By July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics, the older version of Google Analytics, will be replaced by Google Analytics 4 (GA4). To ensure a smooth transition, marketers should start migrating now and be aware of the new campaign tracking standards to ensure their links are properly tagged.
In GA4, the two parameters which are used to categorise traffic correctly are utm_source (the traffic referrer) and utm_medium (the marketing medium). The values for these parameters must match specific values set by Google and failure to do so will cause traffic to be recorded in the “Unassigned” channel.
When it comes to defining source and medium parameters, Google recommends that spaces and hyphens are avoided and underscores are used instead. Additionally, all values should be lowercase. Examples of valid source and medium parameters include: source=google, medium=cpc and source=email, medium=email.
When it comes to paid channels, Google requires that the utm_medium value is either set to “cpc”, “ppc” or “paid” and the utm_source must match the site value they have determined. A complete list of the utm_source values and how they are categorised can be found in Google’s spreadsheet.
If data has already been captured and reported as “Unassigned”, marketers can use Google Looker Studio or another business intelligence tool to reassign these to their own channels.
By following Google's campaign tracking standards, marketers can ensure their online marketing efforts are properly tagged and tracked in GA4. This will help to make the transition from Universal Analytics to GA4 easier and more successful.
Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/campaign-tracking-in-ga4-how-to-ensure-your-links-are-properly-tagged/
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