How to Read the Pages and Screens Report in GA4
Short answer
The Pages and screens report in GA4 shows the web pages and app screens people viewed, with views, active users, engagement time, and key events. The report sits under Reports, Engagement, then Pages and screens.
In this article
The Pages and screens report in GA4 is a built-in report of the website pages and app screens people viewed, with views and engagement. Pages are web pages. Screens are mobile app screens.
The pages and screens report is usually opened when a client asks which pages were read most this month. This guide covers the report's location, each metric, organic traffic, and the difference from the Landing page report.
Where is the Pages and screens report in GA4?
The Pages and screens report sits under Reports, then Engagement, then Pages and screens. Users with the Editor role or above can add the report back to the menu when it is missing.
The report table offers 5 dimensions: page title and screen class, page path and screen class, page title and screen name, content group, and hostname. Page path is steadier for an SEO report, because page titles can appear in different languages.
What do the metrics in the Pages and screens report mean?
The Pages and screens report's main metrics are views, active users, views per active user, average engagement time, event count, key events, and total revenue. The table below sums up each metric.
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Views | The number of web pages or app screens viewed; repeated views are counted |
| Active users | The number of distinct users who visited the site or app |
| Views per active user | The average number of pages or screens each active user viewed |
| Average engagement time | Total engagement duration divided by the number of active users |
| Event count | How many times users triggered an event |
| Key events | How many times users triggered an event marked as a key event |
| Total revenue | Revenue from purchases, app subscriptions, and ads |
Engagement time only counts while the page is in the browser's focus. A tab left open in the background adds no engagement time. Engagement in GA4 is covered in the GA4 engagement rate guide.
How do you see pages from organic traffic only?
To see pages from organic traffic, add a comparison on the Session default channel group dimension that exactly matches Organic Search. The built-in report shows every traffic source at once.
- Open Reports, then Engagement, then Pages and screens.
- Click the comparison icon at the top right of the report.
- Click Create new, then choose the Session default channel group dimension.
- Choose the match type exactly matches, then pick the value Organic Search.
- Click Apply.
Each comparison appears in its own color in the table and the chart. One comparison can hold up to 5 conditions. Each property can save up to 200 comparisons.
Saving a comparison needs the Editor role or above. Anyone with access to the property can apply a saved comparison. The key events column per page only fills in once GA4 key events are set up.
How does Pages and screens differ from Landing page?
The Pages and screens report counts every page viewed during a visit, including the second page and beyond. The Landing page report only records the first page of each session.
Pages that receive clicks from Google are better read in the Landing page report, because a search click always starts a session. The Pages and screens report shows the pages opened afterwards, for example a pricing or contact page.
The order of pages before and after one page can be seen with a path exploration under Explore.
How do you use the Pages and screens report in a client report?
The Pages and screens report shows the client the 10 pages with the most organic views and their change from the previous month. Use the page path dimension so the same page is not split by different titles.
Turn on the period comparison in the date picker to see the previous month. A page whose views dropped is reported with its numbers. A cause the data doesn't support is written as a possibility.
The table of 10 pages usually goes into the GA4 section of the monthly SEO report. Recalytics pulls each client's GA4 data through the API every month, including landing pages from organic traffic, and builds the report slides from it.
Frequently asked questions
Why do page titles appear in different languages?
Page titles follow the language of the page the user saw. Set the page_title parameter to use one language.
What does the path / mean in the report?
The path / is the site's home page.
Are views the same as users?
No. One user can produce more than 1 view, because repeated views are counted.
Sources
The Recalytics Team writes guides on SEO and analytics reporting for digital agencies and website owners, based on Google's official documentation and Search Console and GA4 data.