Understanding Your GA4 Report

As a tradesman running your own business, you want to know if your website is actually bringing in work. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can tell you exactly that - but it can feel like staring at a wall of numbers. Let's cut through the confusion and focus on what really matters for your business.

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Why Bother with Google Analytics?

Before we dive in, here's why you should use Google Analytics:

• See if your website is actually getting visitors
• Find out if your advertising money is being well spent
• Know which services people are most interested in
• Make better decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts

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The Only Reports You Really Need

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1. How Many People Are Coming to Your Website

Where to find it: Reports > Acquisition > Overview

This is your bread and butter report. It tells you exactly how many people are visiting your website. Here's what to look for:

• Total Users: The number of people who've visited your site
• New Users: First-time visitors to your site

Real-world example: If you're a plumber and you see 500 visitors last month but 1,000 this month, something's working well - maybe it was that local Facebook ad you ran, or the new photos you added to your website.

Pro tip: Compare months to see if you're growing. If numbers are dropping, it might be time to refresh your website or boost your marketing.

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2. Where Your Visitors Are Coming From

Where to find it: Reports > Acquisition > User Acquisition

This report shows you exactly how people are finding your website. It's broken down into:

• Organic Search: People finding you through Google searchessome text
  • Example: Someone searches "emergency plumber near me" and clicks your website
• Direct: People typing your web address directlysome text
  • Example: A previous customer remembering your website address
• Referral: Visitors from other websitessome text
  • Example: Someone clicking through from your Checkatrade profile
• Social: Traffic from social mediasome text
  • Example: Someone seeing your work on Facebook and clicking through

Why this matters: If you're paying for Facebook ads but seeing no social traffic, you might need to adjust your strategy. If you're getting lots of organic search visitors, your website's SEO is working well.

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3. Which Services People Are Most Interested In

Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Landing Pages

This shows you which pages on your website are getting the most attention. For example:

• If your bathroom fitting page gets twice as many views as your kitchen fitting page, you might want to focus more on promoting bathroom services
• If your emergency callout page is popular, make sure that information is easy to find
• If your gallery page gets lots of views, add more photos of your best work

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4. Where Your Customers Live

Where to find it: Reports > User > Demographics > Location

This tells you exactly where your website visitors are based. As a tradesman, this matters because:

• You can see if people outside your service area are finding your website
• Spot which local areas are giving you the most interest
• Check if your local advertising is hitting the right postcodes

Real-world example: If you're a plumber in Manchester but getting lots of visits from Liverpool, you might want to either expand your service area or make your coverage area clearer on your website.

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5. Who's Actually Getting in Touch

Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Events

This report shows you how many website visitors are actually trying to contact you. You'll need to set this up first (ask your web person), but once it's running, you can track:

• How many people fill out your quote form
• Who clicks your phone number
• Visits to your contact page

Pro tip: If 100 people visit your website but only 2 try to contact you, you might need to make your contact information more prominent or add more trust-building content like reviews and photos.

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Common Questions

"The numbers seem low - is that bad?" Not necessarily. If you're getting 50 visitors a month but 5 of them become customers, that's better than 500 visitors and no customers.

"Do I need to check this every day?" No - checking once a month is plenty for most tradesmen. Focus on long-term trends to see the big picture.

"What's a good number of visitors?" It varies by trade and area. Focus on whether your numbers are growing and if you're getting enough enquiries from your website.

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Need Help?

Remember, these reports are just tools to help you understand if your website is working for your business. If you're seeing something unusual or want to make better use of your website data, feel free to ask for help. Sometimes a quick chat with a professional can save hours of head-scratching.