How to create custom reports in GA4

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Creating reports for PPC campaigns can be a complex process that requires attention to detail. To create custom reports in GA4, you need to select the necessary metrics and dimensions, filter the data, and choose an appropriate visualization technique.

Here's a step-by-step guide to help you navigate and customize your detailed Google Analytics reports:

Step 1: Access custom reports

To get started, access the Google Analytics 4 interface. Select Library in the left navigation panel.


Google Analytics 4 interface
Step 2: Choose the type of report

In the Library, click "Create New Collection" to start from scratch or choose a predefined template. After physicians email database setting up a collection, add themes (up to 5) by clicking "+ Create New Theme."

Drag and drop a detailed report or a general report into your theme. Each theme can have up to 10 reports.


Detailed Report on Google Analytics
Save and publish your collection to make it accessible.

Step 3: Add dimensions and metrics

In detailed reports, add dimensions or metrics under ''Main Dimensions'' by clicking "Add Metric":


Add dimensions menu in Google Analytics
Select the required dimensions or metrics and click "Apply".

Note: For PPC campaigns, you can focus on these essential dimensions:

Source/Medium, Campaign, Search Query, Landing Page, Geographic. Consider choosing these metrics: Engagement Rate, Conversions, Average Engagement Time Per Session, Users, Revenue, Event Count, Engaged Sessions Per User, etc. You can analyze traffic performance by location to fine-tune PPC location targeting and bid adjustments and gain insights into landing page performance for PPC campaigns.

Aside from these basic steps to create a custom GA4 report, you may want to consider additional customization options. In particular,

Applying filters: Isolate specific data, such as paid search traffic, by adding filters.

Secondary Dimensions – Add these for further analysis, such as evaluating landing page performance for different search engines.

Add custom charts - Select visualizations to display at the top of the report.

This structured approach will help you create insightful and highly customized reports for your PPC campaigns. As mentioned above, here are the steps to customize your detailed GA4 report. There are also options to create a custom report using the “Explore” tab in Google Analytics.

An example of a GA4 custom report for PPC
I would like to share an example of a GA4 custom report from the “Explore” tab. It helps to analyze Google Ads search terms in depth.

This report comes from the "Freeform" scanning technique.

The rows include the dimensions “First User Campaign” and “First User Google Ads Query”. I have filtered the “First User Campaign” dimension to see the data for the required campaign. In the columns, the “Event Name” dimension is present.

You also need to apply filters to the chosen dimension for specific events. In my case, they are "pageview ", " *scroll50percent30sec ", "signup*" and "activation". As a metric, I have chosen "Active users".


Example of Google Analytics 4 custom report
With this custom report, you can understand how traffic from specific search terms behaves on the website and within the product:

How many users visited the page for the first time using a particular search term

If they scrolled through 50% of the page and stayed on it for more than 30 seconds.

If you signed up for the free trial

If you activated (tested) the product

This way, you can make better decisions about which Google Ads search terms attract the most engaging audiences and which ones you should pause.

Conclusion
As you can see, Google Analytics 4 offers customization options that are very useful for performance marketers.

In PPC, custom reports with accurate and consistent data are essential. Whether adding or removing metrics, applying filters, or digging deeper into the data, GA4 custom reports improve your ability to gain all of these insights and empower your campaigns.

Remember, the key to successful PPC campaigns is continuous learning and optimization based on data-driven insights. So, I hope this post has inspired you to create effective PPC reports in 2024!