What is Not Considered a Default Medium in Google Analytics?

Introduction

What is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics? This question is essential for businesses looking to optimize their digital marketing strategy. Understanding default mediums helps to identify other traffic sources that contribute to the success of online campaigns. In this blog post, we will explore non-default mediums and their importance in online marketing.

Importance of understanding default mediums in Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides insights into your website’s performance. By default, it tracks five mediums: organic search, referral, direct, social, and email. Each medium represents a specific type of traffic source, allowing you to analyze your marketing efforts effectively. Moreover, understanding default mediums enables you to identify gaps in your strategy and discover untapped marketing channels.

However, not all traffic sources fit neatly into these default categories. Furthermore, businesses often use unconventional methods to attract visitors to their websites, such as affiliate marketing, offline campaigns, and influencer marketing. Consequently, it becomes crucial to track these non-default mediums to gain a comprehensive understanding of your marketing performance.

Overview of non-default mediums

Non-default mediums refer to traffic sources not included in Google Analytics’ default categories. Although these sources might not be as common as their default counterparts, they can still drive significant results for your business. In addition to affiliate marketing, offline campaigns, and influencer marketing, other non-default mediums include in-app advertising and custom campaigns. These unique methods can help businesses target specific audiences and achieve their marketing goals.

In this blog post, we will delve into the intricacies of non-default mediums, how to track them, and how to analyze their performance. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of these lesser-known traffic sources and how to leverage them for your business.

To sum up, this introduction section discussed the importance of understanding default mediums in Google Analytics and provided an overview of non-default mediums. The subsequent sections will explore these non-default mediums in detail, helping you make informed decisions about your marketing strategy. So stay tuned and continue reading to learn more about the hidden potential of non-default mediums in Google Analytics.

Default mediums in Google Analytics

Before diving into what is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics, it’s essential to understand the five default mediums that the platform tracks automatically. These mediums provide valuable insights into your website’s performance and help you measure the success of your marketing efforts.

Organic search

Organic search refers to visitors who find your website through search engine results without clicking on paid advertisements. Search engines, such as Google and Bing, index your website’s content and display it as a result when users search for relevant keywords. Consequently, optimizing your website for search engines (SEO) plays a vital role in increasing organic search traffic.

Referral

Referral traffic originates from visitors who click on a link to your website from another site. For example, if a blog post on a third-party website includes a link to your online store, visitors who click that link will be counted as referral traffic in Google Analytics. Building relationships with other websites, guest blogging, and earning backlinks can help increase referral traffic.

Direct

Direct traffic occurs when visitors access your website by typing your URL directly into their browser’s address bar or using a bookmark. This type of traffic suggests that users are familiar with your brand or have visited your site previously. To increase direct traffic, focus on building brand awareness through various marketing channels, both online and offline.

Social

Social traffic comes from visitors who find your website through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. When you share content, promotions, or ads on these platforms, users may click on the links and visit your website. By maintaining a strong social media presence and engaging with your audience, you can drive more social traffic to your site.

Email

Email traffic results from visitors who click on links within your email marketing campaigns. These campaigns can include newsletters, promotions, or transactional emails sent to your subscribers. To optimize email traffic, create compelling content, segment your audience, and personalize your messaging.

In summary, Google Analytics tracks five default mediums: organic search, referral, direct, social, and email. Understanding these mediums is crucial for analyzing your marketing performance and making data-driven decisions. However, it’s also essential to consider non-default mediums that can contribute to your online success. In the next section, we will explore these non-default mediums and discuss how to track and analyze them within Google Analytics.

Non-default mediums not included in Google Analytics

Understanding what is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics is crucial to gain a comprehensive view of your marketing efforts. Non-default mediums can drive significant results, even though they don’t fit into the platform’s pre-defined categories. In this section, we’ll discuss various non-default mediums, including affiliate marketing, offline campaigns, in-app advertising, and influencer marketing.

Affiliate marketing

Definition and examples

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where businesses partner with affiliates (individuals or companies) to promote their products or services. Affiliates earn a commission for each sale, lead, or action generated through their unique referral links. Examples include niche websites, review blogs, and price comparison portals. Although Google Analytics doesn’t track affiliate marketing as a default medium, it’s crucial to monitor this traffic source to evaluate its effectiveness.

Furthermore, offline campaigns

Physical events

Physical events, such as trade shows, conferences, and workshops, can generate website traffic when attendees visit your site to learn more about your products or services. To track offline campaign traffic in Google Analytics, you can use custom URLs with UTM parameters that include event-specific details, such as the event name and location.

In addition, print advertising

Print advertising, such as magazine ads, billboards, and direct mail, can also drive website traffic. Similar to physical events, you can use custom URLs with UTM parameters to track this offline medium in Google Analytics. Including QR codes in your print materials can further simplify the tracking process.

Moreover, in-app advertising

Mobile app promotions

In-app advertising refers to ads displayed within mobile apps. These ads can lead users to your website, but Google Analytics doesn’t track this medium by default. To monitor in-app advertising traffic, you can use custom URLs with UTM parameters that specify the app name and ad platform.

Additionally, ad network tracking

Tracking ad network traffic can provide insights into the effectiveness of your in-app advertising campaigns. To track this medium, create custom URLs with UTM parameters and incorporate them into your ad creatives on various ad networks.

Lastly, influencer marketing

Social media influencers

Social media influencers have the power to drive traffic to your website by endorsing your brand, products, or services. Google Analytics doesn’t track influencer marketing as a default medium. To measure this traffic source, use custom URLs with UTM parameters in your influencer campaigns.

