As you learned in the video about Explorations in this course, when you create an Exploration in Google Analytics 4, you can choose the variables to work with and the tab settings to be displayed in the Exploration. This reading provides an overview of these features.
Table of Contents
Variables in Explorations
In an Exploration, a variable refers to the segments, dimensions, and metrics configured in your Google Analytics account. If you use a template to create a new Exploration, a default set of variables is already enabled. You can add additional variables for use in your Exploration, if desired.
A segment is a subset of analytics data that features a common characteristic. For example, a user segment might be users from a particular country or city. In addition to user segments, event segments and session segments can also be created. An event segment is a subset of all configured events. Recall that an event triggers data collection in Google Analytics. For example, an event segment might be just the data collected from users on a particular type of device. A session segment is a subset of all sessions. Typically, a session starts when a user begins to interact with a website or application. For example, a session segment can be created for the sessions that resulted from a particular advertising campaign. You can create up to 10 segments in an Exploration.
A dimension is an attribute or characteristic of the data. For example, the City dimension indicates the city which a configured event originated from. You can apply up to 20 dimensions in an Exploration.
A metric is a quantitative measurement, including calculations like an average or ratio. For example, the Event count metric is the number of times an individual event occurs. You can apply up to 20 metrics in an Exploration.
Segments
The following table summarizes the default segments enabled for each Exploration template available in the Google Analytics demo account.
Note: The information in the following table is provided because you will work with the Google Analytics demo account in upcoming activities. If you’re not using the Google Analytics demo account, segments could be defined differently. After you select a template, click the + icon if you want to define a new segment for the Exploration.
| Funntl Exploration template | Path Exploration template | Segment overlap Exploration template | User Exploration template | Cohort Exploration template | User lifetime Exploration template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct traffic | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Paid traffic | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Mobile traffic | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Tablet traffic | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Dimensions
The table below summarizes the default dimensions enabled for each Exploration template available in the Google Analytics demo account.
Note: The information in the following table is provided because you will work with the Google Analytics demo account in upcoming activities. If you’re not using the Google Analytics demo account, dimensions that are enabled by default could be different. After you select a template, click the + icon for Dimensions if you want to select and enable other dimensions for the Exploration.
| Funnel Exploration template | Path Exploration template | Segment overlap Exploration template |
User Exploration template | Cohort Exploration template | User lifetime Exploration template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event name | x | x | x | x | ||
| Gender | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Country | x | x | x | x | ||
| Device category | x | x | x | x | ||
| First user medium | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| First user source | x | x | ||||
| First user campaign | x | x | ||||
| Platform | x | |||||
| Last audience name | x | |||||
| First visit date | x |
Metrics
The table below summarizes the default metrics enabled for each Exploration template available in the Google Analytics demo account.
Note: The information in the following table is provided because you will work with the Google Analytics demo account in upcoming activities. If you’re not using the Google Analytics demo account, metrics that are enabled by default could be different. After you select a template, click the + icon for Metrics if you want to select and enable other metrics for the Exploration.
| Funnel Exploration template | Path Exploration template | Segment overlap Exploration template | User Exploration template | Cohort Exploration template | User lifetime Exploration template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active users | x | x | x | x | ||
| Event count | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Transactions | x | x | x | |||
| Total users | x | x | ||||
| Sessions | x | |||||
| Purchase revenue | x | x | ||||
| Transactions | x | |||||
| Conversions | x | |||||
| Active users | x | |||||
| LTV average | x | |||||
| Lifetime engagements | x | |||||
| Lifetime transactions | x |
Tab settings in Explorations
The tab settings will change depending on which technique (template) you have chosen. The main tab setting in an Exploration is Technique, which is the same as the type of template being used. As mentioned previously,you can create up to 10 segments in an Exploration. However, only 4 segments can be applied to a single technique at the same time.
Refer to the resources at the end of this reading to look up the settings specific to each technique; for example, clicktheFunnel Exploration link to find a list and explanation of each setting for a funnel visualization.
Key takeaways
Explorations in Google Analytics enable you to create custom views of collected data and metrics. You have full control to choose which variables to work with and the tab settings to be displayed in an Exploration.
Resources for more information
You can refer to the following links for more information about using Google Analytics 4 Explorations:
- Get started with Explorations: Introduces Explorations and how they are used
- Funnel Exploration: Provides instructions to create a Funnel Exploration and examples
- Path Exploration: Provides instructions to create a Path Exploration
- Segment overlap: Provides instructions to analyze segment overlap
- User Exploration: Provides instructions to explore user behaviors and activities
- Cohort Exploration: Provides instructions to create a Cohort Exploration. A cohort is a group of users who share a common characteristic.
- User lifetime: Provides instructions to analyze user lifetime metrics
- Free-form Exploration: Provides instructions to create a Free-form Exploration to visualize data in a table or graph.