[GA4] Custom channel groups

In this article:

• Example
• Per-property limits on channel groups and channels
• Setting your own default (primary) channel group
• Create and edit channel groups

A channel group is a set of channels, which are rule-based categories of your website's traffic sources. Analytics has a default channel group of predefined channels, but you can create your own custom channel groups.

You can use your custom channel groups as a primary dimension in reports that already support the default channel group as a primary dimension (e.g., the Acquisition reports). Additionally, you can use your custom channel groups as a secondary dimension in default reports (e.g., Events report).

Custom channel groups are also available as dimensions in custom reports, explorations, and when you're building conditions for audiences.

The following fields are supported for reporting by custom channel groups:

• Campaign id
• Campaign name
• Default channel group
• Manual ad content
• Medium
• Source
• Source platform

Notes:

• Custom channel groups can be applied to your reports retroactively.
• It’s not currently possible to use custom channel groups in the Key events paths report.
• Cost/Click/Impression reporting isn’t available for the “Manual ad content” field.

Example

Your company, example.com, is running a summer campaign for beachwear and you want to monitor data from the campaign that focuses on social media. You want to

1. Create a new channel group "Summer Swim Social Media"
2. Keep the existing channel Paid Social to capture all traffic-source data related to social media ads
3. Create new regional channels for each of the Facebook Market Pages you create for localized content (e.g., Côte d'Azur, Liguria, etc)

To do this, you could configure each of your new regional channels as follows:

• Channel name: Cote d'Azur
  • Campaign name exactly matches (=) Summer Swim
  • Source exactly matches (=) facebook.com/ExampleCotedAzur

• Channel name: Liguria
  • Campaign name exactly matches (=) Summer Swim
  • Source exactly matches (=) facebook.com/ExampleLiguria

Then, to see your data, use the Acquisition > User acquisition and Acquisition > Traffic acquisition reports and use your new channel group "Summer Swim Social Media" as the primary or secondary dimension for the report.

Each of the channels in your group is a dimension value and will appear as a separate row in the report, for example:

• Paid Social
• Cote d'Azur
• Liguria

Per-property limits

	Standard properties	360 properties (applies to sub and rollup properties)
Number of groups	2 (in addition to the pre-defined channel group)	5 (in addition to the pre-defined channel group)
Number of channels within each group	50	50

Setting your own default (primary) channel group

Any custom channel group can be turned into your property’s primary default by selecting it as your property’s primary channel group in Admin, under Channel Group admin page.

The primary channel group is initially set to the same definition as the Default Channel Group. You can update the criteria used to categorize primary channel group values at any time by selecting any single custom channel group as your primary. When this is done, the criteria for the selected custom channel group will be used to populate values into the primary channel group dimension on future reporting. The primary channel group serves as your property’s editable default channel group, and is an active record of your properties data in alignment with channel grouping over time.

You can locate this setting at the top of the custom channel group admin page. To set your primary channel group, click on the pencil icon to load a slider that will allow you to select any Custom Channel Group as the new definition for your primary channel group. Data will populate using the new criteria from that point forward.

Create and edit channel groups

In Admin, under Data display, click Channel Groups.

Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be an Editor or above at the property level to create and edit channel groups.

The table lists the default channel group and any additional groups you've created.

Create a channel group

You create a channel group by copying an existing group and making modifications. If you haven't created any groups yet, you start with a copy of the default group. If you have created other groups, you can start with a copy of one of those or with a copy of the default group.

Traffic is included in the first channel whose definition it matches given the current order of channels in the group.

1. Open Channel Groups.
2. Click Create new channel group to start with a copy of the default group.
   OR
   In the row for an existing group, click > Copy to create new.
3. Enter a new group name and optionally a new description.
4. Edit existing channels, add new channels, or remove existing channels (see instructions below).
5. Click Reorder and drag to reorder the list if you need to change the order of channels. Click Apply.
6. When you have all the channel definitions you need and they're in the order you want, click Save group.

Edit a channel in a group

1. In the row for the channel, click >, then edit the channel name, description, and condition.
2. Click Save channel.

Add a new channel to a group

1. Click Add new channel or click > Copy to create new.
2. Name the new channel or change the name of the copied channel.
3. New channel: Click Add condition group. Select the dimensions and dimension values to define the channel.
   Copied channel: Modify the existing condition and optionally add new conditions to define your new channel.
4. Click Save channel.

Remove a channel from a group

1. In the row for an existing group, click >.
2. In the row for the channel, click > Remove channel.

Reorder channels in a group

1. In the row for an existing group, click >.
2. Click Reorder.
3. Drag channels to their new locations in the group order.
4. Click Save Group.

Traffic is included in the first channel whose definition it matches given the current order of channels in the group.

Remove a group

1. In the row for an existing group, click > Delete.
2. Click Yes, Delete.