How to Create a Weekly Report in Google Analytics
Pulling weekly performance data from Google Analytics shouldn't feel like a chore. It’s your regular check-up to see what’s working, what’s not, and where you should focus your energy for the week ahead. This article will guide you through several ways to create clear, effective weekly reports in Google Analytics, from quick manual lookups to fully automated email sends.
Why a Weekly Report Can Be Your Secret Weapon
While monthly and quarterly reports are vital for strategy, weekly reporting is all about tactical agility. Sticking to a weekly check-in provides a rhythm to your marketing efforts and offers immediate, practical benefits:
Catches Issues Early: Did a bad link suddenly kill traffic from a key source? Did your conversion rate mysteriously tank overnight? Catching these problems after a few days instead of a few weeks can save you a ton of lost opportunity.
Identifies Trends Quickly: You can spot an unexpected blog post taking off or a new social campaign gaining traction much faster. This allows you to double down on what’s working right now, not what worked a month ago.
Makes Data Less Intimidating: Looking at a week's worth of data is far less overwhelming than analyzing a full quarter. Regular exposure helps you and your team get comfortable with your numbers and build a data-aware culture.
Before You Build: Pinpoint Your Core Weekly KPIs
Before diving into Google Analytics, you need a plan. A great weekly report isn't about tracking every metric available, it's about focusing on a small handful of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that give you a high-level "health check" of your digital presence. Starting with too many metrics leads to analysis paralysis.
Here are some essential KPIs to consider for your weekly report:
Overall Traffic Performance
Users: How many unique individuals visited your site? This tells you about your overall reach.
Sessions: How many total visits did you receive? A user can have multiple sessions. This metric is a good gauge of overall activity.
New Users: How many visitors came to your site for the very first time? This tracks your ability to attract a new audience.
User Engagement
Engagement Rate: This GA4 metric shows the percentage of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had at least 2 pageviews. It’s a great indicator of whether your content is capturing attention, a huge improvement over the old "Bounce Rate." It’s an easy-to-read signal for quality traffic.
Average Engagement Time: For the users who do engage, how long are they sticking around on average? This helps you understand if your content is truly valuable.
Acquisition Channels
Traffic by Session Source / Medium: Don't just look at total traffic, see where it’s coming from. Is it google / organic, facebook.com / referral, or email / newsletter? This helps you attribute performance to your marketing activities.
Conversions & Goals
Conversions: Whether it's a contact form fill (generate_lead), an e-commerce purchase (purchase), or a newsletter signup (sign_up), this is your ultimate success metric. Always keep your eye on the bottom line.
Total Revenue (for E-commerce): The most straightforward business metric of them all.
Pick a few from each category that align with your weekly goals. Your objective is a simple one-page view, not a 20-page dissertation.
Method 1: The Quick Manual Look-Up
This is the simplest way to get a weekly data snapshot. It’s perfect for answering a quick question or pulling a specific number for a team meeting. It's not designed for consistent reporting but is a foundational skill.
Navigate to a Standard Report: In the left-hand menu of GA4, click on Reports. A good place to start is Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
Set Your Date Range: In the top right corner, click on the date range. You can select "Last 7 days" for a rolling weekly view or "Last week" for the previous calendar week (e.g., Sunday to Saturday).
Analyze the Core Data: The report table will automatically update. You can see an overview of Users, Sessions, Engagement Rate, and Conversions broken down by channel.
Customize with Comparisons: To make the data meaningful, turn on the "Compare" toggle inside the date range pop-up. Select "Previous Period" to compare this week’s data against last week’s. This immediately shows you week-over-week (WoW) growth or decline.
Export if Needed: You can export this view by clicking the "Share report" icon (a right-pointing arrow in a box) in the top right and then clicking "Download File." You can download it as a PDF or CSV file to share or use in another reporting document.
When to use this method: It’s ideal for a quick, one-off look at performance or when you've been asked for a specific metric in a hurry.
Method 2: Create a Reusable Report in the 'Explore' Hub
The standard reports are useful, but what if you want to create a totally custom weekly view that focuses only on your KPIs? For that, you’ll use GA4's Explore section. It looks intimidating at first, but it’s just a drag-and-drop report builder.
Open the Explore Hub: In the left menu, click Explore. Select "Free form" from the template gallery.
Name Your Report: At the top left, change "Untitled exploration" to something memorable, like "Weekly Marketing KPI Dashboard."
Import Your "Ingredients": Think of your report like a recipe. You first need to gather your ingredients - dimensions and metrics. In the "Variables" column on the left:
Click the "+" next to Dimensions. Search for and import things like Session source / medium, Week, Device category, and Page path and screen class.
Click the "+" next to Metrics. Search for and import your key metrics like Sessions, Engaged sessions, Engagement rate, Conversions, and Total revenue.
Build Your Report: Now, drag and drop these ingredients from the "Variables" column into the "Tab Settings" column. A common setup is:
Rows: Drag Session source / medium here. This will make each marketing channel a separate row.
Columns: Drag Week here. This will create a separate column for each week’s data.
Values: Drag your key metrics here, like Sessions, Engagement rate, and Conversions. You'll now have a clean table showing your key metrics by channel, week-over-week.
Set the Date Range: Just like with standard reports, set the date range in the top-left section of the "Variables" section. Setting it to "Last 28 days" lets you easily see the last four weeks side-by-side.
Once you save this Exploration, you can come back to it every week. The structure will be saved, and the data will update automatically to the selected date range. It’s a powerful way to cut through the noise and build your perfect weekly report inside GA.
Method 3: Go Fully Automated with Scheduled Emails
If you prefer an automated "set it and forget it" approach, you can have Google Analytics email a report to you and your stakeholders every week. This is an excellent way to keep everyone informed without anyone having to log into GA.
Start from a Standard Report: Go to any report you find useful, such as the Traffic acquisition report we mentioned in Method 1. Customize it to your liking - add a filter for a specific country, change the primary dimension, etc.
Click 'Share Report': In the upper-right corner of the interface, click the "Share report" icon. From the drop-down menu that appears, select 'Schedule email.'
Configure the Email: A panel will appear on the right. Here's how you can fill it out:
Recipients: Enter the email address(es) you want to send the report to.
Report Name: Give it a clear name like “Weekly Marketing Performance | [Your Site Name]."
Frequency: Change the setting from “Once” to “Weekly.”
Day of the Week: Choose which day you’d like the report to be sent on (e.g., every Monday morning).
Format: You can choose between PDF or CSV.
Save Your Schedule: Once you've configured these settings, click "Save" to activate your scheduled emails.
Final Thoughts
Setting up a weekly rhythm for checking your Google Analytics data moves you from being reactive to proactive. Whether you prefer a quick manual check, a custom-saved exploration, or an automated email, consistency is what matters most. By regularly tracking your KPIs, you create a feedback loop that helps you make progressively smarter decisions for your website and marketing campaigns.
For teams looking to move beyond static reports, we built a tool to make this entire process easier and more immediate. Instead of navigating menus or setting up scheduled sends within GA, Graphed allows you to connect Google Analytics and your other data sources (like your CRM, ad platforms, and e-commerce store) in one place. You can then ask questions in plain English - like "show me our key traffic metrics week-over-week" - to instantly generate live, shareable dashboards. Our goal is to remove the busywork of report building, giving you back time to focus on getting answers instead of preparing them.