[GA4] Default channel group

This article covers Default channel groups in GA4 properties.

Default channel groups can't be edited in GA4. You have the option to create custom channel groups, which let you create your own rule-based categories of web-traffic sources.

We recently made improvements to default channel grouping for Google Analytics 4 properties. Learn more

Channels are rule-based definitions of your website's traffic sources that let you monitor the performance of all of the channels sending traffic to your website. You can find descriptions and definitions of the channels in the tables below.

You can see the default channels as values for the following dimensions:

Dimension	Definition	Attribution model	Scope
Default channel group	The channels by which users arrived at your site/app and triggered a key event.	Attribution model set for the property. Default is data-driven attribution model	Event
Session default channel group	The channels by which users arrived at your site/app when they initiated new sessions	Paid and organic channels last click	Session
First user default channel group	The channels by which users first arrived at your site/app	Paid and organic channels last click	User

You can see the dimensions listed above in the Acquisition reports, the Advertising section, and if you include them in custom reports.

Default channel descriptions

Channel	Description
Affiliates	Affiliates is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via links on affiliate sites.
Audio	Audio is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads on audio platforms (e.g., podcast platforms).
Cross-network	Cross-network is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads that appear on a variety of networks (e.g., Search and Display).
Direct	Direct is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via a saved link or by entering your URL.
Display	Display is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via display ads, including ads on the Google Display Network.
Email	Email is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via links in email.
Mobile Push Notifications	Mobile Push Notifications is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via links in mobile-device messages when they're not actively using the app.
Organic Search	Organic Search is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via non-ad links in organic-search results.
Organic Shopping	Organic Shopping is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via non-ad links on shopping sites like Amazon or ebay.
Organic Social	Organic Social is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via non-ad links on social sites like Facebook or Twitter.
Organic Video	Organic Video is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via non-ad links on video sites like YouTube, TikTok, or Vimeo.
Paid Other	Paid Other is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads, but not through an ad identified as Search, Social, Shopping, or Video.
Paid Search	Paid Search is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads on search-engine sites like Bing, Baidu, or Google.
Paid Shopping	Paid Shopping is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via paid ads on shopping sites like Amazon or ebay or on individual retailer sites.
Paid Social	Paid Social is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads on social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Paid Video	Paid Video is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via ads on video sites like TikTok, Vimeo, and YouTube.
Referral	Referral is the channel by which users arrive at your site via non-ad links on other sites/apps (e.g., blogs, news sites).
SMS	SMS is the channel by which users arrive at your site/app via links from text messages.

Default channel definitions

These definitions reflect Analytics' current view of what constitutes each channel. The following definitions are provided for your reference and may evolve as the market changes.

Channel definitions aren't case sensitive and can't be edited.

Note: In the absence of the Google Ads ad network type, default channel groups are evaluated using campaign type.

