Understanding User Behavior Through URL Query Parameters
Analyzing users by page path query strings is crucial for understanding how different URL parameters affect user behavior on your website. This insight is particularly valuable for websites using URL parameters for tracking campaigns, search filters, or product variations. We'll show you how to set up this analysis in Google Analytics 4 to better understand user interactions with specific URL parameters.Basic Report Structure
- Report Type: Free Form Exploration
- Primary Dimension: Page path and screen class
- Secondary Dimension: Query string
- Metrics Focus: User engagement and behavior metrics
- Visualization: Table format with optional bar chart
Steps to Create the Report
- Open GA4 and navigate to Explore section
- Click the Blank template to start a new exploration
- Under the Dimensions click the + button and search for Page path and screen class and Query string, check the checkbox beside them and click Confirm
- Under the Metrics click the + button and search for Total users, Average engagement time, and Views, check the checkboxes and click Confirm
- Drag Page path and screen class to the Rows section
- Drag Query string as a secondary dimension to the Rows section
- Drag all metrics to the Values section
- Add a filter to exclude empty query strings by clicking the + in the Filters section
- Set your desired date range in the report settings
Important Dimensions and Metrics
- Page path and screen class: Shows the base URL structure
- Query string: Displays the parameters after the '?' in URLs
- Total users: Number of unique users viewing pages with specific parameters
- Average engagement time: How long users interact with pages containing specific parameters
- Views: Total number of pageviews for each parameter combination
Actionable Insights
- Identify which URL parameters lead to higher user engagement and optimize your internal linking strategy accordingly
- Detect underperforming URL parameters that might indicate navigation or content issues
- Use insights to improve your site's information architecture and filter system
- Optimize campaign tracking parameters based on user behavior patterns
- Clean up unnecessary URL parameters that show low engagement or usage
Answers Similar Questions
- How to track URL parameters in Google Analytics 4
- GA4 query string analysis setup
- Track URL parameters user behavior GA4
- Google Analytics 4 URL parameter tracking guide
- How to monitor query string performance in GA4
