You can use the Traffic acquisition report to get insights into where new sessions came from, regardless of whether the user is new or returning. The report differs from the User acquisition report, which focuses on the first session from a new user and excludes returning users.
Note: This article describes the default report. You can customize the report by applying filters or comparisons or by changing the dimensions, metrics, or charts. Learn more
View the report
- Sign in to Google Analytics.
- From the left menu, select Reports
.
- On the left, click Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
As an Editor or Administrator, you can add the report if it isn't available in the left menu.
Where the data comes from
To see attribution data for your marketing campaigns, complete one or more of the following:
- Connect an active, spending Google Ads, Search Ads 360, or Display and Video 360 account
- Add UTM parameters to your destination URLs
- Import cost data through Data Import
Narrow your search
To view data for one traffic source, you can apply a filter to the report or use the search bar above the report table. For example, if you want to view the session source / medium for organic Google Search traffic, you can search for "google / organic" using the search bar and press Enter.
Dimensions in the report
You will notice that each dimension includes the text "Session". "Session" indicates that the dimension describes a user's most recent session, regardless of whether they are new or returning. Learn more about scopes
The report includes the following dimensions. If you are an Editor or Administrator, you can add or remove dimensions in the report.
| Metric | What it is | How it's populated |
|---|---|---|
| Session campaign |
The name of a promotion or marketing campaign that led to a conversion event in a session. |
To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
| Session default channel grouping |
Channel groupings are rule-based definitions of your traffic sources. Default channel groups include 'Direct', 'Organic Search', 'Paid Social', 'Organic Social', and 'Email'. Learn more about the dimension values This is the default dimension for the report. |
To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
| Session medium |
The method for acquiring users in a new session. |
To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
| Session source |
A representation of the publisher or inventory source from which traffic originated. For example, users who return to your website from Google Search show as "google" in the Session source dimension. Examples include “google”, “youtube”, and “gmail”. |
To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
| Session source / medium | The source and medium associated with a new session. | To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
| Session source platform |
The platform where you manage buying activity (i.e., where budgets and targeting criteria are set). Examples include:
|
To learn how to populate this dimension, see Traffic-source dimensions, manual tagging, and auto-tagging. |
Metrics in the report
The report includes the following metrics. If you are an Editor or Administrator, you can add or remove metrics in the report.
| Metric | What it is | How it's populated |
|---|---|---|
| Average engagement time per session |
The average time that your website was in focus in a user's browser or an app was in the foreground of a user's device during each session. |
This metric is populated automatically. |
| Conversions | The number of times users triggered a conversion event. | Populate this metric by marking an event as a conversion. |
| Engaged sessions | The number of sessions that lasted 10 seconds or longer, or had 1 or more conversion events or 2 or more page or screen views. | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Engaged sessions per user | The average number of engaged sessions per user. | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Engagement rate | The percentage of sessions that were engaged sessions. Learn more | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Event count | The number of times users triggered an event. | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Events per session | The average number of events per session. | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Sessions | The number of sessions that began on your website or app. | This metric is populated automatically. |
| Total revenue | The total revenue from purchases, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and ad revenue. |
This metric is the sum of the purchase, in_app_purchase, app_store_subscription_renew, and app_store_subscription_convert events, as well as ad revenue, which is populated via the Google AdMob integration, Google Ad Manager integration, or by sending the ad_impression event from a third-party integration. Important: When setting up the purchase event, make sure you provide values for both the value and currency parameters. Otherwise, you won't see purchase data for the Total revenue metric.
|
| Users | The number of distinct users who visited your website or application. | This metric is populated automatically. |
Adjust the date range
The report shows data for the last 28 days by default. You can adjust the date range using the drop-down menu in the top right of the report. Learn more