Google Analytics has predefined “default channel” definitions. You can adjust these definitions to better match your individual situation. For example if you are active on a niche industry site, such as Moz for the SEO industry, you might want this traffic classified as Social rather than referral traffic. You could do this by including a provision for the source equals moz.com. Below you can find the defualt Google Analytics channel definitions.
| Channel | GA Channel Definitions |
|---|---|
| Direct | Source exactly matches Direct & Medium exactly matches (not set) |
| Direct | Medium exactly matches (none) |
| Organic | Medium exactly matches organic |
| Referral | Medium exactly matches referral |
| Paid Search | Medium matches regex ^(cpc|ppc|paidsearch)$ & Ad Distribution Network does not exactly match Content |
| Medium exactly matches email | |
| Other Advertising | Medium matches regex ^(cpv|cpa|cpp|content-text)$ |
| Social | Social Source Referral exactly matches Yes |
| Social | Medium matches regex ^(social|social-network|social-media|sm|social network|social media)$ |
| Display | Medium matches regex ^(display|cpm|banner)$ |
| Display | Ad Distribution Network exactly matches Content & Ad Format does not exactly match Text |
Good Luck!
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