The Default Channels in Analytics Report

Understanding Channels in the Default Channels Report

Organic Search: This channel represents traffic that comes from search engine results that are earned, not paid for. It includes visitors who clicked on a link in the search results to visit your site.

Direct: This channel shows traffic that comes directly to your website by typing your URL into the browser or using a bookmarked link.

Referral: Referral traffic is visitors who come to your site by clicking on a link from another website. It's important to track referral traffic to see which websites are driving visitors to your site.

Social: Social traffic represents visitors who clicked on a link from a social media platform to visit your site. This channel helps you understand the impact of your social media marketing efforts.

Email: Email traffic consists of visitors who clicked on a link from an email campaign or a direct email to visit your site. Email tracking is crucial for monitoring the effectiveness of your email marketing strategies.

Paid Search: Paid search traffic includes visitors who clicked on a paid advertisement in search engine results to visit your site. Tracking paid search traffic helps you evaluate the performance of your PPC campaigns.

Display: Display traffic comes from visitors who clicked on a display ad to visit your site. This channel helps you measure the impact of your display advertising efforts.

Notable Channels Excluded from the Default Channels Report

Device: While device data is crucial for understanding the devices visitors use to access your site, it is not included in the default Channels report. You can find device-related information in other reports like the Mobile Overview report, which provides insights into the devices used by your site visitors.

By analyzing the channels available in the default Channels report, you can gain valuable insights into the sources of traffic to your website and make informed decisions to optimize your marketing strategies.