Custom Reports

Build personalized reports tailored to your specific needs.

Overview

Custom Reports let you combine the dimensions and metrics that matter most to your organization into a single view. Instead of jumping between multiple reports, create exactly what you need.

Navigate to Custom Reports in the main menu to access this feature.

Creating a Custom Report

1. Go to Custom Reports
2. Click Create a custom report
3. Enter a report name (e.g., “Marketing Performance Dashboard”)
4. Select your report type
5. Choose dimensions and metrics
6. Click Create Report

Dimensions vs Metrics

Understanding the difference is key to building useful reports.

Dimensions

Dimensions are attributes that describe your data — the “what” or “who”:

• Page URL
• Page title
• Traffic source
• Campaign name
• Device type
• Country
• City
• Browser
• Operating system
• Day of week
• Hour

Metrics

Metrics are quantitative measurements — the “how many” or “how much”:

• Visits
• Unique visitors
• Pageviews
• Actions
• Average visit duration
• Bounce rate
• Goal conversions
• Goal revenue

Combining Them

A custom report combines dimensions and metrics to answer specific questions:

Report Types

Table Report

The default format — data displayed in rows and columns.

Best for:

• Comparing many items at once
• Detailed breakdowns
• Exporting to spreadsheets

Evolution Report

Data displayed over time as a line or bar chart.

Best for:

• Tracking trends
• Spotting changes
• Visualizing growth

Bar Graph

Data displayed as horizontal or vertical bars.

Best for:

• Comparing categories
• Quick visual comparisons
• Presentations

Example Custom Reports

Campaign Performance Report

Track all marketing campaigns in one view.

Dimensions:

• Campaign name
• Source
• Medium

Metrics:

• Visits
• Bounce rate
• Goal conversions
• Revenue

Mobile vs Desktop Performance

Compare how device types perform.

Dimensions:

• Device type
• Page title

Metrics:

• Pageviews
• Avg. time on page
• Bounce rate
• Goal conversions

Geographic Lead Report

See where your leads come from.

Dimensions:

• Country
• Region

Metrics:

• Visits
• Goal conversions
• Conversion rate

Content Performance by Source

Understand which content works for each traffic source.

Dimensions:

• Traffic source
• Page title

Metrics:

• Pageviews
• Unique pageviews
• Avg. time on page
• Bounce rate

Weekly Performance Summary

High-level weekly metrics.

Dimensions:

• Week

Metrics:

• Visits
• Unique visitors
• Pageviews
• Goal conversions
• Revenue

Managing Custom Reports

Editing Reports

1. Go to Custom Reports
2. Find your report in the list
3. Click the edit icon (pencil)
4. Make your changes
5. Save

Deleting Reports

1. Go to Custom Reports
2. Find the report
3. Click the delete icon (trash)
4. Confirm deletion

Organizing Reports

Give reports clear, descriptive names:

• ✅ “Monthly Marketing Summary - All Campaigns”
• ✅ “Lead Generation by Geographic Region”
• ❌ “Report 1”
• ❌ “Test”

Scheduled Reports

Send reports automatically via email on a regular schedule.

Setting Up Scheduled Reports

1. Create or open a custom report
2. Click Email Report or look for scheduling options
3. Configure:
   • Recipients (email addresses)
   • Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
   • Format (PDF, HTML, CSV)
4. Save the schedule

Schedule Options

Tips for Scheduled Reports

• Don’t over-schedule — too many reports get ignored
• Match frequency to how often decisions are made
• Include only the most important metrics
• Add context in the report name (date range, etc.)

Exporting Reports

Manual Export

1. Open any custom report
2. Click the export icon
3. Choose format:
   • CSV — For spreadsheets and data analysis
   • Excel — Formatted spreadsheet
   • PDF — For sharing and presentations
   • XML/JSON — For integrations

Export All Data

By default, exports include the visible data. For large exports:

1. Adjust the report to show more rows
2. Or use the “Export all” option if available

Sharing Custom Reports

With Your Team

Custom reports you create are typically visible to other users with access to the same website. Check your permissions if you need to restrict access.

With Stakeholders

For stakeholders who don’t log into Ghost Metrics:

1. Export as PDF
2. Set up scheduled email delivery
3. Or share via your organization’s reporting tools

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with basic reports and add complexity as needed. A simple report you actually use is better than a complex one you ignore.

Focus on Actionable Data

Every metric in your report should inform a decision. If you can’t act on it, consider removing it.

Review and Refine

Revisit your custom reports periodically:

• Are you still using this report?
• Does it still answer the right questions?
• Should metrics be added or removed?

Document Your Reports

Keep notes on what each report measures and who uses it. This helps when team members change or when revisiting reports later.

Don’t Duplicate Standard Reports

Ghost Metrics has robust standard reports. Only create custom reports when you need:

• Multiple dimensions together
• Specific metric combinations
• Scheduled delivery
• A unique view not available elsewhere

Limitations

• Maximum number of dimensions varies by report type
• Some dimension/metric combinations may not be available
• Very large date ranges may be slow to generate
• Complex reports may have row limits

Next Steps

• Dashboard — Your overview page
• Goals — Set up conversions to track in reports
• Campaign tracking — Tag campaigns for better reporting