and responding credibly when the conversation turns to AI tools in their workflow — an increasingly common final-round question that most candidates are not prepared for. By the end of this module, you will be able to structure any marketing analytics case study using a repeatable diagnostic framework, explain complex analytical concepts to non-technical stakeholders using business-first framing, and demonstrate the kind of pressure-stable reasoning that distinguishes a CB2-level hire.
What's included
3 videos1 reading2 assignments
3 videos•Total 15 minutes
- A Day In The Life of a Marketing Analyst•4 minutes
- Deconstructing the Technical Marketing Interview•5 minutes
- Demo: Explaining Attribution to a CMO•5 minutes
1 reading•Total 5 minutes
- Solving Marketing Analytics Case Studies•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 15 minutes
- Graded Quiz: Career Readiness•10 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Interview Strategy•5 minutes
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Arizona State University
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Arizona State University
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