Google Analytics Made Easy: The Metrics You Should Look At And Why You Need To Review Them

Let’s be real, Google Analytics can be overwhelming at first.

You log in, and suddenly you’re staring at dashboards filled with multiple stats, graphs, tables, and metrics that you’re not sure what to do with. Sessions, bounce rates, conversions, users, pageviews, acquisitions, there’s a lot going on. 

Here’s the truth about it:

You just need to check in on the right pieces of information, and know how to act on it. 

Whether you’re running a simple blog, managing an e-commerce store, or launching PPC campaigns, Google Analytics (GA4), offers impeccable insights into your audience, content performance, and marketing effectiveness. The trick is knowing which metrics matter most, and why they matter. As of this year, Google Analytics is used by 55.49% of all websites globally. 

In this article, we will simplify Google Analytics for you – helping you understand which metrics will help you make smart decisions and get the most out of your marketing efforts. 

Why Google Analytics Should Be Your Best Friend

Google Analytics goes beyond the numbers, showing you how people find your site, what they do once there, and where they drop off. Once you understand it, Google Analytics made easy is not a myth.

That makes it an essential tool for:

• Improving website performance
  
• Understanding customer behavior
  
• Measuring campaign effectiveness
  
• Boosting ROI

To unlock these perks, you need to stop guessing and actually start tracing the metrics that actually matter in the business. 

The 6 Metrics You Should Pay Attention To

Here is a brief breakdown of the six most important elements of the Google Analytics metrics, what they mean, and why they matter. 

1. Users & Sessions

Let’s start with the basics.

• Users = the number of individual people who visited your site.
  
• Sessions = the number of visits, including repeat visits from the same user.
  

Why it matters:
Tracing users and sessions helps you build an understanding of your overall traffic volume, and if you are running campaigns or simply publishing content, this helps you assess whether your campaigns or content are driving more visitors.

Pro tip:

Don’t just look at the raw numbers. Track them and compare them to the previous time (week-over-week or month-over-month) to notice the difference. 

2. Engagement Rate (Replaces Bounce Rate in GA4)

Engagement rate simply lets you know the percentage of sessions where users took an intended action, such as scrolling, clicking, or staying on the site for at least 10 seconds. 

Why it matters:
Having high traffic is great, but it’s meaningless if the users aren’t completely engaged. A low engagement rate means visitors are landing on your site but leaving without taking any meaningful action. That’s a red flag for page quality, content relevance, or even loading speed. 

Pro tip:
If engagement is low on a key landing page, revisit the content, improve the headline, add Calls to Actions (CTAs), or optimize for mobile.

3. Average Engagement Time

This is the Google Analytics updated version of “time on page.” It tells you how long users are actively interacting with your site, not just sitting on the tab. 

Why it matters:

The more time someone spends engaging, the more likely they are to convert. It’s a solid indicator of content quality and interest level.

Pro tip:

If certain pages are under-scoring here, they might be in need of more pictures, adding video, or increase clarity of the text on the page. You may also look at whether you have internal linking to keep users engaged on multiple pages of your website. 

4. Traffic Sources (Acquisition Report)

This report shows you where your traffic is coming from:

• Organic Search (Google, Bing)
  
• Direct (typing your URL)
  
• Paid Search (Google Ads)
  
• Social Media
  
• Referral (other websites linking to you)
  
• Email
  

Why it matters:

It identifies which channels drive the most valuable traffic and which need more focus. 

Pro tip:

Don’t just look at quantity. Look at the quality. If organic traffic brings more engaged users than paid ads, it may be worth increasing your SEO efforts. (We can help with that!)

5. Conversions & Events

In GA4, you track conversions by setting up events, actions that matter to your business, such as:

• Form submissions
  
• Add-to-cart actions
  
• Purchases
  
• Email signups
  
• Clicks on specific buttons
  

Why it matters:

This is where traffic converts into high-quality results. Tracking conversions helps you measure success based on real goals, not just page views. 

Pro tip:

Ensure that you define and set up conversion events that correspond perfectly with your business goals, and if you are running a service-based business, contact form submissions might be more optimal than pageviews. 

6. Top Pages (Pages and Screens Report)

This shows you which pages are getting the most traffic and engagement.

Why it matters:
Your top-performing pages are your MVPs. They attract traffic, drive conversions, and give you clues about what content resonates most with your audience.

Pro tip:
Replicate the success of these pages by analyzing their layout, keywords, and internal links. Also, make sure they’re optimized with strong CTAs and lead capture tools.

How Often Should You Review These Metrics?

Review these metrics regularly based on your role and objectives.

• Weekly: Great for spotting spikes, drops, or campaign performance.
  
• Monthly: For spotting patterns and comparing against KPIs.
  
• Quarterly: For strategy review and long-term planning.

Make Google Analytics Work for You

Google Analytics doesn’t have to be intimidating. When you focus on the right strategies and the right metrics, you will have a deeper understanding of your audience and your website’s performance, and once you gain that insight, everything becomes clearer: 

• You spend your marketing budget more wisely.
  
• You write better content that converts.
  
• You stop guessing and start growing.
  

Ready to dive into Google Analytics? Or would you like to have a monthly report sent to you with all your key performance indicators – easier than finding them from Google Analytics? Get the Monthly Metrics Report done for you (every month) as a bonus for joining us in The Visibility Hive. In addition to easily knowing your metrics, you'll get simple, actionable trainings each month to help you grow your business and bring more clients to your (virtual) doorstep! Check it out here.