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Which default traffic source dimensions does google analytics report for each website visitor

Dec 27, 2022 | WORK CULTURE

Google Analytics is a web analytics tool that provides businesses with insights into their website traffic and marketing effectiveness. One of the key features of Google Analytics is the use of dimensions, which are attributes or characteristics of your data.

For example, a common dimension used in Google Analytics is the source of website traffic, which tells you where your visitors are coming from (e.g., search engine, social media, etc.).

By using dimensions, businesses can better understand the behavior and demographics of their website visitors, as well as the performance of their marketing campaigns. This can help companies to make more informed decisions about their online presence and marketing strategies. But what are dimensions, and which default traffic source dimensions does Google Analytics report for each website visitor? Keep reading to learn more.

What are Google Analytics Dimensions?

In Google Analytics, dimensions are attributes of a website’s data. They provide additional information about the data and allow businesses to analyze it more thoroughly.

For example, if a business tracks the number of visitors to its website, the dimension could be the visitor’s location. This would provide information about where the visitors are coming from, such as the city, country, or region.

Many different dimensions can be tracked in Google Analytics, including demographics, interests, behaviors, and technology. These dimensions provide valuable insights into the characteristics of website visitors and can help businesses better understand their audience and tailor their marketing efforts to meet their needs.

Additionally, businesses can create custom dimensions in Google Analytics to track specific data that is relevant to their business. For example, a company could create a dimension to track the type of device that visitors are using to access the website, such as a desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Businesses use dimensions in Google Analytics to provide insight that can help understand their website data and make informed decisions. By tracking the right dimensions, companies can use this information to help drive business growth and success.

Default Traffic Source Dimensions in Google Analytics

Google Analytics reports several default traffic source dimensions for each website visitor. These dimensions include:

Source

The source dimension in Google Analytics is an attribute that tells you where your website traffic is coming from. This could be a specific website, search engine, social media platform, or any other referral source. By looking at the source dimension, businesses can gain insights into which channels drive the most traffic to their website and where they may need to focus their marketing efforts.

For example, if a significant portion of your website traffic comes from social media, you may want to invest more resources into creating engaging content for those channels. On the other hand, if a lot of your traffic is coming from search engines, you may want to focus on optimizing your website for search engine optimization (SEO).

Medium

The medium dimension is like a label for the type of referral that’s bringing people to your website. This could be anything from a link on another website, a search on Google, or an email from your marketing team. By looking at the medium dimension, you can see which channels bring the most traffic to your website, thus telling you where to focus future marketing strategies.

For example, if a lot of your traffic comes from email, you might want to spend more time on your email campaigns. Or, if you’re getting a lot of traffic from search engines, you might want to work on your website’s SEO. By understanding the medium of your website traffic, you can make better decisions about your marketing strategy.

Campaign

The campaign dimension in Google Analytics tells you which marketing campaigns drive traffic to your website. This could be a specific email, social media, or online advertising campaign. By looking at the campaign dimension, you can see which campaigns are performing well and which might need some work.

For example, if you see that a specific email campaign is bringing a lot of traffic to your website, you might want to replicate that success in future campaigns. Alternatively, if you notice that a particular social media campaign isn’t bringing much traffic, you might want to adjust your strategy for that platform.

Keyword

The keyword dimension in Google Analytics tells you which keywords people use to find your website on search engines. This is useful because it can help you understand what people are looking for when they come across your website.

For example, if you see that a particular keyword is bringing a lot of traffic to your site, you might want to optimize your website for that keyword to attract even more traffic. Likewise, if you notice that a particular keyword isn’t bringing much traffic, you might want to adjust your content to include that keyword less often. Understanding the keyword dimension allows you to make more informed decisions about your website’s content and SEO strategy.

Referral Path

Google Analytics’ referral path dimension informs you about the specific page or link that someone clicked on to get to your website. This is useful because it can help you understand how people find your website and where they are coming from. By looking at the referral path dimension, you can see which pages or links are driving the most traffic to your website and which ones might need some work.

For instance, if you see that a certain page on another website is bringing a lot of traffic to your website, you might want to reach out to that website and see if they’d be willing to collaborate on a project. Or if you notice that a particular link on your own website isn’t bringing much traffic, you might want to adjust the placement or design of that link. The referral path dimension is helpful for making informed decisions about your website’s traffic and where to focus your efforts.

Final Thoughts

By understanding these dimensions, businesses can more easily create effective marketing strategies. Given that advertising is one of the most expensive yet important factors of doing business, it’s vital to ensure the budget is spent correctly. Ultimately, the default dimensions in Google Analytics are an essential tool for organizations looking to understand and improve their website traffic.

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Post Contributors

Jaclyn Hawtin

Jaclyn Hawtin

Director of Technology

Over a decade of experience in product management, devops, startups, and agile methodologies. Track record of simplifying complex technical processes for cross-functional teams. Proficient in user centered design, UX, IX, UI, IA, user research and data analytics for responsive web, mobile and tablet applications. Incredibly adaptable, fluent with both people and machines.

Mani O'Brien

Mani O'Brien

Director of Marketing

Mani is a senior marketing manager with roots in storytelling. She nerds out on everything data, technology, human behavior and design. Chat with her about UX/UI, marketing funnels, conversion and goal tracking, marketing experimentation and astrology (she’s a Virgo Sun, Aries Rising).

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