What is a metric in Google Analytics 2023? A Comprehensive Guide for Marketers

What is a metric in Google Analytics? That is an interesting question.

Google Analytics is one of the most powerful and popular tools for measuring and analyzing website traffic, user behavior, and marketing performance.

But with so many data points and reports available, it can be hard to know what to focus on and how to interpret the results.

That’s why it’s important to understand what a metric is in Google Analytics, and how to use it effectively.

A metric is a quantitative measurement of a specific aspect of your website or marketing campaign.

For example, the number of sessions, users, pageviews, bounce rate, conversion rate, etc.

Metrics are usually expressed as numbers, percentages, ratios, or averages.

They help you evaluate how well your website or campaign is performing against your goals and objectives.

But not all metrics are created equal.

Some metrics are more relevant and useful than others, depending on your business model, industry, audience, and goals.

In this article, we will cover some of the most important Google Analytics metrics you should track in 2023, and how to find them in the Google Analytics dashboard or API.

We’ll also explain what each metric means, why it matters, and how to use it to improve your website or marketing strategy.

What is a metric in Google Analytics SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the process of improving your website’s visibility and relevance for search engines like Google.

SEO metrics are the measurements that help you evaluate how well your website is optimized for organic search traffic, which is the traffic that comes from users clicking on the unpaid results on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Some of the most important SEO metrics in Google Analytics are:

• Organic traffic

The number of sessions that come from organic search sources.

This metric shows you how much traffic you’re getting from search engines, and how well your website ranks for relevant keywords.

• Organic traffic sources

The breakdown of organic traffic by search engine or other source.

This metric shows you which search engines are driving the most traffic to your website, and how they compare to each other.

• Landing pages

The pages on your website that users land on after clicking on an organic search result.

This metric shows you which pages are attracting the most organic traffic, and how engaging they are for your visitors.

• Keywords

The words or phrases that users type into the search engine to find your website.

This metric shows you what topics or queries your website is ranking for, and how popular they are among your target audience.

• Click-through rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on your website’s link on the SERPs.

This metric shows you how appealing and relevant your title tags and meta descriptions are for your potential visitors.

• Average position

The average ranking position of your website’s link on the SERPs for a given keyword or query. This metric shows you how well your website competes with other websites for visibility and traffic.

You can find these SEO metrics in Google Analytics 4 by going to Reports » Acquisition » Traffic Acquisition » Organic Search Traffic. You can also use the Google Analytics Core Reporting API to query these metrics using the syntax ga:identifier.

What is a metric in Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics that was launched in October 2020.

It replaces Universal Analytics (UA) as the default platform for measuring and analyzing website and app data.

GA4 introduces a new measurement model that is based on events rather than pageviews.

Events are any actions or interactions that users take on your website or app, such as clicking a button, watching a video, filling out a form, etc.

GA4 also offers new features and capabilities that make it easier to track user behavior across devices and platforms, measure conversions and revenue more accurately, integrate with other Google products like Google Ads and Firebase, and leverage machine learning and advanced analytics.

Some of the new or improved metrics in GA4 are:

• Engaged sessions

The number of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds or had at least one conversion event or two non-conversion events.

This metric shows you how engaged your users are with your website or app.

• Engagement rate

The percentage of sessions that were engaged sessions.

This metric shows you how engaging your website or app is overall.

• Engagement time

The amount of time users spend on your website or app during engaged sessions.

This metric shows you how long your users stay interested and active on your website or app.

• Conversion rate

The percentage of sessions that had at least one conversion event.

A conversion event is any event that you define as a valuable action for your business, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, etc.

This metric shows you how effective your website or app is at driving conversions.

• Revenue per user

The total revenue generated by a user divided by the number of users.

This metric shows you how much revenue each user brings to your business on average.

• Retention rate

The percentage of users who returned to your website or app after their first visit.

This metric shows you how loyal and satisfied your users are with your website or app.

You can find these metrics in GA4 by going to Reports » Overview, Reports » Engagement, Reports » Monetization, Reports » Conversions, or Reports » Retention.

You can also use the Google Analytics Data API to access these metrics programmatically.

What are the 4 main metrics?

The 4 main metrics are a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure software delivery performance.

They were defined by the DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) program, which is a research initiative that studies the practices and capabilities that drive high performance in software development and delivery.

These are the 4 main metrics.

• Lead time

The time it takes from the moment a code change is committed to the version control system until it is deployed to production.

This metric shows you how fast and frequently you can deliver value to your customers.

• Deployment frequency

The number of times you deploy code to production within a given time period.

This metric shows you how often you release new features, improvements, and fixes to your customers.

• Mean time to restore (MTTR)

The time it takes to restore service after a failure or incident in production.

This metric shows you how quickly and reliably you can recover from errors and disruptions.

• Change fail percentage

The percentage of code deployments that result in a failure or incident in production.

This metric shows you how stable and secure your code is.

These metrics are based on extensive research and statistical analysis that have shown a clear link between high delivery performance and these metrics.

They provide a reliable way to assess and improve your software delivery capabilities and outcomes.

You can measure these metrics using various tools and methods, such as continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), monitoring, logging, alerting, etc.

You can also use third-party tools like Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker to track these metrics for your website.

