GA4 Reporting and Data Analysis

GA4 Reporting and Data Analysis

Comprehensive guide to GA4 standard reports, Explorations, and data analysis techniques.

Overview

GA4 provides standard reports for common metrics and Explorations for advanced analysis. Standard reports offer quick insights while Explorations enable custom, flexible analysis with drag-and-drop interfaces.

Standard Reports

Accessing Reports

Path: Reports (left navigation)

Report Categories

Realtime Reports

Path: Reports -> Realtime

Life Cycle Reports

Acquisition Reports:

• User acquisition (first touch)
• Traffic acquisition (session level)
• Channels, sources, campaigns

Engagement Reports:

• Events (all event activity)
• Conversions (key events)
• Pages and screens
• Landing pages

Monetisation Reports:

• E-commerce purchases
• Publisher ads (AdSense)
• In-app purchases
• Revenue metrics

Retention Reports:

• User engagement over time
• Cohort analysis
• User retention
• Lifetime value

User Reports

Demographics:

• Age, gender (requires Google Signals)
• Country, city, language

Tech:

• Browser, device, OS
• Screen resolution
• App version

Customising Standard Reports

Add Secondary Dimension:

1. Click "+" next to primary dimension
2. Select additional dimension
3. View combined breakdown

Apply Filters:

1. Click "Add filter +"
2. Choose dimension
3. Set condition (equals, contains, etc.)
4. Apply

Change Date Range:

1. Top-right date selector
2. Choose preset or custom range
3. Enable comparison if needed

Explorations

Accessing Explorations

Path: Explore (left navigation)

Exploration Types

1. Free Form Exploration

Purpose: Flexible custom reports with drag-and-drop interface

Components:

• Dimensions: User attributes
• Metrics: Quantitative measures
• Rows: Primary dimension
• Columns: Secondary dimension
• Values: Metrics to display
• Filters: Limit data shown
• Segments: Compare user groups

Use Cases:

• Custom traffic source reports
• Product performance analysis
• Custom conversion reports

2. Funnel Exploration

Purpose: Analyse conversion funnels and drop-off points

Setup:

1. Add steps (events or page views)
2. Configure funnel type:
   • Closed: Must complete in order
   • Open: Can enter at any step
3. Analyse results

Example Steps:

1. page_view (homepage)
2. view_item
3. add_to_cart
4. begin_checkout
5. purchase

Insights:

• Completion rate per step
• Drop-off percentage
• Time between steps

3. Path Exploration

Purpose: Visualise user journeys and navigation paths

Types:

• Starting point: Paths from specific event/page
• Ending point: Paths to specific event/page

Visualisation:

• Node size = traffic volume
• Arrows = path direction
• Numbers = user count

4. Segment Overlap

Purpose: Compare and analyse audience overlap

Setup:

1. Add 2-3 segments
2. View Venn diagram
3. Analyse:
   • Unique users per segment
   • Overlapping users
   • Total reach

5. Cohort Exploration

Purpose: Analyse user retention over time

Setup:

1. Cohort: User grouping (acquisition date)
2. Granularity: Daily, weekly, monthly
3. Metrics: Sessions, revenue, events
4. Time period: Days/weeks since cohort start

Insights:

• Week 1 retention rates
• Revenue per cohort
• Long-term engagement patterns

6. User Exploration

Purpose: Analyse individual user behaviour

Setup:

1. Add user identifier
2. View user details:
   • All events
   • Event parameters
   • Device, location
   • Session timeline

Use Cases:

• Debug specific issues
• Understand power users
• Investigate anomalies

7. User Lifetime

Purpose: Analyse user value over lifetime

Dimensions: Acquisition source, campaign Metrics: Lifetime value, revenue, sessions Time period: Lifetime duration

Creating Segments

Segment Types

Building Segments

Path: Explorations -> Create new segment

Conditions:

• Demographics (country, age, gender)
• Technology (device, browser)
• Acquisition (source, medium, campaign)
• Behaviour (events, conversions)
• E-commerce (purchasers, revenue)
• Custom dimensions/metrics

Segment Examples

High-Value Purchasers:

Users where:
- totalRevenue > 500
- purchaseCount >= 3

Mobile Converters:

Sessions where:
- deviceCategory = mobile
- keyEvent: purchase

Engaged Users:

Users where:
- sessionCount >= 5
- avgEngagementTime > 120 seconds

Comparisons

Creating Comparisons

1. In report, click "Add comparison"
2. Choose dimension or segment
3. Select values to compare

Example Comparisons

• Desktop vs Mobile
• UK vs US traffic
• This month vs last month
• New vs returning users

Visualisation

• Side-by-side metrics
• Colour-coded lines in charts
• Percentage differences

Key Metrics Reference

User Metrics

Engagement Metrics

Conversion Metrics

E-commerce Metrics

Attribution

Accessing Attribution

Path: Advertising -> Attribution

Attribution Models

Comparing Models

• View conversions by channel per model
• Understand attribution impact
• Optimise marketing spend

Analysis Best Practices

Finding Insights

1. Start broad: Review standard reports
2. Identify anomalies: Look for unusual patterns
3. Drill down: Add dimensions, apply filters
4. Use Explorations: Build custom analyses
5. Export and share: Download or share links

Common Analyses

Conversion Funnel:

• Identify drop-off points
• Optimise low-performing steps
• A/B test improvements

Traffic Source Performance:

• Which sources drive conversions?
• Cost per acquisition by channel
• ROI by campaign

User Retention:

• Return rate after first visit
• Active duration
• Best retention sources

Product Performance:

• Most viewed products
• Conversion rate by product
• Revenue by category

Exporting Data

Export Options

From Reports:

• Download as CSV/PDF
• Share report link

From Explorations:

• Export to Google Sheets
• Download as CSV/PDF

To BigQuery:

• Admin -> BigQuery Links
• Raw event data export

Report Limits

Quick Reference

Exploration Types

• Free Form: Custom flexible reports
• Funnel: Conversion path analysis
• Path: User journey visualisation
• Segment Overlap: Audience comparison
• Cohort: Retention analysis
• User: Individual behaviour
• User Lifetime: LTV analysis

Segment Scopes

• User: Users matching conditions
• Session: Sessions matching conditions
• Event: Events matching conditions