Identifying and Resolving Default Channel "Noise" in GA4
Default Channel Groupings in GA4
GA4 Default channel groupings have always been an important part of reporting in Google Analytics. As the name implies, Google will assign your traffic to a channel based on its UTM parameters by default. However, there are limitations and considerations to keep in mind when using the default channels to ensure accurate attribution of all your marketing efforts. This post explores some of the default channel "noise" we are seeing across a variety of clients GA4 accounts and offers simple solutions that you can implement today to make these reports more insightful.
How Default Channel Groupings Work
Below is a table of how Google categorizes default channels for manual traffic. A full list can be found here https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891?hl=en. Anything not adhering to these standards will be categorized as “Unassigned”.
| Channel | Analytics Definition |
Direct | Source exactly matches "(direct)" AND Medium is one of ("(not set)", "(none)") |
Cross-network | Campaign Name contains "cross-network" |
Paid Shopping | Source matches a list of shopping sites OR Campaign Name matches regex ^(.*(([^a-df-z] |
Paid Search | Source matches a list of search sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.cp. |
Paid Social | Source matches a regex list of social sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.cp. |
Paid Video | Source matches a list of video sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.cp. |
Display | Medium is one of (“display”, “banner”, “expandable”, “interstitial”, “cpm”) |
Paid Other | Medium matches regex ^(.cp. |
Organic Shopping | Source matches a list of shopping sites OR Campaign name matches regex ^(.*(([^a-df-z] |
Organic Social | Source matches a regex list of social sites OR Medium is one of (“social”, “social-network”, “social-media”, “sm”, etc.) |
Organic Video | Source matches a list of video sites OR Medium matches regex ^(.video.)$ |
Organic Search | Source matches a list of search sites OR Medium exactly matches organic |
Referral | Medium is one of ("referral", "app", or "link") |
| Source = email | |
Affiliates | Medium = affiliate |
Audio | Medium exactly matches audio |
SMS | Source exactly matches sms OR Medium exactly matches sms |
Mobile Push Notifications | Medium ends with "push" OR Medium contains "mobile" or "notification" OR Source exactly matches "firebase" |
Unassigned but not Unimportant: Understanding Unassigned Traffic in GA4
Looking at the table above, it’s easy to see how traffic might end up in the Unassigned category. There are many rules but little flexibility. Surprisingly, some channels, such as QR codes, are not listed as Default Channels. Recently, we have seen an increase in unassigned traffic, and the root cause is usually the same: UTM parameters are not adhering to Google standards.
However, there are ways to clean up Default Channel reports in GA4 and properly credit all marketing efforts. Here are a couple of fixes to implement right now to help clarify reports in GA4 moving forward.
Approach 1 - Create a New Channel Group
Creating a new channel group is a great solution if you have multiple, similar source/mediums that are showing up as unassigned. This method consolidates them into one newly created channel, providing a better overview of how your efforts are performing as a whole. To do this, navigate to the admin section of GA4 and click on Channel Groups under Data Display. Name and assign rules for each new channel created. Once completed, the new Channel Group will be listed in the dropdown on the GA4 acquisition reports. You will also be able to bring your custom Channel Group into Explorer reports.
Tip 1: All existing default channels will automatically be added to your new Channel Group. This is the only way to change the default definitions for these channels shown above in the table.
Tip 2: The rules to create a new channel group are not limited to source and medium, allowing flexibility to create custom channels.
Approach 2 - Use an Existing Unused Default Channel
This solution works if you have access to change UTM parameters but limited or no access to GA4. This request would likely come from an analyst trying to make sense of unassigned marketing activity. In the table above, there are likely many default channels that are not used in your regular marketing efforts. The two least used channelsare Audio and Affiliate. For this approach to work, reassign the source/medium according to Google standards in the table above.
For example, to repurpose the default channel Affiliate for QR codes:
The analytics definition for Affiliate is: Medium = affiliate
So an existing source/medium that looks like this: summer_promo / qrcode
Could be updated to this: qr_code / affiliate
The updated source/medium would show all QR code activity under the Affiliate Default Channel Group.
Tip 1: When using Affiliate, the most common mistake is making it plural. Adding a medium as affiliates will send your traffic to Unassigned.
Tip 2: Exercise caution when reassigning default channels. Ensure everyone who needs to be aware of this change is informed.
Importance of Accurate Attribution in GA4
Just because traffic is unassigned does not mean it’s unimportant. Accurate attribution is crucial in understanding the true performance of marketing campaigns. When traffic is correctly attributed, it enables marketers to see which channels are driving the most conversions, where to allocate budget more effectively, and how to optimize future campaigns. Without accurate attribution, valuable insights might be missed, leading to ineffective decision-making and resource allocation.