Understanding User Cohorts by Month in Google Analytics 4
Monthly cohort analysis is crucial for understanding user retention and behavior patterns over time. By analyzing how different groups of users (cohorts) engage with your website or app based on their first interaction month, you can identify trends in user loyalty, engagement patterns, and the long-term success of your acquisition strategies. We'll show you how to create this powerful analysis in Google Analytics 4.Basic Report Structure
- Report Type: Cohort exploration
- Primary Dimension: First user default channel group
- Cohort time dimension: Month
- Metrics: User retention, Engaged sessions per user
- Visualization: Cohort table with heat map
Steps to Create the Report
- Open GA4 and navigate to Explore section
- Click the Blank template to start a new exploration
- Under Technique in the left panel, select Cohort exploration
- In the Cohort inclusion settings, select First user default channel group
- Set Cohort time dimension to Month
- Under Metrics, add User retention and Engaged sessions per user
- Set Return window to Month
- Set your desired date range (recommend at least 6 months)
- Click Apply to generate the cohort analysis
- Optional: Click the visualization toggle to switch between table and heat map views
Key Dimensions and Metrics
- First user default channel group: Shows acquisition source of users
- Cohort time dimension: Groups users by their first interaction month
- User retention: Percentage of users returning in subsequent months
- Engaged sessions per user: Average number of meaningful sessions per user
- Total users: Size of each monthly cohort
Actionable Insights
- Identify which acquisition channels produce the most loyal users by comparing retention rates across different cohorts
- Detect seasonal patterns in user behavior by analyzing engagement trends across months
- Optimize marketing spend by focusing on channels with the highest long-term user retention
- Identify potential issues in user experience by spotting sudden drops in retention
- Measure the impact of major website changes or campaigns on user retention
Answers Similar Questions
- GA4 user retention by month
- Track monthly user cohorts Google Analytics
- How to analyze user retention GA4
- Monthly cohort analysis Google Analytics 4
- GA4 user behavior by acquisition month
