Google Analytics 4 reports can be confusing. Take, for example, acquisition reports (the channels that send traffic to your site) to Reports > Acquisition. The section lists two types of acquisition: user and traffic (i.e. sessions).
I will discuss these reports in this article.
Traffic sources in GA4
“User Acquisition” vs “Traffic Acquisition”
These two reports in the Acquisition section reveal where each visitor is coming from. User acquisition represents the initial source that brought the person to your site. Traffic acquisition is the most recent.
Let’s say a first visitor arrives on your site after clicking on an organic search listing. GA4 will consolidate this initial visit into the “Organic Search” channel for both reports. But if she leaves and returns a few days later from a Facebook ad, GA4 will list the second visit in the “Paid Social” channel in the “Traffic Acquisition” report and “Organic Search” in “User Acquisition.”
In other words, the Traffic Acquisition report does not differentiate between new and returning users. It shows the total sessions and where everyone comes from. The User Acquisition report shows the total users and their initial source (first time).
Canals
Both reports display “default channel groups” – categories of traffic sources – including:
- “Direct.” Visitors who typed your URL into their browser’s search bar.
- “Organic Research.” Visitors who clicked on an organic listing on Google, Bing. or another search engine.
- “Biological social”. Visitors who clicked on an organic post on a social media site.
- “E-mail.”
- “Paid search.”
- “Paid social networks”.
- “Reference.” Visitors who clicked on non-advertising links on third-party sites.
- “Organic video.” Visitors who clicked on non-advertising links on sites such as YouTube, TikTok and Vimeo.
For more details on each channel, click the drop-down menus for each report. In “User Acquisition”, click the “First User Default Channel Group” menu and select “First User Source” for the list of original domains.
![Screenshot of "First user source" registration in GA4 Screenshot of "First user source" registration in GA4](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1-first-user-source-e1700140124370-570x250.jpg)
To get detailed user sources, click the “First User Default Channel Group” menu and select “First User Source”. Click on the image to enlarge.
In the “Traffic Acquisition” report, click “Session Default Channel Group” and select “Session Source”.
![Screenshot of "Session source" SEO. Screenshot of "Session Source" SEO.](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2-session-source-e1700140079472-570x245.jpg)
For detailed session sources, click the “Session Default Channel Group” menu and select “Session Source”. Click on the image to enlarge.
Figures may be different due to new and returning visits.
You can limit both reports to a single page via the “Add Filter” option at the top.
- Select “Add Filter”.
- Click “Select Dimensions”.
- Select “Link Click URL”
- Select “contains” under “Match Type.”
- Paste your page URL into the “Enter dimension URL” box.
Traffic and User Acquisition reports will now show data for this URL.
![Screenshot of "Add a filter" in GA4 acquisition reports. Screenshot of "Add a filter" in GA4 acquisition reports.](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/3-filter-by-page-570x215.jpg)
Limit both reports to a single page via the “Add Filter” option. Click on the image to enlarge.
In many cases, user and traffic acquisition reports are interchangeable. The differences, once again, result from the return of visitors. Either way, the reports show traffic sources, that is, the channels that showcase your brand and generate repeat visits.