Page Load Times Not Showing Up In Google Analytics 4?

Do you want to report on page load time in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)? Learn how to set up page load time tracking AND how to report on page load time. In this video, you will walk through the setups to track the loading time of your pages using GTM (Google Tag Manager), how to register the custom metric in Google Analytics, plus reporting options (including in GA4 and Looker Studio, previously Google Data Studio). Let's get started!
YOUR EXTRA RESOURCES:
○ Code for the JavaScript variable - www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-l...
○ Full GTM (Google Tag Manager) tutorial - • Google Tag Manager Sim...
○ Full GA4 tutorial - • Google Analytics 4 Tut...
○ GA4 Course (paid) - www.lovesdata.com/courses/goo...
○ GA4 Course (free) - www.lovesdata.com/courses/ana...
JUMP TO A TOPIC:
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Check for GA4 configuration tag
01:25 Create the page load time tracking variable
03:19 Create triggers for the page load time tag
05:01 Create the page load time GA4 event tag
06:50 Preview the page load time tag
07:34 Publish the GTM container
07:55 Register the page load time metric
08:56 Report on page load time in Google Analytics
10:51 Average page load time with Looker Studio
13:48 Conclusion
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[@VaibhavJewellersOfficial]

I have added the Page load time as per your Instructions but not able to see the data. Can you please let me know were I need to make changes.

[@onurkaradeniz569]

This was amazing! Thanks a lot!

[@fawadaslam9352]

It is working for me, Thank you so much. It is really amazing

[@RaffetAli2006]

Perfect.. Thank you so much

[@LovesData]

My pleasure!

[@maheshs5517]

Excellent 👏

[@user-ym4nn4mw3g]

Thank you very much for this tutorial. Would you expect to see the same amount of page view and page load events in GA4?

[@valeriederbaudrenghien]

Hello and thank you for this! I was desperately trying to find Page Load Times inside G-Analytics - 4 and here's my answer. I was able to take all the steps outlined in your video, but the metric Average Page Load Time does not appear as an option inside Looker Studio. What am I doing wrong? IN GTM, it all works, I tested it. Would love your help. Thanks!

[@akshaykumard108]

Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial!. I have added page load time in custom metric and "loading_time_sec" as event parameter. But for some reason not able to see the data. Please let me know what should be done. Thanks!!

[@lachezargadzhev8731]

I had the same issue. You need to select Views and Page Load Time as Values in the Settings section where he is selecting the Rows

[@ctr1467]

Hi Benjamin, at 13:00 min into the video you add an 'Event name" filter. Do you recommend adding these in all Looker Studio reports with GA4 data?

[@LovesData]

You only need to add filters if you need to control what’s included (and excluded). So it really depends on the situation.

[@nurullah2205]

Great 🎉

[@LovesData]

Glad you like it!

[@indranilsaha8441]

Great as always ❤️. I am just curious that if you provide personal training for GTM OR GA4?

[@LovesData]

Thank you! Unfortunately, I’m not offering one-on-one training at the moment, but I do provide training through my online courses www.lovesdata.com/courses and I have some limited availability for custom training (designed for companies with teams of around 10 people).

[@indranilsaha8441]

@@LovesData That's brilliant to hear from you. So how can I contact you for that personal training for my company?

[@LovesData]

@@indranilsaha8441 feel free to connect at www.lovesdata.com/contact-us

[@tsenekos2515]

Thanks for the amazing video, I am wondering how you might go about diagnosing the issue if I followed these steps and still do not see page loading time in GA4?

[@LovesData]

Thanks! First, data will appear from setup moving forward, so I’d check the date range first. I’d also use Tag Assistant to check the value of the variable and to see if it’s passed to the tag.

[@user-ko1ug9sy5w]

Thank you very much for this great tutorial. it's quite annoying that this feature is not included in GA4 by default 😀but still after going through with this method, we can't see any info under this metric. one weird thing I noticed is that the parameter is submitted as "Page_ Load_ time" when selecting it in Event Parameter. don't know if that's got anything to do with this problem though.

[@LovesData]

Sounds like something hasn’t been set up correctly. I’d check all the steps and potentially, start from scratch.

[@richiennamdi6837]

thanks for this video. But how do you convert seconds to milliseconds in the code?

[@NahidKhan-mk1io]

Please google search, second to milisecond converter.

