How to Set Up Custom Reports in Google Analytics 4 (2026 Guide)

How to set up custom reports in Google Analytics 4 is essential for tracking what actually matters to your business. Standard reports show you generic data. Custom reports show you exactly the metrics, dimensions, and segments that drive your decisions.

According to Google’s official documentation, GA4’s exploration reports are 10x more powerful than Universal Analytics’ custom reports. Yet most marketers never use them. That’s a massive missed opportunity.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to set up custom reports in Google Analytics 4 — from exploration templates to free-form reports to custom dashboards — so you can stop digging through generic data and start finding actionable insights.

External Resources (Bookmark These)

• GA4 Exploration Reports — Official Google guide
• GA4 Data API — Developer documentation
• Google Analytics Academy — Free GA4 courses
• Analytics Mania — Advanced GA4 tutorials
• MeasureSchool — GA4 video tutorials
• Moz — GA4 Custom Reports
• Neil Patel — GA4 Custom Reports
• Semrush — GA4 Reports Guide
• Google Looker Studio — Free dashboard tool
• Simo Ahava — GA4 and GTM expert

Internal Rafirit Station Resources

• Web Analytics Services — Professional GA4 setup
• Complete Analytics Solutions — Custom reports and dashboards
• Case Studies — Data-driven client results
• Full-Service Digital Marketing — Data-backed strategies
• CRO Services — Use GA4 data to optimize conversions
• Contact Rafirit Station — Free analytics audit

Why Standard GA4 Reports Aren’t Enough

Google Analytics 4’s standard reports are useful, but they have limitations:

• Pre-set dimensions and metrics: You can’t add custom combinations
• Limited filtering: Can’t drill down to specific audiences easily
• One-size-fits-all: Same reports for ecommerce, B2B, content sites, etc.
• No side-by-side comparisons: Can’t compare user segments in standard reports

What custom reports give you:

• Any metrics + any dimensions combination
• Segment comparisons (new vs returning, mobile vs desktop, channel A vs channel B)
• Custom calculations and formulas
• Visualizations that make sense for YOUR business
• Exportable data for further analysis

Rafirit Station builds custom GA4 reports for every client.

GA4 Exploration Report Types (What’s Available)

GA4 offers 7 exploration templates. Each serves a different purpose:

Cohort explorationUser retention and behavior over timeSee if newer customers are less loyal than older onesSegment overlapAudience intersection analysisFind users who meet multiple criteria (e.g., mobile + high value)User lifetimeLTV by acquisition channelSee which channels bring highest-value customers

Most useful for most businesses: Free form and Funnel exploration.

How to Create Your First Custom Report (Free Form)

Follow these steps to build a custom report from scratch:

Step 1: Navigate to Explore

In GA4, click “Explore” in the left sidebar → Click “Blank” to create a new exploration or “Free form” from templates.

Step 2: Add Variables (Dimensions & Metrics)

In the “Variables” column, click the + icon next to “Dimensions” and “Metrics” to add the data you want to analyze.

Common dimensions to add:

• Session source / medium
• Session campaign
• Page title / screen name
• Device category
• Country / city
• Landing page

Common metrics to add:

• Users
• New users
• Sessions
• Engagement rate
• Conversions (purchases, form submissions, etc.)
• Total revenue

Step 3: Configure Tab Settings

In the “Tab settings” column, set:

• Rows: The dimension you want to see (e.g., Session source / medium)
• Columns: Metrics or date ranges (optional)
• Values: The metrics you want to measure (e.g., Users, Sessions, Conversions)

Step 4: Apply Segments (Optional but Powerful)

In “Segments,” click the + icon to add filters:

• New users only vs returning users
• Mobile devices only
• Converted users vs non-converted
• Specific campaigns or channels

Step 5: Visualize Your Data

Click the chart icon above your table to switch between table, bar chart, line chart, or pie chart.

Step 6: Save and Name

Click the title (“Untitled exploration”) to rename. GA4 saves automatically.

Need help setting up custom reports? Rafirit Station’s analytics team can build them for you.

5 Essential Custom Reports Every Business Needs

Here are 5 custom report templates you can create today:

Report #1: Channel Performance Dashboard

Purpose: See which marketing channels drive the most traffic, engagement, and revenue.

