What is Not Considered a “Source” in Google Analytics by Default?

Get to know What is Not Considered a “Source” in Google Analytics by Default here in this post.

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for website owners to track and analyze their website’s traffic.

Understanding where your website’s traffic comes from is crucial for making informed decisions about your marketing efforts.

In Google Analytics, “source” refers to the origin of website traffic.

However, not all sources are considered “sources” in Google Analytics by default. In this post, we will explore what is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default.

Table of Contents

What is a “source” in Google Analytics?

Before diving into what is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics, let’s first define what “source” means in this context.

A source is the origin of website traffic.

In Google Analytics, sources are divided into four main categories: organic search, paid search, referral, and direct traffic.

Organic search refers to traffic from search engines, paid search refers to traffic from paid search campaigns such as Google Ads, referral refers to traffic from other websites that link to your site, and direct traffic refers to traffic from visitors who type your website’s URL directly into their browser.

So, What is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by Default?

While the four main categories mentioned above cover the vast majority of traffic sources, there are some items that are not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default. These include:

Social media traffic

Traffic from social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default. Instead, it is classified as “social” traffic.

Email traffic

Traffic from email campaigns is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default. Instead, it is classified as “email” traffic.

Display advertising traffic

Traffic from display advertising campaigns is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default. Instead, it is classified as “display” traffic.

Affiliate marketing traffic

Traffic from affiliate marketing campaigns is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics by default. Instead, it is classified as “referral” traffic.

It’s worth noting that these sources can be tracked as sources in Google Analytics by adding some additional parameters to the URLs.

This is known as campaign tracking, and it allows you to track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns more accurately.

Why is it important to know what is not considered a “source”?

Understanding what is not considered a “source” in Google Analytics is essential for making informed decisions about your marketing efforts.

Misattributing traffic can lead to incorrect conclusions about the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

For example, if you are running an email campaign and you are not tracking it correctly as a “source,” you may wrongly assume that the campaign is not generating any traffic or conversions.

This can lead you to make incorrect decisions about the future of your marketing efforts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, not all traffic sources are considered “sources” in Google Analytics by default.

It’s essential to understand what is not considered a “source” so that you can accurately track and analyze your website’s traffic.

By tracking all relevant sources, you can make more informed decisions about your marketing efforts and ensure that you are maximizing the impact of your campaigns.

So, take some time to review your Google Analytics setup and make sure that you are tracking all relevant sources accurately.