How to Use GA4 Explorations｜The Basics of Building Reports and Reading Them

As you use GA4 more deeply, situations arise where standard reports alone don't tell you what you want to know. This is where "Explorations" helps. Explorations is a feature that allows more flexible analysis than standard reports, and it becomes a powerful means of digging deeply into user behavior. This article explains how to use GA4 Explorations, following its difference from standard reports, the main techniques, and the basic steps for building a report, in a way understandable even for first-timers.

What Are GA4 Explorations

Explorations (data exploration) is a GA4 analysis feature that lets you check detailed insights into user behavior with greater flexibility than standard reports. Whereas standard reports show you data in a pre-prepared form, in Explorations you assemble the angle you want to see yourself and create your own analysis.

In terms of positioning, Explorations is a weapon for hypothesis testing. Leave the daily number-checking to standard reports, and open Explorations when you want to dig into a question you found in standard reports—such as "why do inquiries come only from this source" or "at which step are users dropping off." Using them with this division of roles lets you make the most of each one's strengths.

The Difference from Standard Reports

Explorations and standard reports are both features for viewing GA4 data, but their roles differ. Understanding this difference makes it easier to judge which to use.

Standard Reports Grasp the Whole in a Fixed Form

Standard reports display data from predetermined angles, such as acquisition and engagement. You can grasp the whole picture immediately with no setup, and they suit daily monitoring. On the other hand, because the displayed items and combinations are fixed to some extent, there is a limit to fine-grained deep dives.

Explorations Dig Deep from Free Angles

Explorations let you combine the dimensions and metrics you want to see yourself and create your own tables and graphs. Cross-tabulations not available in standard reports, and analysis narrowed to specific conditions, are possible, making it suited to testing hypotheses and finding unexpected behavior patterns. Because it is highly flexible, you need to decide for yourself what you want to see.

The Main Techniques of Explorations

Explorations provides several techniques (templates). Here, we introduce the representative ones worth grasping first. You don't need to learn them all at once; you use them differently according to your purpose.

Free Form

Free form is the most flexible technique, creating tables and graphs by freely combining dimensions and metrics. You can operate it with a feel close to Excel's pivot table, and switch, besides table format, to line graphs, bar graphs, and more. Because choosing this first handles most analysis when you're unsure, it's recommended that those using Explorations for the first time get used to it here.

Funnel Exploration

Funnel exploration is a technique that divides the steps up to conversion into stages and visualizes at which step users drop off. For example, in the flow from product list to detail, add to cart, and purchase completion, you can identify steps with high drop-off. You can set not only page transitions but also events like clicks and video plays as steps, helping you find clues for improvement.

Path Exploration

Path exploration is a technique that displays, in tree form, which pages users moved from and to within the site. It helps you discover unexpected navigation patterns and identify pages that are the starting point of drop-off. By visualizing the route users actually took, issues with the site structure become visible.

The Basic Steps to Build an Exploration Report

Once you've grasped the overall picture of the techniques, actually try building a report. The basic flow is to open Explorations, choose a technique, set the variables, and read the results.

Open Explorations and Choose a Technique

When you click "Explore" in the left menu, a blank canvas and various templates are displayed. You can start building from blank, but at first, choosing a template close to your purpose saves the trouble of setup. It's a good idea to first choose free form and get used to the basic operations.

Set the Variables (Dimensions and Metrics)

Once you've chosen a technique, set the variables used for analysis. Dimensions are the angle of analysis (page title, source, etc.), and metrics are numeric data (views, number of users, etc.). By adding the dimensions and metrics you want to use and placing them in the rows, columns, and values fields, the table or graph in the form you want to see is assembled.

Narrow Down with Segments and Filters

When you want to see not just the overall data but a specific condition, use segments and filters. For example, you can limit the target to only users from a specific source, or only access from mobile. By narrowing the conditions, tendencies that would be buried in the whole become easier to see.

Points for Reading an Exploration Report

Once you can build reports, the next important thing is reading the results correctly. Rather than just looking at the numbers, be conscious of a way of reading that connects to the next action.

Decide the Goal First, Then Look

Because Explorations is highly flexible, touching it without deciding a goal tends to make you lose track of what you're looking at. If you decide the question you want to confirm first—such as "I want to find pages with high drop-off" or "I want to know which source converts more easily"—the necessary variables narrow down and the results become easier to interpret.

Compare and Read the Difference

There is more insight in the difference when compared than in a single number. By lining up and looking by source, by device, and by period, where the problems and opportunities are surfaces. Having the perspective of comparing the breakdown, not just the overall average, produces discoveries that lead to improvement.

Save the Explorations You Build and Reuse Them

For analyses you use often, saving the settings as-is saves the trouble of building from zero every time. If you keep standard analyses—like identifying drop-off pages or comparing by acquisition channel—as templates, you can also use them for ongoing monitoring. Sharing them with your team lets you run analysis from the same perspective.

Summary

GA4 Explorations is an analysis feature that makes possible the deep dive into user behavior that standard reports can't reach. The basic division of roles is to leave daily grasp to standard reports and use Explorations when you want to dig into a question. First get used to operations with free form, and once you're comfortable, use techniques like funnel and path differently according to your purpose. What matters is deciding the question you want to confirm first, and then comparing and reading the difference. While saving and reusing the analyses you build, put Explorations to use in improving your site.