Imagine having a bird's-eye view of how users navigate through your website, from where they first land to their final destination. That's exactly what the Path Exploration report in Google Analytics offers. It's like having a GPS for users' footprints on your website, you can retrace their steps, identify popular routes, and uncover unexpected detours. Creating a Path Exploration Report allows you to peel back the layers of user behavior and uncover patterns that can drive meaningful improvements for your website's user journey. This quick and easy guide will show you how to create a Path Exploration Report in Google Analytics!
➡️🎥 Check more Google Analytics Tutorials on our YouTube channel!
How to Create a Path Exploration Report in Google Analytics:
Login to your Google Analytics account
Navigate to "Explore" (left-hand-side menu)
Select "Path exploration"
Insert the pathway by Event name or Page path and screen class (URLs) via the dropdown menu
To see the pathway from specific segment of traffic (e.g. ad networks, social network, etc):
Navigate to "Segments" and click on the "+" symbol
Click on "Create a new segment"
Create your custom segment based on User, Session, or Event Example: we want to create a segment based on Session and narrow down traffic coming from Facebook. So, we will create a segment as follows: Include sessions when Session source contains/matches facebook.
This report will show you, when people come from Facebook to your site, where they land (pages they land on), and where do they go (pages they navigate to afterwards).
💡 TIP:
To make the most out of this report, you need to compare the ideal scenario vs the real scenario. For instance, our ideal scenario is for people to land on our homepage, then go to our services, then go to sign up, and then free trial, etc.
But, the reality could be that people land on different pages and they navigate to other pages within the website.
Through this report, you can learn qualitative data from the path that users follow vs the ideal path that you would want users to follow, and perhaps identify issues or optimize your website's flow using this data.
Frequently Asked Questions on Path Exploration Report in Google Analytics
What is a Path Exploration Report in Google Analytics?
A Path Exploration Report allows you to visualize and analyze the path users take as they interact with your website or app, after starting from a specific event or page. It shows the sequence of events triggered and/or screens viewed by users.
What is the difference between Path Exploration and Funnel Exploration?
Path Exploration: Shows the actual sequence of user actions; it is flexible and open-ended, allowing for free-form navigation analysis and discovery of unexpected patterns. It is useful for understanding overall user behavior and identifying popular paths.
Funnel Exploration: Focuses on specific, pre-defined steps in a process (e.g., checkout flow), analyzing conversion rates and where users drop off at each step. It is ideal for optimizing specific user flows, like checkout processes or sign-up sequences.
What kind of insights can I gain from a Path Exploration Report?
Here are some insights you can gain from a Path Exploration Report:
Popular user paths
Unexpected user paths
Circular paths: where users revisit the same pages repeatedly
Drop-off points: where user exit your site
Entry point analysis: user journey from various landing pages
Content effectiveness: which pages or events keep users engaging and moving forward
Conversion funnels: how users navigate towards your conversion goals
User segmentation: compare paths taken by different user groups or demographics
What are the key components of the Path Exploration Report?
The main components of the Path Exploration Report include:
Starting Point: Defines where the user journey begins, such as a page, event, or screen.
Paths: Displays the subsequent steps users take from the starting point.
Nodes: Represent each step in the path (e.g., pageviews or events).
Drop-offs: Indicate where users exit the flow (shown as percentages on each node in the path)
How many steps or nodes can I see in a Path Exploration Report?
By default, Path Exploration shows the top 5 nodes in a step. You can expand this to view up to 20 nodes per step by clicking "+ More". f there are additional nodes beyond these top 20, they are collectively grouped into an "Others" node.
Comments