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Key points:
Universal Analytics had a built-in Content Drilldown report that showed engagement metrics for page path levels so you could drill down from directories (folders) into subdirectories (subfolders) and individual pages.
UA’s Content Drilldown report was a great shortcut for looking at content groups defined by directory. It could show you the topics or categories getting the most (or fewest) eyeballs, which is helpful for understanding what a specific audience is interested in, identifying content that could use a refresh, uncovering content with low visibility in the site navigation, and more.
Naturally people are looking for a similar content drilldown report in GA4, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist - at least not yet. GA4 is a work in progress, so they might add it down the road.
In the meantime, there are ways to access the same type of data in GA4 that you used to find in UA’s content drilldown report.
If your URLs are organized into directories and subdirectories, you can enter the relevant part of of the URL in the search tool above the data table and it will just show you those URLs.
Example: Momentic’s website has a Team folder, and each team member’s page includes /team in the URL. By searching /team in the Pages and screens report, we can look at metrics just for those pages (the charts above the data table won’t change though).
<div class="post-note">Select Page path and screen class from the dimension drop-down first (the default is Page title and screen name).</div>
You can also do this in the built-in GA4 Landing pages report.
Pros:
Cons:
You can also drill down to URLs grouped by directory or subdirectory by adding a filter to the Pages and screens or Landing pages report. Start by selecting Page path and screen class from the dimension drop-down above the data table.
Next, add a filter:
<div class="post-action">Click the pencil icon</div>
<div class="post-action">Click Add filter</div>
<div class="post-action">In the Build filter panel that opens: Leave it set to Include (the default)</div>
<div class="post-action">Select Page path and screen class from the Select dimension dropdown</div>
<div class="post-action">Select the URLs you want to include, using the dimension values dropdown. The URLs in this dropdown are in descending order by most views. </div>
<div class="post-action">Click Apply (bottom right)</div>
If this is a filtered view you’ll want to revisit, click the blue Save button, and save it as a new report. Then you’ll be able to access it in your report library (or add it into the left-hand navigation menu if you want).
<div class="post-alert">You can add the same filter to the report by clicking “Add filter” right below the report title, but then you won’t be able to save it.</div>
Pros:
Cons:
We already have a whole guide to content grouping in GA4. Here’s how content groups can work as a stand-in for content drilldown in GA4.
Prerequisites:
Benefits:
Once your content groups are established, you can select Content group from the dimension dropdown above the data table in the Pages and screens / Landing pages reports:
You can also use Content group as a dimension in Exploration reports:
Content groups that mirror your page path groupings can be used to analyze page performance at each path level, like you could in UA's Content Drilldown report.
You can also create an exploration report to drill down into content performance.
<div class="post-action">Start in Explore and choose Blank to create a new exploration.</div>
<div class="post-action">Under the Variables column, click the plus sign next to Dimensions and add Content group and Page path and screen class.</div>
<div class="post-action">Under the Variables column, click the plus sign next to Metrics and add the metrics you want to use to assess content performance.</div>
<div class="post-action">Drag and drop your dimension and metrics from the Variables column into the appropriate areas in the Tab Settings column.</div>
I suggest using Content group as the dimension under Rows, and Page path and screen class as the dimension under Columns. That way you can visualize group and individual URL performance at the same time:
You can sill use explorations to drill down into folders and subfolders even if you haven't grouped your pages.
<div class="post-action">Drop the Page path and screen class dimension under Rows AND also under Filters.</div>
<div class="post-action">Click on the filter dropdown menu and choose how you want to filter your page paths.</div>
Fortunately there are plenty of filter options, including regex, so you can include or exclude exactly what you want.
The new exploration will save automatically. To make it easy to find, give it a name (top field in the Variables column).
Pros:
Cons:
Of course there are many other ways to drill down into your GA4 data, but this article is focused on replicating the type of content drilldown reporting that was built into Universal Analytics. If you're looking for your most-used UA reports in GA4 it can feel frustrating, but there are actually several ways GA4 is better than UA, including the ability to create Explorations as described above, and the ability to customize or create brand new detail reports.
<div class="post-note-cute">If you need help with GA4, including reporting audits, dashboard configuration, or anything analytics related, don't hesitate to reach out: info@momenticmarketing.com</div>
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