In the dynamic world of online business, data-driven decisions can be the key to success. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the ultimate tool for gaining valuable insights into your website’s performance. To unlock the full potential of GA4, you need to know how to use and Customize Standard Reports in GA4 effectively. In this blog, we’ll take you through the steps, complete with images, to help you harness the power of GA4 for your website.
Navigating the GA4 Dashboard
When you log into your GA4 account, you’ll be greeted by the dashboard. The dashboard is your home base for accessing reports and customizing them. Click on “Reports” in the left-hand menu to get started.
Understanding Standard Reports
Standard reports in GA4 are the backbone of your data analysis. They provide insights into various aspects of your website’s performance, giving you a bird’s-eye view of how users interact with your online content. We have the ability to customize standard reports in GA4 which gives us a huge advantage in essentially owning the report. Here are some key standard reports and what you can learn from them:
Realtime Reports
The real-time reports give you a live view of what’s happening on your website at this very moment. You can see the number of active users, top traffic sources, and which pages they’re currently viewing. This data is valuable for monitoring ongoing campaigns and identifying sudden traffic spikes or drops.
User Reports
User reports provide insights into user demographics, interests, and technology. You can learn about the age, gender, and interests of your audience, as well as the devices and browsers they use. This information is crucial for tailoring your content and marketing strategies to better resonate with your target audience.
Engagement Reports
Engagement reports focus on user behavior. You can see data on pageviews, events, and engagement metrics like average engagement time and scroll depth. These insights help you understand how users interact with your content and which pages are the most engaging.
Traffic Acquisition Reports
Traffic acquisition reports reveal the sources of your website’s traffic. You can see which channels drive the most visitors—organic search, direct, social, or referral. Understanding your traffic sources helps you allocate resources effectively, whether it’s optimizing SEO, running targeted ads, or nurturing partnerships.
Conversion Reports
Conversion reports are a goldmine for e-commerce websites. You can track the performance of your online store, including data on transactions, revenue, and e-commerce conversion rates. This information is essential for measuring the success of your online sales efforts.
User Retention Reports
User retention reports help you understand how well you retain your users over time. You can identify how often users return to your site and when they drop off. This data is crucial for building strategies to keep users engaged and coming back.
Events Reports
Events reports show you the interactions users have with your website, such as clicks on buttons, video views, or downloads. You can see which events are most popular and use this data to fine-tune your site’s user experience.
These standard reports in GA4 provide a comprehensive view of your website’s performance. By exploring them and diving deeper into the metrics and data they offer, you’ll be better equipped to make data-driven decisions and optimize your online presence. Customizing these reports can further enhance your ability to extract actionable insights specific to your business goals.
Customize Standard Reports in GA4
Customization is where the magic happens. Once you are on any report you can click on customize the report as shown in the screengrab below to customize that report. We will show you an example. Here’s how you can tailor standard reports to suit your specific needs:
- Date Range Selection:– Begin by choosing the date range for your report. This can be a specific date or a range of dates. You can also compare data between two periods. This feature is essential for tracking trends over time. Once you have selected the date range click on Customize Report. We are going to customize the Traffic Acquisition report to generate an organic search traffic report.
- Adding Dimensions:- You can add dimensions from the top left corner of the screen. The existing dimensions would show up in the list. click on Add Dimension to add new dimensions to the list. We only need sources for this report which is already in the list.
- Modifying Metrics:- Customize your report by adding or removing metrics to match your goals. Ensure that you’re tracking the key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to your business. Click on metrics then to Add Metric drop-down to select and add new metrics to the list that will be available in your report.
- Adding Filters:-Filters allows you to refine the data you’re viewing. You can filter by specific dimensions, such as location, device type, or user demographics. For instance, you can filter to see data only from a particular country. We will create a new filter and select the dimension as “Session Default channel Group” since we want to filter the report by organic search. match type is “exactly matches” and then in the value dropdown select “Organic Search”. Click on apply to apply the filter.
- Charts:- You can click on the eye button alongside the Line Chart/Bar Chart to show or hide that particular chart from the report. For example, we only want to show the Line Chart in the report so we will hide the Bar Chart.
Using the above list you can customize any of the standard reports to display the desired data as we did. In the above report, we can further click on “Session Source” from the left menu to show the report by each of the traffic sources.
Once you are done save the report with the custom name. Now follow the steps below to show our newly created report in ga4.
- Go to the Reports section from the left menu and click on Library at the bottom of the list.
- Here we can find our newly created report on the top. we want to add our report to the Life Cycle collection, click on Edit collection to begin.
- Search for your report and drag it to the column on the left where you want it to be visible. we will add our report to the acquisition reports.
- Once done click on save and your report will now be visible in the menu as shown below:-
Conclusion
Various reports in GA4 provide you with different insights. With the help of this article, you are now able to use as well as customize standard reports in GA4 ( Google Analytics 4). By tailoring reports to your specific needs, you can gain actionable insights that drive your business forward. Embrace the power of data, and watch your online presence flourish. With these steps, GA4’s customized reports will become your go-to tool for success. GA4 also gives us the ability to create completely new Custom Reports. You can learn to create custom transaction reports in GA4 here.
