Understanding Website Traffic Sources in Google Analytics 4 ...

The Source / Medium report can help you understand the origin of your traffic and provide insights into your online audience. Getintouch>> IfyouuseGoogleAnalytics,doyouknowexactlywhereyourwebsitetrafficiscomingfrom?TheSource/Mediumreportcanhelpyouunderstandtheoriginofyourtrafficandprovideinsightsintoyouronlineaudience. WhatistheSource/Mediumreport? AllofthevisitorsthatreachyourwebsitewillberecordedinGoogleAnalyticsastraffic,asusersandsessions.EveryoneofthesevisitorshavetoarrivefromsomewhereandtheSource/Mediumreportcantellyouhowtheyreachyourwebsite. TheSource/MediumReportasitappearsinGoogleAnalytics(UA). ThereportitselfismadeupofacombinationofdifferentSourcesandMediums.Thesecanbecomparedandgroupedbyusingfiltersordrillingdownintothereport.GoogleAnalyticsprovidesdataforavarietyofdifferentmetricsforeachcombination,whichyoucanusetodeterminethequalityofyourwebsitetrafficfromdifferentlocations. WhereistheSource/MediumreportinUniversalAnalytics? YoucannavigatetothereportusingthesidebarinUniversalAnalytics.ItcanbefoundinBehaviour>SiteContent>AllPages,asshowninthescreenshotbelow. TheSource/MediumReportinUA. Bydefault,thereportwilldisplaySource/Mediumasthedimension,thoughthiscanalsobechangedtoshowonlySourcesoronlyMediums. WhereistheSource/MediumreportinGoogleAnalytics4? InGoogleAnalytics4,thereporthaschangedandisnowknownasthe“TrafficAcquisition”report.ItcanbefoundunderAcquisition>TrafficAcquisitioninstead. TheSourceReportinGA4. HoweverinGA4,thereportonlyshowschannelgroupingsbydefault.ThiscanbechangedtotheclassicreportbychangingtheprimarydimensiontoSessionSource. Select“SessionSource”fromthemenu. Fromhere,you’llwanttoaddSessionMediumasasecondarydimension.GoogleAnalytics4doesn’tmakethistooeasy,sowe’llgothroughthesteps.Clickontheblue“+”toaddanewdimension.Navigatetothe“SessionAcquisition”section,andfromthere,selectSessionMedium. AddSessionMediumtocombineitwithSessionSource. Note:Thesearchfunctionalityhereisalittlemisleading,youcanonlysearchforadimensionifyou’reinthesamesection,soremembertonavigateto“SessionAcquisition”first! You’llendupwithasimilarSource/MediumreportthatexistsinUniversalAnalytics.Somemetricsmaybealittledifferentthough,duetoin-builtdifferencesinGA4. TheSource/MediumReportinGoogleAnalytics4.Ithasafewdifferentmetrics,suchasengagement. WhatareSourcesandMediums? Youmayhaveheardthesetermsusedalot,butwhatexactlydotheymean?Inshort,aSourceisaspecificplacewheretraffichasarrivedfrom,andaMediumisthetypeofconnectionthetrafficusedtoreachyourwebsite.BycombiningSourceandMedium,thereportinGoogleAnalyticscanletyouknowexactlywhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom.ThereareavarietyofbothSourcesandMediumsoutthere,sowe’llgiveyousomeexamplesofthemostcommononesyou’llseeinyourreports. Sources Thesearelocationswhereyourtrafficoriginatesfrom.Quiteoftenthey’llbetheownersofsearchengines,socialmediaplatforms,oryourowndigitalmarketingefforts. Google–Oneofthemostcommonfortrafficastheworld’slargestsearchengine. Bing–NotquiteasbigasGoogle,butstillverywidelyused,especiallyincertainindustries. Facebook–Asoneofthemostwidelyusedsocialmediasites,youmayseesometrafficfromFacebook,oralternativessuchasTwitterandLinkedIn. RelatedWebsite–Dootherwebsiteslinktoyourcontentfrequently?Relatedwebsitesinthesamefieldcanoftenprovidesometrafficbacktoyourownwebsite. Campaign–IfyouhavesetupUTMTracking,youcanidentifytrafficfromyourowndigitalmarketingcampaigns. Mediums Thesearethepathwaysthroughwhichtraffictravelstoreachyourwebsitefromasource. Direct–Ifsomeonevisitsyourwebsitedirectly,suchastypingintheaddressinawebbrowser. Organic–Thistrafficcomesfrompeoplewhousesearchenginestofindyourwebsite,andthenclickonthesearchresults.Notethatthisisspecificallyforsearchresults,notpaidadsthatappearalongsidethem! Referral–Whenanotherwebsitesendstrafficyourwaythroughalink,it’softencalledareferral.Thismediumisoftenconsideredvaluable,astrafficispre-qualifiedandoftenrelevanttoyourbusiness. Email–Ifavisitorclicksonalinkinanewsletteroremailmarketingcampaigntovisityourwebsite,withproperUTMtracking,itcanbeidentifiedascomingfromanemail. CPC–Shortfor“CostPerClick”andreferstomostkindsofpaidadvertising(suchasGoogleAdsorMicrosoftAdvertising)whereyouarechargedwhensomeoneclicksononeofyourads.Thesecanappearalongsideresultsinsearchengines,onsocialmediaplatformsandmore. Social–Anylinksonsocialmediaplatformsthatlinkbacktoyourwebsite,again,withappropriateUTMtrackinginplace. HowdoIusetheSource/Mediumreport? Withthesource/mediumreport,youcannowunderstandwhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom.Withthisinformationyoucanmakeinformeddecisionsabouthowtoproceedwithyourdigitalmarketingefforts.Somequestionstoconsiderwhenlookingatthereportwouldbe: Whichtrafficsourceshavehigherconversionrates/goalcompletions?Aretherespecificchannelsthatgeneratealotofleads,orveryfew? Whatisthequalityofthetraffic?Dovisitorsbounceorfailtoengagewithyourwebsitefromhighquantitytrafficsources? Wheredoesyourwebsitetrafficactuallycomefrom?Howdoesthiscomparetowhatyouthoughtbeforelookingatthereport? Askingyourselfquestionsaboutyourwebsitetrafficwillhelpyoubetterunderstandwhoyouractualaudienceis,opposedtowhatyouthinkitmight,couldorshouldbe.Withtheknowledgefromthesource/mediumreport,youcanworkonimprovingspecificdigitalmarketingchannelstogrowyourbusinessonline. 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