Path exploration unfolds the user's natural flow of behavior like a flowchart. If you set the starting node, the event/page combination that occurred thereafter expands into a branch structure, and you can check the number and ratio of users on each path. In backward exploration, which sets an end point, the path the user took to reach the event is analyzed backwards.
It replaces Universal Analytics' user flow report, and GA4 path exploration allows all events beyond page views to be set as nodes, providing a much wider scope of analysis.
By searching backwards with the reservation completion event as the end point, you can determine which page has the most users coming to the reservation page. Based on this information, we strengthen high-converting traffic paths or discover unexpected paths to find opportunities to improve UX.
Key takeaways
- Set a start node or end node to analyze user flow in both forward and backward directions.
- You can select event name or page path as the node type.
- The number and ratio of users in each path branch are visualized in a tree structure.
- By clicking on a specific node, you can continue that path to the next exploratory analysis.
- GA4 Screen Location: Explore > Select 'Path Exploration' template.