Your first dashboard
After connecting your GA4 property, the Overview dashboard loads automatically. This page walks you through the interface so you know where everything is.
What you're looking at#
The Overview dashboard gives you a snapshot of your website's performance. At the top, you will see four metric cards showing your key numbers:
- Users: unique visitors to your site
- Sessions: total visits (one user can have multiple sessions)
- Pageviews: total pages viewed across all sessions
- Bounce Rate: percentage of visitors who left after viewing only one page
Below the cards, a time-series chart shows how these metrics trend over your selected date range. Under the chart, data tables break down your traffic by page, source, and other dimensions.
Finding your way around#
Sidebar navigation
The sidebar on the left is your main navigation. Dashboards are organized into sections:
| Section | What you'll find |
|---|---|
| Overview | The big picture, your core metrics and trends |
| Real-Time | Live visitor activity, updated every 30 seconds |
| Audience | Who your visitors are, including devices, locations, and new vs. returning |
| Acquisition | Where visitors come from, whether search, social, direct, or referrals |
| Behavior | What visitors do on your site, including top pages, entry/exit pages, and visitor flow |
| Events | Custom events tracked in GA4 |
| Search Console | Google Search performance data (if connected) |
Click any section to switch dashboards. Your date range selection carries over between dashboards.
Date range picker
The date picker sits in the top-right corner of every dashboard. You can select from presets or pick a custom range:
- 7d: last 7 days
- 30d: last 30 days (default)
- 90d: last 90 days
- Custom: pick any start and end date using the calendar
All metric cards, charts, and tables update instantly when you change the date range.
Compare to the previous period
Toggle the comparison switch next to the date picker. Every metric card will show a percentage change compared to the equivalent previous period. For example, if you're viewing the last 30 days, comparison shows you how those numbers differ from the 30 days before that. This is the fastest way to tell if your traffic is trending up or down.
Metric cards
Each metric card displays three pieces of information:
- The number: the metric value for your selected date range
- The trend arrow: up or down indicator (visible when comparison is on)
- The percentage change: how much the metric changed vs. the previous period
Green means the metric improved. Red means it declined. For bounce rate, this is inverted: a decrease in bounce rate is green because that's a good thing.
Charts and tables
Charts respond to your date range and show daily, weekly, or monthly data points depending on the range you've selected. Hover over any point on the chart to see the exact value for that date.
Data tables below the charts are sortable. Click any column header to re-sort. You can also search within tables to find specific pages, sources, or countries.
Tables show up to 250 rows based on the primary metric. This covers the vast majority of sites. If you have a very large site, some lower-traffic items may not appear when sorting by a secondary column.
Next steps#
Now that you know the basics, dive into the specific dashboards that matter most for your work:
Overview dashboard
Understand each metric on your main dashboard and what it means for your business.
Acquisition dashboard
See where your traffic comes from and which channels drive the most visitors.
Behavior dashboard
Find your top pages, see how visitors navigate your site, and identify drop-off points.
Date ranges and comparison
Get the most out of the date picker, custom ranges, and period-over-period comparison.