Unfortunately GA4 doesn’t have the ease of sharing a template that Universal Analytics offers. Hopefully this feature will be rolled out soon. Here we provide a step-by-step approach to building your own custom GA4 exploration.
Table of Contents
- Navigating to GA4 explorations
- Getting started
- Building the exploration
- Adding a title and setting a date range
- Downloading and sharing your exploration
Navigating to GA4 Explorations
First, you’ll want to navigate to the explorations tab by clicking on Explore tab on the left-side navigation menu. Now go ahead and click on the + icon to create a blank exploration because we will be making this from scratch.
Getting Started
Figure out what you want this report to show. We’ll start off with the example of wanting to see a breakdown of sessions and pageviews by day.
Adding Variables: Dimensions and Metrics
On the very left of your exploration you’ll see a Variables column. Within this column look for the dimensions header. Click the ‘+’ icon to begin adding in the dimensions we’ll be bringing into this report. With our example we’ll want to bring in the following dimensions: date and event name.
Now look for the metrics header and click on the ‘+’ icon to begin adding in the metrics you’ll want reported on. Continuing with our example we’ll select event count.
Building the Exploration
With the variables added we can now begin building a report. Look for the Tab Settings column to accomplish this. As a reminder, our example is to look at sessions and pageviews by day.
Technique and Visualization
The technique will default to free form and visualization will default to Table. For our example this is fine, but if you would like to create a pie chart or other type if visualization you can go ahead and explore the different options here.
Adding Rows and Columns
You have the option to drag-and-drop here. For our example we’ll want to go ahead and grab Date from the Dimensions section and add it to Rows. You can also click on the box “Drop or Select Dimension” and click on Date.
For the Columns go ahead and add Event name. You should see your table automatically populate as you make these changes. This is one of the nice features that GA4 does better than Universal Analytics in that you can easily see how changes to the report’s settings effect the output.
Filtering Data
You should now see a lot of data but in our example we ONLY wanted to see sessions and pageviews. You can filter this table down by scrolling down further in the Tab Settings and look for the Filters header. Add the Event name dimension here to filter your data. For our example we’ll want to select “matches regex” and then put this session_start|page_view. This is telling the explorer that we only want data where the Event name matches session_start OR page_view only. Then hit Apply. You table will now show only 3 columns: date, page_view, and session_start.
Adding A Title And Setting A Date Range
In the Variables columns (all the way to the left) you can name your report. For our example I’d recommend something like “Sessions and Pageviews by day”. This will be the title everyone sees when they go to the Explorations tab, if you shared it with everyone that has access to GA4.
Underneath the title you can select the date range. One thing to note is only you can change the date. If someone else in your org wants to change the dates then they’d need to create a copy of the report so they can play around with the settings. Again, another feature I hope to change in the future.
Downloading And Sharing Your Exploration
Now that you’ve set up your exploration you can go ahead and download it into Excel or Share it with others that have access to the same GA4 account. Above your exploration there’s a download link which allows you to export to Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets or save as a PDF.
You can share with others on the GA4 account by clicking on the share icon next to the download link. By clicking on this then anyone that goes to the Explorations section of GA4 will be able to see your report.
Do you prefer Universal Analytics custom reports or GA4’s Explorations? Tell us in the comments below.
Written by Mikhail Cherniss
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