Track clicks on outbound links in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Everything used to be better! This is true not only for the weather or prices at the gas station, but also for Google Analytics. It used to be a piece of cake to display all outbound links on a website in a list. But since the introduction of Google Analytics 4, this task is no longer so easy. But don't worry, in this blog post I'll show you how to still find all outbound links in Google Analytics 4. By the way, these are also known as "GA4 Outbound Links".

And the best part? It's still pretty easy! Just know how...

Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google Analytics and offers a number of features and tools to help you track and analyze the behavior of your website visitors.

Want to know which outbound links on your website are clicked on the most?
Then you can learn how to do that in this blog post. If you still have questions, you can of course contact us at any time. We will be happy to help you!

Reading time 3 min

• Step 1: Create your own exploratory data analysis
• Step 2: Choose the segment
• Step 3: Choose the right dimensions
• Step 4: Select the measurements
• Step 5: View the results
• Conclusion

Step 1: Create your own exploratory data analysis

The first thing you need to do is create your own exploratory data analysis - what a term. To do this, go to your Google Analytics 4 home page and click on the "Expl. Data Analysis" in the left sidebar. Then click the "Blank" button to create a new exploratory data analysis.

Step 2: Select the segment

Now select the right segment. To do this, click on the plus.

In the following view, select "click" as the event. However, we do not want to include all clicks in our segment. Therefore you filter again on the outgoing links. For this purpose, there is a defined parameter that you can use. So you add (via "Add parameter") the parameter "outbound" with the condition "matches exactly (=)" with "true".

By the way, you can find all available parameters for the event here:

Step 3: Choose the right dimensions

In the next step you have to select the right dimensions to display your outgoing links in a list. Click on the plus and select "Page path and screen class" and "Link URL".

Step 4: Select the measurements

You want to know the number of clicks on the external links. Therefore add the "Number of events" to the measured values via the plus sign. Here you can also add other measurement values that are interesting for you.

Step 5: Display the results

In order for your table to be generated automatically, you have to drag and drop the segments into the tab settings. Have a look at the screenshot below. For methods and visualizations, everything should already be automatically set to "Free format" and the "Table icon".

Conclusion

Analyzing outbound links on your website can give you important information about which content on your website is most popular and which external websites your visitors visit most often (via your site). With Google Analytics 4, you can easily collect and use this information to optimize your website and better understand your visitors' behavior.