UTMs and GA4: Tagging Traffic Sources
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This document provides guidance on best practices for tagging traffic sources in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). It discusses dimensions in GA4 like campaign, source, and medium. It explains how GA4 classifies traffic into default channel groups and how tags can be manually added. The key recommendations are to select the correct dimension scope, treat default groups as trends, always include utm_campaign, source and medium when tagging, use proper casing, be consistent across sources, leverage GA4 rules, and accurately classify traffic. Proper tagging allows for more accurate analysis of traffic sources in GA4.
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UTMs and GA4: Tagging Traffic Sources
- 1. LAURA LEE DOOLEY GA4 AND UTMS 20 July 2023
- 2. Dimensions (Descriptions) Metrics (Numbers) Hostname Page title Page path Link URL Country City Campaign Source Medium Active users New users Total users Views Sessions Engaged sessions Engagement rate User engagement Event count
- 3. GA4 TRAFFIC DIMENSIONS Traffic-source dimensions provide details on: • specific marketing efforts you use to drive that traffic (e.g., Campaign, publication, launch, project) • provide information about where your traffic originates (Source, e.g., google, nytimes.com, twitter, facebook) • methods by which users arrive at your site/app (Medium, e.g., organic, referral, cpc, email) support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382
- 4. SCOPES OF TRAFFIC SOURCE DIMENSIONS GA4 organizes traffic source dimensions in the following hierarchy: • User - a person who interacts with your website or app. • Session - the period from when a user visits to when they leave. • Event - a distinct user interaction within a session. support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382
- 5. GA4 DIMENSIONS User scoped (New User Acquisition) Session scoped (New & Returning Users) Event scoped (Interactions) First user default channel group Session default channel group Default Channel Group First user campaign Session campaign Campaign First user campaign ID Session campaign ID Campaign ID First user source Session source Source First user source / medium Session source / medium Source / medium First user medium Session medium Medium
- 6. BEST PRACTICE # 1 When viewing GA4 data, select the correct traffic dimension scope.
- 7. GA4 TRAFFIC TRACKING support.google.com/analytics/answer/11242841 Name Description Auto Tagging GA4 Dimensions Channel Group Based on Source and/or Medium Assigned based on GA4 rules First user channel group Session channel group Channel Group Campaign The name of a promotion or marketing campaign. Google Ads connected service First user campaign Session campaign Campaign Source Publisher or platform from which traffic originated. System-defined traffic source First user source Session source Campaign Medium Method for acquiring users or sessions to your website or application. System-defined traffic medium First user medium Session medium Medium
- 8. CHANNEL GROUPS • GA4 Default Channel Groups • Custom Channel Groups – 2 Groups – 25 Channels within each Group support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 9. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Organic Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 10. CHANNEL GROUPS ARE APPROXIMATE • User Acquisition > First User Default Channel Group • Sessions Session Default Channel Group • Events Default Channel Group
- 11. EXAMPLES OF SYSTEM-DEFINED TRAFFIC SOURCE • google • bing • yahoo • twitter • facebook.com • linkedin • instagram MEDIUM • email • affiliate • referral • cpc|ppc|paidsearch • social • audio • video
- 12. GA4 CHANNEL GROUPS Organic Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email Source matches GA4 system-defined search sites OR Medium • organic support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 13. GA4 CHANNEL GROUPS Organic Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email • Saved link (without UTM codes) OR • Entering URL support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 14. GA4 CHANNEL GROUPS Organic Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email Medium / utm_medium • referral • app • link support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 15. GA4 CHANNEL GROUPS Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email Source / utm_source matches system-defined social sites OR Medium / utm_medium • social • social-network • social-media • sm • social network • social media support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 16. GA4 CHANNEL GROUPS Organic Search Direct Referral Organic Social Email Source / utm_source • email|e-mail|e_mail|e mail OR Medium / utm_medium • email|e-mail|e_mail|e mail support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 17. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Source matches GA4 system-defined search sites AND Medium • ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting| paid.*)$ Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 18. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Medium / utm_medium • audio Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 19. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Source matches a list of video sites OR Medium • ^(.*video.*)$ Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 20. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Source matches Google’s system-defined social sites AND Medium • ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting| paid.*)$ Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 21. GA4 DEFAULT CHANNEL GROUPS Medium / utm_medium • affiliate Paid Search Organic Audio Organic Video Paid Social Affiliates support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 22. BEST PRACTICE # 2 Treat Default Channel Groups as trends, not absolutes. support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 25. TAGGING TRAFFIC DIMENSIONS AUTO TAGGING MANUAL TAGGING Broad. Specific. Automatically tags traffic source by Source and Medium dimensions but DOES NOT include the Campaign dimension unless GA4 integrated with Google Ads. Designates traffic associated with a specific marketing Campaign across channels as well as Source and Medium (email, social, referral, etc.) GA4 integration with Google Ads provides you with more dimensions than you get with manual tagging. Can introduce errors (utm_source=Google is different from utm_source=google) Dependent on a Google system-defined list of source traffic to categorize into Channel Groups. If not done properly, may assign to incorrect or Unassigned Channel Group.