Setup: Free form exploration. Rows: Session source / medium. Values: Users, Sessions, Engagement rate, Conversions, Total revenue.

What to look for: Channels with high users but low engagement (traffic quality issue). Channels with low users but high conversion rate (scale these).

Report #2: Landing Page Performance

Purpose: Identify which pages bring in quality traffic (not just volume).

Setup: Free form exploration. Rows: Landing page. Values: Users, Bounce rate, Average engagement time, Conversions.

What to look for: Pages with high traffic but high bounce rate (content or speed issues). Pages with low traffic but high engagement (optimize these).

Report #3: Funnel Drop-Off Analysis

Purpose: Find where users abandon your conversion process.

Setup: Funnel exploration. Steps: Product page viewed → Add to cart → Initiate checkout → Purchase complete.

What to look for: The step with the biggest drop-off. That’s your #1 optimization priority.

Report #4: New vs Returning User Behavior

Purpose: Compare how new and returning users interact with your site.

Setup: Free form exploration. Segments: New users vs Returning users. Values: Sessions, Conversion rate, Average engagement time, Pages per session.

What to look for: Low conversion rate from new users? Improve onboarding and trust signals. Low return rate? Improve retention (email, loyalty, content).

Report #5: Attribution Path Analysis

Purpose: See which channels actually deserve credit for conversions (not just last-click).

Setup: Conversion path exploration (under Attribution).

What to look for: Channels that assist conversions but never get last-click credit (e.g., display ads, content, social). Don’t cut these — they play a supporting role.

See how Rafirit Station used custom reports to drive 5.4x ROAS for a client.

Creating Funnel Exploration Reports (Step by Step)

Funnels show exactly where users drop off before converting.

Step 1: Create new exploration → Select “Funnel exploration” template.

Step 2: Add your conversion steps (GA4 calls these “steps”):

• Step 1: Page view of product page (page_location contains “/product/”)
• Step 2: add_to_cart event
• Step 3: begin_checkout event
• Step 4: purchase event

Step 3: Set the event count (usually “Event count” or “Users”).

Step 4: Set time limit (usually “Any time” or within 7 days).

Step 5: Apply segments (optional) — e.g., compare mobile vs desktop funnel.

Example results:

Step 1 (Product page viewed): 10,000 users → 100%

Step 2 (Add to cart): 1,500 users → 15% conversion from step 1 (85% drop-off)

Step 3 (Begin checkout): 900 users → 60% conversion from step 2

Step 4 (Purchase): 700 users → 78% conversion from step 3

Actionable insight: The biggest drop-off is between product page and add to cart (85% loss). Focus optimization there (product images, pricing, reviews, urgency).

Rafirit Station’s CRO team analyzes funnels and fixes drop-off points.

Cohort Analysis: Track User Retention

Cohort analysis groups users by when they first visited. Track how each group behaves over time.

How to create a cohort report:

1. Exploration → Cohort exploration
2. Set cohort type: “Acquisition date” (when users first visited)
3. Choose metric: “Users” or “Revenue per user”
4. Set time range: 4-8 weeks
5. Analyze: Do newer cohorts retain as well as older cohorts?

What to look for:

If newer cohorts have lower retention than older cohorts, something changed (website redesign, traffic quality, product quality). Fix it early.

Segment Overlap: Find Your Best Customers

Segment overlap reveals users who meet multiple criteria — your most valuable audiences.

How to create segment overlap report:

1. Exploration → Segment overlap
2. Add segments: “Converted users (purchase)” + “Mobile users” + “Returning users”
3. See how many users are in all three segments
4. Export that list to build a lookalike audience in Google Ads or Meta Ads

Connecting GA4 to Looker Studio (Free Dashboards)

Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) turns GA4 data into beautiful, shareable dashboards.

