Outbound Links Reporting in GA4 & Looker Studio

Data Studio has rebranded to Looker Studio.
Outbound link tracking for Google Analytics Universal Analytics • Tracking Outbound Link...
Connect multiple data sources in Looker Studio with Supermetrics: growthlearner.com/resources/r...
Need someone to help you with Google Analytics or Looker Studio? Try searching Fiverr: growthlearner.com/resources/r...
Documentation for automatically collected events support.google.com/analytics/...
Example of live dashboards: growthlearner.com/analytics/c...
00:00 Intro
00:49 Enabling Outbound Link Tracking in Google Analytics 4
01:59 Outbound Link Events Reporting in Google Analytics 4
03:01 Creating an Explore Report for Outbound Links in Google Analytics 4
06:17 Creating a Looker Studio Report for GA4 Outbound Link Reporting
Tracking outbound links is a good way to find out what kind of content your audience is interested in. You can enable Enhanced Measurement to automatically track outbound link clicks.
Even though it’s easier to configure outbound link tracking in Google Analytics 4, the reporting is different than it is in the Universal Analytics version of Google Analytics.
If you’re not used to the reporting interface in Google Analytics 4, it can take some extra clicks to find what you need. Even if you are more familiar with Google Analytics 4, this may still be the case, especially if you want to view a report on a regular basis.
There are options for you to create reports that you can refer to regularly with the minimum amount of clicks. These include the custom Explore reports in the Google Analytics 4 reporting interface and Looker Studio.
These options do require some configuration with the correct dimensions, filter, and event count metric. In order to get the most out of Looker Studio, add a custom dimension.
There are a few differences between the Google Analytics 4 Explore reports and Looker Studio even though you’ll use the same Google Analytics 4 data source in Looker Studio.
Disclosure: Some of the links are ‘affiliate links.' This means if you click on the link and purchase a product, I'll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

[@eric.paquet]

Thank you very much for this. Clear and concise explanation!

[@GrowthLearner]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful!

[@roamingtheamericas]

Super helpful, thank you! I already had this set up in GA4 and was looking for a way to create it in Looker Studio - just what I needed.

[@GrowthLearner]

Glad it helped!

[@mdmonirhossen6679]

thats very helpful Jazakallahu Khairon💝

[@GrowthLearner]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@rafaelbp279]

thanks A LOT !

[@rafaelbp279]

Hi! I've managed to do this and worked! But how can I agreggate the Grand total of event counts in a Scorecard? When I put this on Scorecard, it counts only the links and not the events itself. Any tips? :)

[@GillianCook]

Thanks for this its really useful. I did have one question why is the data different in the free form exploration report to the one that pulls through to Events report and Data Studio.

[@GrowthLearner]

Thanks for watching! I would check the settings for each report, especially things like filters and segments. There have been times when the data doesn't match because I overlooked the filters. I would just check all the settings, including the dimensions and metrics, are the same.

[@VideoNash]

thanks

[@GrowthLearner]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@manutheblacker]

Hi, thank you for your tutorial but the configure section is no longer available in GA4

[@trruthawareness]

even with enhanced tools, it seems hard to get outbound tracking for side bar widgets in wordpress. These widgets have graphics, a title, and links from both. where can i find docs on how to include these links for reporting?

[@leezapatel1245]

Hi, I created the custom dimension like you showed a long time ago, but a lot of the URLs are showing up as "not set'. Do you have any way to fix that?

[@leezapatel1245]

I found the workaround. You have to set the filter for event name = "click" in the data studio table as well. "Not set" is for other events that show up when Event name is used as a dimension in the table. Thank you!

[@GrowthLearner]

I'm glad you figured it out!!

[@baj_]

I;m getting (not set) data on DS. Will wait 48 hs and report back,

[@GrowthLearner]

Thanks for watching. Looking forward to your findings.

[@rafaelbp279]

didn't worked here :(

[@rafaelbp279]

when I insert the link url on the table, it shows "No data" although on GA4 shows......any tips?

[@GrowthLearner]

How long did you wait before you checked? From experience and what I've heard others say, it usually takes a while to report data in Data Studio when you add a new dimension. Check tomorrow.

[@rafaelbp279]

@@GrowthLearner great, I'll wait.. thanks a lot !

[@rafaelbp279]

@@GrowthLearner nothing :( when I insert my custom dimension with link_url it shows Not_set... thanks for the support anyway!

[@GrowthLearner]

@@rafaelbp279 let's try running through a few checkpoints. Where did you see it in GA4? Was it the Explore reports? Your custom dimension is named "link_url", not "Link"? In the video, I named mine "Link" but whatever name you choose is fine.

[@rafaelbp279]

@@GrowthLearner exactly! Explorations and named clicked link with dimension link_url :(

[@waltermazzola1596]

Not working for me.

[@GrowthLearner]

Curious, did you check immediately after you configured everything?