Channel	Analytics definition
Channels for Google Ads traffic The channels for Google Ads traffic are determined using source platform, ad network type, and campaign type. Ad network type is used to evaluate most of the traffic, while campaign type is specifically used for Paid Shopping only. For traffic identified with the GBRAID parameter, channels are evaluated using campaign type.
Paid Shopping	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads campaign type is "Shopping"
Paid Search	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads ad network type is one of ("Google Search", "Google Partners") OR Google Ads campaign type is one of ("Search", "Hotel", "Travel")
Paid Video	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads ad network type is one of ("YouTube") OR Google Ads campaign type is "Video"
Display	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads ad network type is one of ("Google Display Network", "Google TV") OR Google Ads campaign type is "Display"
Cross-network	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads ad network type is one of ("Cross-network", "Google owned channels") Cross-network includes Demand Gen, Performance Max and Smart Shopping. OR Google Ads campaign type is one of ("Performance Max", "App", "Smart", "Demand Gen", "Local")
Paid Social	Source platform is "Google Ads" AND Google Ads ad network type is one of ("Social") OR Google Ads campaign type is "Social"
Channels for Display & Video 360 traffic
Display	Source platform is "DV360" AND DV360 creative format is one of (“Standard", "Expandable", "Native site square", "Backdrop", "Templated app install interstitial", "Deprecated","Native app install", "Native app install square", "Native site", "Templated app install", "Lightbox”)
Paid Video	Source platform is "DV360" AND DV360 creative format is one of ("Native video", "Video", "Templated app install video", "Flipbook")
Audio	Source platform is "DV360" AND DV360 creative format is one of ("Audio")
Paid Other	Source platform is "DV360" AND DV360 creative format is one of ("Publisher hosted", "Tracking", "Unknown")
Channels for Campaign Manager 360 traffic via Floodlight integration
Display	Source platform is "CM360" AND CM360 creative format is one of ("Display redirect", "Custom display", "Custom display interstitial", "Rich Media display banner", "Display", "Internal Redirect", "Interstitial internal redirect", "Flash in-page", "HTML5 Banner", "Rich Media display banner with floating", "Rich Media IM expand", "Rich Media display expanding", "Rich Media mobile in-app", "Rich Media display interstitial", "Rich Media display multi-floating interstitial", "Rich Media peel-down", "Display image gallery", "Image")
Paid Video	Source platform is "CM360" AND CM360 creative format is one of ("In-Stream Video", "Streaming Real", "Streaming Windows", "Streaming Flash", "In-Stream Tracking", "Streaming Silverlight", "Video Redirect", "VPAID linear video", "VPAID non-linear video")
Audio	Source platform is "CM360" AND CM360 creative format is one of ("In-Stream Audio", "Audio Redirect")
Paid Other	Source platform is "CM360" AND CM360 creative format is one of ("Tracking", "Tracking Image", "Tracking HTML")
Channels for Search Ads 360 traffic (The following are channels for non Google Ads traffic; the channels for Google Ads traffic are the same as those listed at the beginning of this table under "Channels for Google Ads traffic")
Paid Search	Source platform is "SA360" AND SA360 engine account type is one of ("bing", "yahoo gemini", "yahoo.jp", "baidu", "admarketplace", "naver", "360.cn", "yandex")
Paid Social	Source platform is "SA360" AND SA360 engine account type Is one of ("facebook", "twitter")
Channels for Merchant Center traffic
Organic Shopping	Source platform is "Shopping Free Listings"
Channels for manual traffic (See Analytics' list of sources and categories)
Direct	Source exactly matches "(direct)" AND Medium is one of ("(not set)", "(none)")
Cross-network	Campaign Name contains "cross-network" Cross-network includes Demand Gen, Performance Max and Smart Shopping.
Paid Shopping	Source matches a list of shopping sites OR Campaign Name matches regex ^(.*(([^a-df-z]|^)shop|shopping).*)$ AND Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$
Paid Search	Source matches a list of search sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$
Paid Social	Source matches a regex list of social sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$
Paid Video	Source matches a list of video sites AND Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$
Display	Medium is one of (“display”, “banner”, “expandable”, “interstitial”, “cpm”)
Paid Other	Medium matches regex ^(.*cp.*|ppc|retargeting|paid.*)$
Organic Shopping	Source matches a list of shopping sites OR Campaign name matches regex ^(.*(([^a-df-z]|^)shop|shopping).*)$
Organic Social	Source matches a regex list of social sites OR Medium is one of (“social”, “social-network”, “social-media”, “sm”, “social network”, “social media”)
Organic Video	Source matches a list of video sites OR Medium matches regex ^(.*video.*)$
Organic Search	Source matches a list of search sites listed under "SOURCE_CATEGORY_SEARCH" OR Medium exactly matches organic
Referral	Medium is one of ("referral", "app", or "link")
Email	Source = email|e-mail|e_mail|e mail OR Medium = email|e-mail|e_mail|e mail
Affiliates	Medium = affiliate
Audio	Medium exactly matches audio
SMS	Source exactly matches sms OR Medium exactly matches sms
Mobile Push Notifications	Medium ends with "push" OR Medium contains "mobile" or "notification" OR Source exactly matches "firebase"

Unassigned is the value Analytics uses when there are no other channel rules that match the event data.

(other) is the value Analytics uses for an aggregated row due to cardinality limits. Learn more

You may see inconsistent data from Analytics integrations for default channel groups if your reports or explorations include dates prior to June 15, 2022. For example, a channel that should be identified as Organic Shopping can be misidentified as Organic Search. Data from June 15, 2022 and later is not subject to this type of inconsistency. You can accurately identify the data from each integration by using the source platform dimension.

Editing the default channel group

It's not possible to edit the GA4 default channel group because Google maintains a universal default for all users that can be kept current, accurate, and serve as a reference for the life of every property.

You can edit the primary channel group at any time, which serves as your property's editable default channel group.

Learn How to enable the primary channel group.

Analytics' list of sources and categories

Download a spreadsheet of GA4 default-channel-group sources and categories

If you would like us to add your search, social, video, or shopping site to the list or if you would like to make a change to your current listing, contact us at [e-mail]. Google Analytics reviews these requests at least once per year and often more frequently. Inclusion is based on Google’s assessment of a number of factors including but not limited to whether a significant volume of traffic is sourced from a given search engine, social site, or shopping site.