[@LovesData]

I've updated my blog post to include a version of the script in milliseconds (you can find it under the 'Tip'): www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@sidewinder2057]

Thanks for the tutorial on this. Google made GA4 crappier and less usable than Universal. By a lot. Some metrics and reports missing, today's data not available, user interface is horrible.

[@user-xr8qu2cs1z]

Looker Studio does not create the Average Page Load Time by default? I can’t get this metric

[@user-uq1tn4cg4b]

Thank you for tutorial. Why you set up second trigger for less than zero, not less or equal? If pageload time equals zero because it failed, wouldn't it bias average time?

[@LovesData]

Glad you like it! I’ve made some tweaks based on feedback which you can find here: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@user-wr9fv1xb5v]

Thanks for the tutorial. I took all the steps in the video but when I preview the variable "loading_time_sec" value is 0 and the GA4 configuration tag does not fire on Window Loaded. What am I doing wrong?

[@LovesData]

Hey! The GA4 configuration tag (now the Google Tag) shouldn't fire on the Window Loaded event. The GA4 event tag should fire on the Window Loaded event. So I would carefully check through the setup steps to ensure everything is correct. I've included some troubleshooting tips here: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@sdsudhirrram4240]

Please make a video and show to track whatsapp clicks wihtout the use of GTM in GA4

[@LovesData]

Thank you for the suggestion. Out of interest, why don’t you want to use GTM?

[@sdsudhirrram4240]

@@LovesData I am working for a sub-client, which has not GTM configured on the website.

[@user-bw1jm2rl9s]

Any idea why a page load time would be very inflated? My page load times are enormous- showing nearly an hour for a page that has an Average Page Load time of 25 seconds. It almost seems as if all individual page loads are being aggregated somehow?

[@LovesData]

In GA4, it reports the total page load time combined. I show you how to calculate the average load time towards the end of the video at kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppiUnIdpr9KGecU

[@user-dz9jl3jb2i]

Hi, thanks for the content. I followed the video steps, but in GA4, load time shows 0 in Explore reports despite working in preview. Tag is set up on all pages. Can you help?

[@LovesData]

I’ve included troubleshooting tips in this article: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@limweihan4895]

Hello and thank you for your tutorial. I follow your steps and show page load time with the page path and screen class, but the page load time value in GA4 show 0, did i do anything wrong ?

[@LovesData]

Something isn’t right if you’re seeing zero reported. You can find some troubleshooting tips in this blog post: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@limweihan4895]

There is a comment below you mentioned that need to wait 24 hours for data to be processed into your reports, do we need to wait for 24 hours for page load time metric to be working ?

[@LovesData]

That’s correct. It can take 24 hours for data to appear in the standard and exploration reports.

[@GSicKz]

did all the steps but i dont see any data yet in google analytics or looker studio - does it take some time until I start seeing the load times?

[@LovesData]

Yes. You will need to wait 24 hours for data to be processed into your reports.

[@GSicKz]

@@LovesData Thanks! I can see the 'Average Page Load Time' now in Looker Studio, the values are a bit higher than expected but it looks like its measuring it properly! But in my report in Google Analytics GA4 the 'Page Load Time' metric just returns only '0' rather than the combined totals - do you perhaps know why that could be?

[@LovesData]

@@GSicKz without taking a look at the report, I’m not 100% sure, but it could be a different date range, sampling, or a threshold being applied to the report.

[@utube2008utube]

when i go to add Page Loading Time metric to the Explore Report, it doesn't appear as an option. I don't see any custom metrics available to choose from.

[@LovesData]

You’ll need to register the custom metric before it appears.

[@ketanpatel2935]

i try this but it's show my No data for this combination of segments, values, filters, and date range. Try editing the variables or settings or remove them. for my every website when i add page load time in explore report and other also can you please provide information about it

[@LovesData]

I have some troubleshooting tips in this blog post: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@user-ld8px1hh8i]

Why when I tried to create custom metrics on GA4, the event parameter 'loading_time_sec' is not listed in the custom metric section?

[@LovesData]

You'll need to make sure it's registered as a custom definition (custom metric).

[@preethikancharla5799]

How can we register for Custom metric to appear Loading time sec?@@LovesData

[@LovesData]

@@preethikancharla5799 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppiUnIdpr9KGecU

[@radusulita6562]

Event Parameters [{name: "loading_time_sec", value: 18.56}]

[@insighfulreach]

hey the page load time is appearing as in minutes. sure that can't be right because the site is pretty fast!