Not to mention, bloggers and vloggers

Bloggers and vloggers can also drive significant traffic to your site through sponsored content or product reviews. To track this non-default medium, create custom URLs with UTM parameters and ask influencers to incorporate them into their content.

In conclusion, non-default mediums play a vital role in your marketing strategy. By understanding these traffic sources and implementing tracking methods, you can gain a more comprehensive view of your marketing performance in Google Analytics.

Tracking non-default mediums

To measure the performance of what is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics, you need to implement tracking methods that accurately capture data from these sources. In this section, we will discuss the use of UTM parameters and third-party tools to effectively track non-default mediums.

Using UTM parameters

Source, medium, and campaign

UTM parameters are tags that you can add to your URLs to track various marketing efforts in Google Analytics. They consist of five key components: source, medium, campaign, content, and term. Source identifies the referrer, such as a search engine or a specific website. Medium represents the marketing channel, like email or social media. Campaign corresponds to the specific marketing initiative or promotion.

Content and term

Content and term parameters provide additional information about your marketing campaigns. Also content differentiates multiple links within the same campaign, while term tracks the targeted keywords for paid search campaigns. By using UTM parameters, you can gather detailed data about your non-default mediums, such as affiliate marketing and influencer campaigns, within Google Analytics.

Integrating third-party tools

Affiliate tracking software

In addition to UTM parameters, you can use third-party affiliate tracking software to monitor the performance of your affiliate marketing efforts. These tools provide features such as real-time reporting, customizable tracking links, and automated commission management. Popular options include Post Affiliate Pro, TUNE, and Impact Radius. Integrating these tools with Google Analytics ensures that you capture accurate data about your affiliate marketing campaigns.

Influencer marketing platforms

For influencer marketing, you can leverage specialized platforms to track your campaigns. These tools help you identify and collaborate with influencers, monitor your campaign performance, and analyze the ROI of your influencer partnerships. Examples include Traackr, Upfluence, and CreatorIQ. By integrating these platforms with Google Analytics, you can measure the impact of your influencer marketing initiatives on your overall website performance.

Tracking non-default mediums is essential for a comprehensive understanding of your marketing efforts. By using UTM parameters and integrating third-party tools, you can ensure that you collect accurate data about these traffic sources in Google Analytics. This information can help you make data-driven decisions and optimize your marketing strategies to drive better results.

Analyzing non-default medium data

Once you’ve implemented tracking methods for what is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics, it’s crucial to analyze the data to evaluate your marketing campaigns’ effectiveness. In this section, we’ll discuss how to create custom reports and assess the performance of your non-default medium campaigns.

Creating custom reports

Custom reports in Google Analytics offer a powerful way to analyze your non-default medium data. Tailor your reports by selecting the specific dimensions and metrics that are most relevant to your campaigns. For example, track the performance of your affiliate marketing efforts by analyzing metrics such as sessions, bounce rate, and goal completions, segmented by the affiliate source and medium.

Moreover, craft custom reports for your influencer marketing campaigns by tracking the same metrics but segmenting the data by influencer source and medium. Comparing these custom reports allows you to identify the most effective non-default mediums and optimize your marketing budget accordingly.

Assessing campaign effectiveness

Evaluating the success of your non-default medium campaigns requires comparing their performance against your marketing objectives. Set up events in Google Analytics that align with your business KPIs, such as product sales, newsletter sign-ups, or contact form submissions.

It’s also vital to consider the ROI of your campaigns. Determine the return on investment by comparing the revenue generated from your non-default medium campaigns with the costs associated with them, such as affiliate commissions or influencer fees.

Furthermore, examine engagement metrics, such as time on site, pages per session, and bounce rate, to understand how effectively your non-default medium traffic interacts with your website content. High engagement levels indicate that your campaigns attract high-quality traffic genuinely interested in your offerings.

Analyzing non-default medium data in Google Analytics is essential for evaluating the performance of your marketing campaigns and making data-driven decisions. By creating custom reports and assessing campaign effectiveness, you can optimize your marketing strategies, allocate resources more efficiently, and ultimately, drive better results for your business.

Conclusion

Grasping what is not considered a default medium in Google Analytics is vital for businesses. We’ve explored tracking non-default mediums and maximizing ROI through data analysis.

Importance of tracking non-default mediums

Tracking non-default mediums like affiliate marketing, offline campaigns, in-app advertising, and influencer marketing is essential. It allows you to measure marketing channel effectiveness and make data-driven decisions. By implementing UTM parameters and integrating third-party tools, you gather accurate data within Google Analytics. This information optimizes marketing strategies, allocates resources efficiently, and achieves business goals.

Maximizing ROI with data analysis

Data analysis is crucial for maximizing marketing campaign ROI. Create custom reports and assess campaign effectiveness to identify successful marketing channels and allocate budget accordingly. Evaluating engagement metrics, such as time on site, pages per session, and bounce rate, helps you understand the traffic quality from non-default mediums.

In conclusion, tracking and analyzing non-default medium data in Google Analytics is essential for comprehensive marketing insights and informed decisions. By effectively tracking non-default mediums, creating custom reports, and assessing campaign effectiveness, you optimize marketing strategies and drive better results.

If you need help executing these strategies, reach out to Twibi for expert digital marketing support. Our team is ready to assist you in optimizing your marketing efforts and achieving your business goals.