Tracking the right metrics in Google Analytics (GA4) gives you the insights needed to make smart decisions and improve your website's performance. While the most valuable metrics can vary depending on your goals (e.g., lead generation vs. e-commerce), here are the universally important ones NSPO recommends every business monitor:

1. Users & New Users

This shows how many individuals have visited your website and how many are first-time visitors. It's a top-level indicator of your site's reach and growth.

2. Sessions

Sessions track the number of individual interactions people have with your site within a given timeframe. If a user returns later, that's a new session. A rise or fall in sessions reflects engagement trends.

3. Engaged Sessions & Engagement Rate

In GA4, engagement rate replaces the old bounce rate. It tells you the percentage of sessions that lasted 10 seconds or more, included a conversion event, or had 2+ page views. Higher engagement means users are finding value.

4. Average Engagement Time

This metric reflects how long users are actively interacting with your content. It helps you identify which pages or content formats are keeping attention.

5. Traffic Source / Medium

This shows where your users are coming from — Google search, social media, direct URL, referrals, or email campaigns. It helps you invest your marketing budget more wisely.

6. Conversions (Events)

GA4 tracks conversions based on events you define — like contact form submissions, purchases, or downloads. You should always be measuring how well your website is achieving its core goals.

7. Pages & Screens

This tells you which pages are viewed the most. Combine this with engagement metrics to see what’s working and what’s not.

8. Device Category

This breaks down usage across desktop, mobile, and tablet. It’s critical for optimizing your website’s experience for the right devices.

9. User Demographics & Interests

If enabled, this provides anonymized data on your visitors' age, gender, location, and general interests. It’s great for tailoring marketing and content.

10. Landing Pages & Exit Pages

Landing pages show what content brings users to your site; exit pages show where they’re leaving. This helps guide your content and conversion strategy.

Bonus: Use Looker Studio for Clarity

At NSPO, we help clients visualize these GA metrics using Google Looker Studio — a powerful tool for building custom dashboards that track performance in real time.