- 26. MANUAL TAGGING UTMs (Urchin Tracking Modules) • utm_campaign – WRI-designated (flexible), but be consistent • utm_source – leverage system-defined names • utm_medium – leverage system-defined names except for identifying social profiles • utm_content (Optional) - Used for A/B testing and content- targeted ads. Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links from the same Source that point to the same URL. • utm_term (Optional) – keywords
- 27. BEST PRACTICE # 3 When manually tagging UTMs, always include: wri.org?utm_campaign=campaign- name&utm_source=source&utm_medium=me dium
- 28. BEST PRACTICE # 4 Do • lowercase • kebab-case Don’t • spaces between words • camelCase • snake_case • PascalCase • MACRO_CASE • Train-Case
- 29. BEST PRACTICE # 5 Be consistent with Campaign names across Paid (Google Ads) and Organic (manual tagging) traffic sources. support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 30. BEST PRACTICE # 6 Leverage GA4 Default Channel rules for Source and Medium where possible. support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 31. BEST PRACTICE # 7 Be accurate in your choice of Source and Medium for each Channel. support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 32. TRAFFIC SOURCE EXAMPLE 1/2 Search for session source = “wridigest” ?utm_campaign=wridigest&utm_source=wridigest-2023-01-11&utm_medium=email
- 33. TRAFFIC SOURCE EXAMPLE 2/2 Session source = “wridigest-2023-01-11, wridigest-2023-05-10” ?utm_campaign=wridigest&utm_source=wridigest-2023-01-11&utm_medium=email
- 34. CAPTURING SOCIAL PROFILE TRAFFIC &utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=worldresources
- 35. BEST PRACTICES 1. When viewing GA4 data, select the correct traffic dimension SCOPE. 2. Treat Default Channel Groups as trends, not absolutes. 3. When manually tagging, always include utm_campaign, utm_source, and utm_medium. 4. When manually tagging, always use lowercase or kebab-case. 5. Be consistent with Campaign names across Paid (Google Ads) and Organic (manual tagging) traffic sources. 6. Leverage GA4 Default Channel rules for Source and Medium where possible. 7. Be accurate in your choice of Source and Medium for each Channel. support.google.com/analytics/answer/6010097
- 36. 4 WAYS TO MANUALLY TAG • By hand. Add the following to a URL ?utm_campaign=campaign- name&utm_source=source&utm_medium=medium • Google Campaign URL Builder • Emplifi Publisher • WRI UTM Creation Tool Spreadsheet support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 37. TAGGING COMPLEX URLS You can only have one query string/parameters in a URL. A ? separates the URL from the query string/parameters. • https://www.wri.org/applications/aqueduct/water-risk- atlas/#/?advanced=false&basemap=hydro&indicator=w_awr_def_tot _cat&lat=-14.445396942837744&lng=- 142.85354599620152&mapMode=view&month=1&opacity=0.5&pon deration=DEF&predefined=false&projection=absolute&scenario=opti mistic&scope=baseline&timeScale=annual&year=baseline&zoom=2 • wri.org?utm_campaign=campaign&utm_source=source&utm_mediu m=medium support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
- 38. TAGGING COMPLEX URLS Add the UTMs to the existing query string/parameters. Replace the ? of the Campaign UTM query string with an & • https://www.wri.org/applications/aqueduct/water-risk- atlas/#/?advanced=false&basemap=hydro&indicator=w_awr_def_tot _cat&lat=-14.445396942837744&lng=- 142.85354599620152&mapMode=view&month=1&opacity=0.5&pon deration=DEF&predefined=false&projection=absolute&scenario=opti mistic&scope=baseline&timeScale=annual&year=baseline&zoom=2 &utm_campaign=campaign&utm_source=source&utm_medium =medium support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891
Editor's Notes
- #92d050 #0070c0
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382
- C
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11242841
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- [GA4] Default channel group https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891 Analytics' list of sources and categories Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u6W7-3bh4-IBrZoFyG3-Itwu5SE3OQSEwsqpAR29yiU/edit#gid=0 Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at googleanalytics-channelgrouprequests@google.com. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- [GA4] Custom channel groups https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- [GA4] Custom channel groups https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316
- [GA4] Custom channel groups https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316