Google Analytics 4intermediate 5 min read 4 steps

GA4 Path Exploration: Analyse User Journeys

Path Exploration in GA4 shows the sequence of pages and events users take through your site. Access it in Explore > Path Exploration. Choose a starting point (e.g., session_start or a specific page) or ending point (e.g., purchase) and see how users navigate. Use it to identify common paths to conve

Reports & Analysisga4 path exploration

Quick summary

Path Exploration in GA4 shows the sequence of pages and events users take through your site. Access it in Explore > Path Exploration. Choose a starting point (e.g., session_start or a specific page) or ending point (e.g., purchase) and see how users navigate. Use it to identify common paths to conve

Process Flow

Animated overview of the full workflow

Start
1Accessing Path Exploration
2Starting Point Analysis
3Ending Point Analysis
4Practical Uses
Complete

TL;DR

Path Exploration in GA4 shows the sequence of pages and events users take through your site. Access it in Explore > Path Exploration. Choose a starting point (e.g., session_start or a specific page) or ending point (e.g., purchase) and see how users navigate. Use it to identify common paths to conversion, find drop-off points, and discover unexpected navigation patterns.


Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these 4 steps to complete this guide

  1. 1

    Accessing Path Exploration

    Go to Explore > click 'Path exploration' template (or create a blank exploration and select Path exploration technique). Choose your starting or ending point.

  2. 2

    Starting Point Analysis

    Set your starting point to a landing page, event, or session start. The visualisation shows where users go next at each step. Click any node to expand the next step. This reveals which pages lead to conversions and where users drop off.

  3. 3

    Ending Point Analysis

    Set your ending point to your conversion event (purchase, generate_lead). The visualisation shows the paths users took to reach that event. This reveals the most common journeys to conversion.

  4. 4

    Practical Uses

    Identify the most common paths to purchase. Find pages with high drop-off rates that need improvement. Discover unexpected navigation patterns. Compare paths between segments (converters vs non-converters).

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