Google Analytics metrics list

Google Analytics offers a wide range of metrics that you can use to measure and analyze various aspects of your website or app performance.

Depending on your business goals and needs, you may want to focus on different metrics or create custom metrics that suit your specific situation.

However, there are some common and essential metrics that most website or app owners should track and understand.

Here is a list of some of the most important Google Analytics metrics, grouped by category:

• Traffic metrics

These metrics show you how much traffic your website or app receives, and where it comes from.

1. 1. Sessions: The number of times users are actively engaged with your website or app within a given time period.
   2. Users: The number of unique individuals who visited your website or app within a given time period.
   3. Pageviews: The number of times users viewed a page on your website or a screen on your app.
   4. Bounce rate: The percentage of sessions that left your website or app without taking any additional action.
   5. Traffic sources: The breakdown of traffic by source or medium, such as organic search, social media, email, referral, etc.

• Engagement metrics

These metrics show you how users interact with your website or app content, and how long they stay on it.

1. 1. Pages per session: The average number of pages or screens viewed per session.
   2. Average session duration: The average length of time users spend on your website or app per session.
   3. Average time on page: The average amount of time users spend on a specific page or screen.
   4. Events: Any actions or interactions that users take on your website or app, such as clicking a button, watching a video, filling out a form, etc.

• Conversion metrics

These metrics show you how users complete the goals or objectives that you define for your website or app, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, etc.

1. 1. Goal conversions: The number of times users completed a specific goal on your website or app.
   2. Goal conversion rate: The percentage of sessions that resulted in a goal completion.
   3. Goal value: The monetary value assigned to each goal completion.
   4. E-commerce transactions: The number of times users completed a purchase on your website or app.
   5. E-commerce revenue: The total revenue generated by ecommerce transactions on your website or app.

• User metrics

These metrics show you who your users are, what characteristics they have, and how they behave over time.

1. 1. Demographics: The age and gender of your users.
   2. Location: The geographic location of your users, such as country, city, region, etc.
   3. Device: The type of device used by your users, such as desktop, mobile, tablet, etc.
   4. Browser: The type of browser used by your users, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.
   5. New vs returning users: The percentage of users who visited your website or app for the first time or the first time within a given time period, and the percentage of users who visited your website or app more than once within a given time period.
   6. Cohort analysis: The analysis of user behavior based on the date of their first visit to your website or app, and how they retain, engage, and convert over time.
   7. User explorer: The report that shows the individual behavior and activity of a random sample of users on your website or app.

You can find these metrics in Google Analytics 4 by going to Reports » User Demographics, Reports » Technology, Reports » New vs Returning Users, Reports » Cohort Analysis, or Reports » User Explorer.

You can also use the Google Analytics Data API to access these metrics programmatically.

What are good metrics for Google Analytics?

There is no definitive answer to what are good metrics for Google Analytics, as different metrics may have different meanings and implications for different websites or apps, businesses, industries, audiences, and goals.

However, there are some general principles and best practices that can help you choose and evaluate the right metrics for your situation.

Some of these principles and best practices are:

• Align your metrics with your goals

The first step to choosing good metrics is to define your goals and objectives for your website or app, and how you will measure them.

For example, if your goal is to increase sales, you may want to track metrics like ecommerce transactions, ecommerce revenue, conversion rate, etc.

If your goal is to increase brand awareness, you may want to track metrics like sessions, users, traffic sources, etc.

• Choose relevant and meaningful metrics

The second step is to select the metrics that are relevant and meaningful for your goals and situation.

For example, if you have a blog or a news website, you may want to focus on engagement metrics like pages per session, average session duration, bounce rate, etc.

If you have an e-commerce website or an app, you may want to focus on conversion metrics like goal conversions, goal conversion rate, goal value, etc.

• Use a balanced mix of metrics

The third step is to use a balanced mix of metrics that cover different aspects of your website or app performance.

For example, you may want to use a combination of traffic metrics, engagement metrics, conversion metrics, and user metrics to get a holistic view of how your website or app is doing.

You may also want to use different types of metrics, such as absolute metrics (e.g., sessions), relative metrics (e.g., bounce rate), and ratio metrics (e.g., conversion rate), to get a better understanding of the data.

• Benchmark and compare your metrics

The fourth step is to benchmark and compare your metrics against industry standards, competitors, historical data, or targets.

For example, you may want to compare your bounce rate with the average bounce rate for your industry or niche.

You may also want to compare your current performance with your past performance or your desired performance.

This will help you identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

• Analyze and act on your metrics

The final step is to analyze and act on your metrics.

This means that you should not only look at the numbers but also understand what they mean and why they matter.

You should also use your insights to make data-driven decisions and take actions that will help you achieve your goals and improve your website or app performance.

Conclusion

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help you measure and analyze your website or app performance.

By understanding what a metric is in Google Analytics, and how to use it effectively, you can gain valuable insights into your traffic, engagement, conversion, and user behavior.

You can also use these insights to optimize your website or app for better results.

In this article, I have covered some of the most important Google Analytics metrics you should track in 2023.

I also explained what each metric means, why it matters, and how to find it in the Google Analytics dashboard or API.

I hope this article was helpful and informative for you.