How To View Users By Session Source

Understanding User Acquisition by Session Source in Google Analytics 4

Tracking where your users come from and how they interact with your site across different traffic sources is crucial for optimizing your marketing efforts. We’ll show you how to create a comprehensive report in GA4 that reveals which traffic sources bring in the most engaged users, helping you make data-driven decisions about your marketing investments.

Basic Report Structure

• Primary dimension: Session source
• Secondary dimensions: Session medium, Session campaign
• Key metrics: Total users, Average engagement time, Engaged sessions per user
• Visualization: Table format with optional bar chart comparison

Steps to Create the Report

1. Open GA4 and navigate to the Explore section.
2. Click the Blank template to start a new exploration.
3. Under the Dimensions, click the + button and search for Session source, Session medium, and Session campaign. Check the checkbox beside them and click Confirm.
4. Under the Metrics, click the + button and search for Total users, Average engagement time, and Engaged sessions per user. Check the checkbox beside them and click Confirm.
5. Drag Session source to the Rows section of your report.
6. Drag Total users, Average engagement time, and Engaged sessions per user to the Values section.
7. Optional: Add Session medium and Session campaign as secondary dimensions.
8. Set your desired date range in the report settings.
9. Apply any relevant filters using the Filters section.

Important Dimensions and Metrics

• Session source: Shows where your traffic originated (e.g., google, facebook, direct)
• Session medium: Indicates the category of the source (e.g., organic, cpc, referral)
• Session campaign: Displays the specific campaign that drove the traffic
• Total users: Number of unique users from each source
• Average engagement time: How long users from each source typically engage with your site
• Engaged sessions per user: Shows how many meaningful interactions users from each source have

Actionable Insights

1. Identify your highest-performing traffic sources based on user engagement metrics and allocate more marketing budget to these channels.
2. Compare organic vs. paid performance for the same sources to optimize your marketing mix.
3. Analyze which sources bring in the most engaged users and create targeted content for these platforms.
4. Identify underperforming sources and either improve their performance or reallocate resources elsewhere.
5. Use the insights to inform your multi-channel attribution strategy.

Answers Similar Questions

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