What’s wrong with GA4, or how to find essential reports in Google Analytics

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) reporting has received some criticism and feedback from users since its release. Here is the list of main differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics (GA3):

1. Interface Redesign: GA4 offers a more streamlined interface compared to GA3.
2. Navigation: GA4's navigation is organized into sections like "Realtime", "Audience", "Acquisition", "Behavior", and "Conversions".
3. Visualization: GA4 introduces updated chart types and interactive visualization options.
4. Audience Insights: GA4 adds metrics like Engagement Rate and Active Users for deeper audience understanding.
5. Acquisition Analysis: GA4 provides enhanced attribution modelling and campaign performance insights.
6. Behaviour Tracking: GA4's behaviour reports include new metrics and insights like user engagement and retention.
7. Conversion Analysis: GA4's conversion reports offer more comprehensive tracking of key metrics and revenue.

Despite GA4 offering an array of reporting tools, users may face confusion regarding the location of certain reports or the type of data in the interface. In this article, we delve into common reporting queries and where to locate them in GA4.

The Engagement → Pages and Screens report in GA4 is the go-to for understanding page views. However, filtering data for specific page types, like product or news pages, may be unclear. That`s where the Report filter comes in handy.

To filter data, follow these steps:

1. Click on the ‘Customize report' pencil icon.
2. In the sidebar, navigate to the Report filter block and click ‘Add filter’.
3. Select the dimension for filtering, such as 'Page path and screen', and set the filter criteria (e.g., contains 'blog' or 'products').

And that's it! Press Apply and the bottom of the sidebar, and you get your filtered page data report.

In the Engagement → Pages and Screens report, the Users column provides unique user counts, while the Views column offers total page views. Utilize the Search field to find data for specific pages.

The Traffic Acquisition report under the Engagement menu tab offers insights into traffic sources.

Customize the report by switching from the default view to 'Session source/medium' for clearer insights. Utilize UTM tags to customize the source and medium parameters further

There you can see traffic sources much clearer. You can also customise your source and medium parameters by using UTM tags. It`ll allow you to get even more traffic information and shape its form to your demand.

While Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offers powerful website performance insights and great improvements, navigating its interface may pose challenges. Experimenting with filters and alternate report tables can unveil new insights without the need for additional tools.

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