Google Analytics 4 is the gold standard when it comes to tracking and analyzing website traffic. If you’re website doesn’t have Google Analytics, you should install it right away. It’s a must. Part of what makes Google Analytics ubiquitous in digital marketing analysis is that it’s powerful. And one of the easiest features that can provide the most value are secondary dimensions.
What sets digital marketing analysts apart from traditional marketing analysts is that we have the ability to understand our user’s behavior. The information we’re able to get from this added data can lead to valuable insights. The ability to glean more insight from landing pages or from the traffic acquisition report in Google Analytics makes analytical digital marketer extremely valuable.
If you’re new to digital marketing, then you really need to master using secondary dimensions in Google Analytics. By default Google Analytics provides you many report tables with default primary dimensions. But by adding secondary dimensions to the same table you’ll be able to make more specific analysis on user behavior. All of which will provide value to your marketing campaign.
What Are Secondary Dimensions?
Secondary dimensions in Google Analytics are added variables that help break down your data. So, for example, assume you were looking at how many pageviews certain mages were getting. If you wanted to know the traffic source of those pageviews, you would add the “Source” secondary dimension to the chart. You would then be able to analyze the data by both page and source.
Adding a secondary dimension allows you to slice your data into more granular chunks. The Primary dimension data helps answer surface-level questions, but by adding a secondary dimension, you can .answer deeper questions that could answer more important business decisions.
How to Use Secondary Dimension Feature in Google Analytics
Adding a secondary dimension to a report is simple. Click on the blue + next to “Session default channel group.”
At that point, a dropdown menu will appear. You can navigate through the different categories to find the correct secondary dimension. Or if you know what you’re looking for, you can search for a specific secondary dimension.
And that’s it! You’ll see the report tables display the new secondary dimension values.
How Can You Use Secondary Dimensions?
Secondary dimensions allow you to go one level deeper to discover actionable insights. The possible combination of all the different data allows you to do more specific analysis that can help your business goals.
For example, if you wanted to see what landing page had the most traffic from mobile users, secondary dimensions would allow you to do that. You’d set Landing Page as your primary dimension and then add Device Category as a secondary dimension in Google Analytics.
The secondary dimension values allow for more specific analysis. Some more interesting ways to use a secondary dimension include:
Looking at which landing page has a higher session duration among different demographics
Analyzing the bounce rate of different referral traffic on different devices.
Looking at the data to see if there are any connections between engagement and geographic location.
With a secondary dimension in Google Analytics, you can analyze data on a much deeper level.
What Reports in GA4 Can You Use Secondary Dimensions On?
You can add secondary dimensions to most reports in Google Analytics 4. Below is a complete list of all the reports:
Traffic acquisition
User acquisition
Events
Conversions
Pages and Screens
Ecommerce Purchases
In-app Purchases
Publisher Ads
Demographic Details
Tech Details
Since you can use secondary dimensions on so many reports in Google Analytics it’s possible to do some very specific analysis.
What Secondary dimensions are available in Google Analytics 4
Demographics:
Age
Gender
Geography:
City
Country
Region
Page / Screen
Hostname
Landing Page
Page path and screen class
Platform / Device
App Version
Browser
Device Category
Language
Device Brand
Device
Device Model
Operating System
OS with Version
Screen Resolution
Stream ID
Language Code
Traffic Source:
First user campaign
First user default channel grouping
First user Google Ads ad group ID
First user Google Ads ad group name
First user Google Ads ad network type
First user manual ad content
First user manual term
First user medium
First user source
First user source / medium
First user source platform
Session campaign
Session Google Ads ad group ID
Session Google Ads ad group name
Session Google Ads ad network type
Session manual ad content
Session manual term
Session medium
Session source
Session source / medium
Session source platform
User Lifetime:
First session date
First visit date
User:
Audience name
Signed in with user