GA4 – How To Find Page Views in GA4
Are you stuck trying to navigate GA4, in particular how to find page views in GA4? Don’t worry, I’ve got you! As a blogger, I’ve been relying on page views as a measurement of how many people read certain blog posts on my sites, and I’m not the only one. In July 2023, Google officially stopped recording traffic in Google Analytics Universal (the old Google Analytics), except they didn’t really.
They did scare the entire internet population of people who rely on tracking data in Google Analytics into thinking the world was about to implode (anyone reading this old enough to remember Y2K? No? Just me then!), but it didn’t.
Did GA Universal Cease to Exist After GA4?
In short, No. TG!
While it might appear that data is still tracking in GA Universal, comparing the data in GAU (old GA) vs GA4 (new GA), you’ll see that it’s not quite right. Much of the emphasis now is on Sessions, whereas we used to see Page Views more prominently.
Now I’m personally someone who can be extremely resistant to change, but as an SEO Manager in my professional work life (what I do for a living), and a blogger as my side hustle, I have accepted that we must all embrace GA4. “We must do hard things”. I’m not saying you have to like it, but it is necessary, unfortunately.
Whether you are late to adopt or were one of the early adopters of GA4, one thing that seems to be difficult for all of us, is how to view Page Views in GA4. For a while, I thought it had disappeared entirely, but maybe the Google dudes felt pity on us and did, in fact, allow us to keep tracking this data, but they didn’t make it easy to find.
How to view page views in GA4, follow these steps:
So, in answer to all the cries and frustrated tears of anyone who ever wanted to track Page Views in GA4, here’s how to do it:
- Login to GA4: Sign in to your Google Analytics account and select the property for which you want to view page views.
2. Navigate to Reports: Once you’re inside your property, you’ll be in the “Home” tab by default. To access reports, click on the “Reports” tab in the left sidebar.
3. Select Events: In the Reports section, you’ll see several options like “Life Cycle Reports,” “User Reports,” “Events,” etc. Click on the “Events” section.
4. Choose Page Views: Withhin the Events section, scroll down and you’ll see a list of predefined events. Look for “Page_view” in the list and click on it. This event represents the page views in GA4.
5. Explore the Data: After selecting the “Page_view” event, you’ll see various data related to page views. This might include metrics like “Total events,” “Unique events,” “Event count,” and more.
6. Configure the Report: You can further customize the report by adding dimensions and applying filters. For example, you might want to see page views for specific pages or segments of your audience. You can do this by clicking on the “Add dimension” and “Add filter” options.
Remember, GA4 introduces a more event-based tracking approach compared to the older Universal Analytics, which was based on sessions and pageviews. In GA4, you’ll likely be working with events more broadly, and “Page_view” is just one type of event you can track.
Please note this data is accurate as of August 2023. However, Google changes their mind a lot, so please let me know if this doesn’t work for you and I’ll try update the article with more up-to-date information.
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