Creating custom channel groups in GA4 simplifies data interpretation and allows you to adapt analytics to the unique requirements of your business. Include personalization in your analytical strategy to get the most out of GA4 data.
Key channel grouping in GA4 classifies traffic based on the source (e.g., Google, Yandex) and channel (e.g., organic, cpc). This data helps understand where and how users land on your site. GA4 includes 18 standard channels, while Universal Analytics had only 9.
How to create a custom channel group?
1. Use the default group as a base, copying and editing it.
2. Or create a group from scratch, fully adapting it to your needs.
Why is it necessary?
1. Unique business objectives. Standard channels may not always reflect the specificity of your traffic. By creating custom groups, you can more accurately analyze the effectiveness of channels.
2. Flexibility. Custom groups allow you to tailor GA4 to the specific goals and tasks of your business.
3. Avoiding confusion. A large number of channels can be confusing. Choose only those that are important to you.
Standard accounts can create up to three custom channel groups, while Google Analytics 360 users have a limit of five groups.
For the "November 11 Sale" campaign, for example, you can create a specific group that helps analyze traffic sources related to this event using unique utm_tags.
You can use your custom channel groups to analyze historical data, seeing how changes in channel grouping could impact your understanding of traffic effectiveness.
If you work with GA4 to BigQuery exports, be sure to check out my SQL cheat sheet.
