Understand Google Analytics Reports

Objective

To help users understand how to access, interpret, and customise reports in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — enabling better insight into user behaviour, traffic sources, and business performance.

Overview

In this SOP, you’ll learn how to:

1. Access the reports section and interpret report types
2. Navigate overview vs. detailed reports
3. Use key report types like user acquisition and traffic acquisition
4. Adjust dimensions, filters, and date ranges
5. Customise your report collections and share them with stakeholders

Step 1: Access the Reports Section

To begin analysing your data:

1. In the left-hand navigation menu, click the Reports icon
2. You’ll land on the Reports snapshot and Realtime report
3. Below these are two main default collections:

• Lifecycle reports – covering acquisition, engagement, monetisation
• User reports – covering tech and demographic information

Your default collections may vary based on your initial property setup, but you can customise them later.

Step 2: Understand Report Types in GA4

There are two primary types of reports:

Report Type	Description
Overview Report	High-level summary using cards with top metrics and visuals
Detail Report	Drilldown view with one or two dimensions in a table format

Each card in an overview report includes:

• A data quality icon (shows sample size or thresholds)
• A filter icon if filters are applied
• A “View” link to open a more detailed report from the card

Hover over icons for more detail.

Step 3: Use the Acquisition Reports

User Acquisition Report

This report shows how new users find your site or app for the first time.

Primary dimensions include:

• First user source (e.g., Google)
• First user medium (e.g., CPC)
• First user campaign (e.g., Summer_Sale2024)

“First user” indicates how the user was originally acquired — not subsequent sessions.

Traffic Acquisition Report

This report shows how sessions were started — regardless of whether the user is new or returning.

Dimensions include:

• Session source
• Session medium
• Session campaign

Sessions reflect grouped user actions (e.g., from landing on your site to exiting).

Step 4: Adjust Dimensions and Filters in Reports

You can change the primary dimension in most reports:

1. Click the dimension dropdown (e.g., “First user source/medium”)
2. Choose a different dimension (e.g., campaign, keyword)

3. To add a secondary dimension:

• Click the + icon
• Choose from the list (e.g., Country, Device Category)

Adding secondary dimensions helps uncover layered insights — such as source by country.

Step 5: Customise Date Ranges and Share Reports

To change the date range:

1. In the top right of any report, click the date range dropdown
2. Choose from:

• Last 7 days, 28 days, 90 days
• Custom range

To share a report:

1. Click the Share icon in the top-right corner
2. A link is generated with your current view (including filters and date range)

Only users with access to the GA property can open the shared report link.

Step 6: Customise Your Report Collections (Editor Role Required)

To adjust which collections appear in your reports navigation:

1. Go to Reports → Library (bottom of the left panel)
2. From here, you can:

• Add pre-built collections (e.g., Monetisation, App Events)
• Create a new custom collection

3. Each property can have up to 7 collections displayed at once

You must have the Editor role to customise reports in the Library.

Note

• Overview cards in reports can be clicked to open related detailed views
• Most reports default to a 28-day date range — always double-check when analysing
• “First user” dimensions relate to user acquisition, while “Session” dimensions relate to session acquisition
• Customising reports allows teams to focus on business-specific KPIs