How to connect GA4 to Looker Studio:

1. Go to lookerstudio.google.com
2. Click “Create” → “Data source”
3. Search for “Google Analytics 4” → Select your property
4. Choose dimensions and metrics → Click “Connect”
5. Create charts (time series, bar charts, scorecards, tables)
6. Share dashboard with your team (view-only access)

Looker Studio dashboard elements to include:

• Day-over-day traffic and conversion scorecards
• Channel performance bar chart
• Top landing pages table
• Conversion trend line chart
• Device breakdown pie chart

Rafirit Station builds custom Looker Studio dashboards for clients.

Real Example: How an Ecommerce Store Used Custom Reports to Double Revenue

Client: Dhaka-based fashion ecommerce store.

Before custom reports: Only looked at standard reports. Knew traffic was up, conversions were flat. Didn’t know why.

Custom reports created:

• Channel performance report: Revealed Facebook traffic had high volume but lowest conversion rate
• Funnel analysis: Showed mobile checkout abandonment was 3x higher than desktop
• Device segment: Mobile users were 70% of traffic but only 40% of conversions
• Landing page report: Blog traffic converted at 0.5%, product page traffic at 4%

Actions taken:

• Reduced Facebook spend by 30% (reallocated to Google Shopping)
• Optimized mobile checkout flow (larger buttons, fewer fields, guest checkout)
• Improved product page load speed (mobile LCP from 4s to 1.8s)
• Added internal links from blog to related products

Results after 60 days:

• Overall conversion rate: 1.8% → 3.4% (+89%)
• Mobile conversion rate: 1.0% → 2.8% (+180%)
• Revenue: +110% (same traffic, better conversion)
• ROAS: 2.3x → 4.1x

Key takeaway: Custom reports revealed problems standard reports hid. Without them, they would have kept wasting ad spend on low-converting channels. See more analytics success stories.

Custom Report Templates (Copy These)

Template 1: Channel Performance by Device

Exploration Type: Free form
Rows: Session source / medium
Columns: Device category
Values: Users, Sessions, Conversion rate, Total revenue
Filters: Date range: Last 30 days

Template 2: Product Performance

Exploration Type: Free form
Rows: Item name (or product SKU)
Values: Item views, Add to carts, Purchases, Item revenue
Filters: Date range: Last 30 days, purchase event

Template 3: Geographic Performance

Exploration Type: Free form
Rows: Country / City
Values: Users, Sessions, Conversion rate, Total revenue
Filters: Date range: Last 30 days (exclude your own IP address)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many custom reports can I create in GA4?

No hard limit. However, each exploration report counts toward your property’s event volume limits (free tier: 10 million events/month). Report creation itself doesn’t count, but pulling large datasets might. Most businesses won’t hit this limit.

Can I share custom reports with my team?

Yes — click “Share” in the exploration report. You can give view-only access or edit access. Team members need access to the same GA4 property.

Why isn’t my custom report showing data?

Common reasons: Date range has no data (site too new, no traffic in that period). Dimensions/metrics mismatch (some combinations not supported). Filters too restrictive. Check that events are firing correctly using DebugView.

Do custom reports work retroactively?

Yes — once you create a report, it can access all historical data available in your property (up to 14 months for free tier). However, new dimensions or events only show data from the point they were implemented.

How is GA4 different from Universal Analytics for custom reports?

GA4 uses event-based tracking (not session-based). Reports are more flexible but require understanding event parameters. Universal Analytics custom reports were easier to build but less powerful. Rafirit Station can help you transition.

The Bottom Line

Custom GA4 reports transform raw data into actionable insights. Standard reports show you what happened. Custom reports show you why — and what to do about it.

Your next step (today):

1. Log into GA4 → Explore → Create a blank free form report
2. Add dimensions: Session source / medium, Page title, Device category
3. Add metrics: Users, Conversion rate, Total revenue
4. Create your first channel performance report (rows: source/medium, values: users, conversion rate, revenue)
5. Save the report and review weekly

👉 Professional GA4 Setup & Custom Reports →
👉 Complete Analytics Services →
👉 Data-Driven Results →
👉 Turn Data into Conversions →
👉 📅 Book Your Free Analytics Consultation on Calendly →

Want a free GA4 Custom Report Template Pack? Drop “GA4 REPORTS” in the comments — I’ll send you 10 ready-to-import exploration templates (channel performance, funnel analysis, cohort retention, attribution paths, and more).