[@LovesData]

Maybe check the custom metric is configured correctly. Also, this is reporting loading time from people’s browsers, so slow internet will lead to longer load times. And you can also find some troubleshooting tips in this post: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@swordfishalvin]

the custom metric shows but page path wouldn't work and page title will show numbers that make no sense, in hundreds and thousands

[@LovesData]

If you're referring to the exploration report in GA4, this is because it reports the *total* page load time. However, if you're referring to 'Average Page Load Time' metric in Looker Studio, then it sounds like something needs to be corrected in the implementation. And you'd need to check the triggers, variable, and the GA4 configuration tag.

[@radusulita6562]

Event Parameters ​ [{name: "loading_time_sec", value: ""}]

[@ivanyosifov2629]

Any reason why in GA4 metrics Page Load Time doesn't appear?

[@LovesData]

Which steps have you completed?

[@ivanyosifov2629]

@@LovesData All of them - Custom definition -> Custom Metrics. Metric Name: Page Load Time, Event Parameter: loading_time_sec, Unit of measurement: Seconds. Save Then in Explore, Metrics searcing for load doesn't show anything and Custom metrics show 0

[@LovesData]

@@ivanyosifov2629 You might need to contact Google support. Once the custom metric is saved, it should show in your exploration reports. Then, you’ll need to wait 24 hours for the metic to populate. So if your custom metric isn’t showing and you’ve registered it, there must be an issue with your property.

[@ivanyosifov2629]

@@LovesData Google Support = chatbots. No thanks.

[@oceantradegroup4026]

hi there, i have a very weird problem , i see realtime users on the page but only there i mean in any report or even home like users event count total users views are all zero what should i do

[@LovesData]

Did you just create the property? Or is it a property that’s been collecting data for a while?

[@oceantradegroup4026]

@@LovesData for 2 month this just starsted a day ago i checked the data stream all seem fine data flowing past 48 hours

[@LovesData]

@@oceantradegroup4026 Is there any chance the default ‘All Users’ audience was deleted?

[@oceantradegroup4026]

@@LovesData no idea, but at the same time I don't want to create new property

[@LovesData]

It’s a default audience. No need to create a new property.

[@sprintzin]

Cant see the loading_time_sec parameter in GA4, i`ve created it in GTM, but can`t see it in GA4

[@LovesData]

Is it in Tag Assistant (preview mode)?

[@sprintzin]

@@LovesData Yes, and it shows the value 2.17

[@LovesData]

Great! That means either the GTM container hasn’t been published yet and/or the measurement ID in the GA4 configuration tag isn’t correct.

[@sprintzin]

@@LovesData Thank you, i`ve checked again, the container has been published. Where can i see what is wring with the configuration?

[@LovesData]

I cover the GA4 configuration tag in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXWYn5driL9nqZo you will then need to ensure that you select the GA4 configuration tag in the GA4 event tag (as I cover in the page load time tracking video).

[@fawadaslam9352]

At the end it is not working( it took some time to load, so should mention the w8 time in this video as well. It is working now)

[@LovesData]

I have some troubleshooting tips you can try in this post: www.lovesdata.com/blog/page-load-google-analytics

[@radusulita6562]

why I dont see the page load time? Event Parameters [{name: "loading_time_sec", value: "Page Load Time"}]

[@LovesData]

If the value in the data layer is literally "Page Load Time", then the variable hasn't been used in the event tag.

[@radusulita6562]

@@LovesData ❤

[@bvdizon]

@@LovesData is this a bad thing? or did I do something wrong setting it up?

[@LovesData]

If you’re seeing the value as “Page Load Time” in Tag Assistant, then you haven’t added the variable properly.

[@LovesData]

In the video, you’ll see it shows a number in Tag Assistant. Just select ‘Window Loaded’, then the tag, and ensure ‘Values’ is selected on the top right corner (you can rewatch the video to see this).

[@leonardolourencocrespilhoh511]

Benjamin, you are awesome. :) And handsome too. 🫶 I have 2 contributions that you can consider. 1) Instead of the exclusion trigger, just create a condition on the inclusion trigger. 2) Consider implementing a "siteSpeedSampleRate like". Univeral utilizes 1%. Maybe you don't need to capture all page load times, but just a sample. I think ~5% of users is good enough.

[@LovesData]

You probably don’t need to deal with sampling in GA4 as there’s no limit to data collection, but you can do this quite easily if needed.