Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for tracking and analyzing website traffic. Two key concepts in GA4 are “source” and “medium,” which provide valuable insights into where your traffic originates and how it reaches your site. In this article, we’ll dive into what these terms mean and why they matter for your website’s analytics.
When you’re playing the SEO game, links are votes. Or you could think of them as recommendations: When you have a certain domain that is higher in authority, the one link you get from that one website will help boost your SEO more than if you get many links from lower-authority websites. Better SEO and higher-quality linking leads to more, (and more engaged) traffic on your site. Consider below the site ranking at 38.4: It receives a lot of inbound links from a number of lower-ranking sites. But just one link from that 38.4 site to another site doles out a rank of 34.3.
Moral: Not all links are created equal and Google also cares more about links that actually get clicked…
– George Weiner, Founder Whole Whale and huge fan of metaphors
“Think of source and medium as a journey: the source is the starting point (where you came from), and the medium is the method of transportation (how you got there).”
What is a Source?
In GA4, a source refers to the origin of your website’s traffic. It tells you where your visitors are coming from. Examples of sources include:
- Individual websites (e.g., nytimes.com, forbes.com)
- Search engines (e.g., Google, Bing)
- Social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
The source provides a specific location from which your traffic arrives. For instance, if a user clicks on a link to your website from a New York Times article, the source would be “nytimes.com.”
What is a Medium?
A medium in GA4 indicates the type or category of traffic coming to your website. It describes how the traffic arrived at your site. Some common mediums include:
- Organic search (traffic from search engines)
- Paid advertising (traffic from paid ads)
- Referral (traffic from links on other websites)
- Email (traffic from email campaigns)
- Social (traffic from social media platforms)
It’s important to note that in GA4, medium names are case-sensitive. This means that ’email’, ‘Email’, and ‘EMAIL’ would be treated as different mediums.
Why Source and Medium Matter:
Understanding the source and medium of your website’s traffic is crucial for several reasons:
- Identifying top traffic drivers: By analyzing source and medium data, you can determine which websites, search engines, or social media platforms are sending the most traffic to your site. This information helps you focus your marketing efforts on the most effective channels.
- Evaluating marketing campaigns: If you’re running marketing campaigns, such as paid advertising or email marketing, the source and medium data can help you assess the performance of these campaigns. You can track which campaigns are driving the most traffic and conversions.
- Improving SEO: The source data can reveal which websites are linking back to your site. In the world of SEO, links from high-authority domains carry more weight than links from low-authority sites. By monitoring your inbound links, you can identify valuable link-building opportunities and work on improving your site’s SEO.
- Understanding user behavior: By analyzing the behavior patterns of users from different sources and mediums, you can gain insights into how engaged they are with your site’s content. This information can help you optimize your content strategy and user experience.
Source/Medium Reports in GA4:
GA4 provides source/medium reports that combine both dimensions, giving you a comprehensive view of your traffic’s origin and type. To access these reports, go to Reports » Acquisition » All Traffic in your GA4 account.
Think of source and medium as a journey: the source is the starting point (where you came from), and the medium is the method of transportation (how you got there).
Source/Medium of Little Red Riding Hood
In the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, we can creatively interpret the source and medium of her journey to her grandmother’s house.
Source: The Enchanted Village
Little Red Riding Hood’s journey begins from her home in the Enchanted Village. This village serves as the source of her trip, the starting point from which she embarks on her adventure. The Enchanted Village is where she receives the task of delivering goodies to her grandmother.
Medium: The Forest Path
To reach her grandmother’s house, Little Red Riding Hood must travel through the Forest Path. The Forest Path represents the medium, the means by which she gets from her starting point (the Enchanted Village) to her destination (Grandmother’s Cottage). It’s the route she takes, the “transportation” that connects her source and destination.
In Google Analytics 4 terms, the source and medium for Little Red Riding Hood’s journey might look something like this:
Source: enchanted-village.com
Medium: forest-path
Just as in the fairy tale, where the Forest Path holds both wonders and dangers (like the Big Bad Wolf), the medium in website analytics can also provide insights into the user’s journey, including any obstacles or distractions they may encounter.
So, while Little Red Riding Hood’s journey teaches us about the importance of staying on the right path and not getting distracted by the “wolves” in life, it also serves as a fun analogy for understanding the role of source and medium in tracking a user’s journey through a website.
Final thought
Source and medium are essential concepts in Google Analytics 4 that provide valuable insights into your website’s traffic. By understanding where your visitors come from (source) and how they arrive at your site (medium), you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your marketing efforts, improve your SEO, and enhance the user experience. Start exploring the source/medium reports in your GA4 account to uncover actionable insights and take your website’s performance to the next level.