Channels and channel groups
Where a visit's channel comes from, why a row has none, and how to rename, split and group channels.
How a visit gets its channel
Section titled “How a visit gets its channel”The first row that fits sets the channel and campaign.
| The visit has | Channel | Campaign |
|---|---|---|
| A tracked click from a connected platform, such as Meta Ads or Klaviyo | The platform | The platform’s campaign |
| UTM parameters | utm_source / utm_medium, or utm_source alone | utm_campaign |
| A referrer | A known source, such as Google Organic Search, otherwise the referring domain | The referring domain |
| None of these, such as a typed URL | Direct | - |
UTM spelling counts: email and Email are two channels.
To add a channel without a connection, such as influencers, use a channel sheet. For orders with a discount code, see Discount codes.
Rows without a channel or campaign
Section titled “Rows without a channel or campaign”| Row | Means |
|---|---|
No matching Touchpoints found | A conversion with no touchpoint, such as an order with no tracked visit |
Wrong adtribute Matching Parameters | A click or discount code that matches none of the channel’s campaigns. For a click, check the URL parameters: Google Ads or Meta Ads. |
- | No value, such as the campaign of a link without utm_campaign |
Change channels and groups
Section titled “Change channels and groups”Channel names and groups are attributes, often called Channel Name, Channel Bucket or Channel Group. Every organization has its own.
Admins and Editors change them under Definitions › Attributes. To add one:
- Click Add Attribute.
- Pick the Definition Type Channel.
- Pick a Configuration Type:
| Configuration Type | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Formula | Rename, merge, split or group channels with rules on Channel Name, Channel Campaign, Channel Adset or Channel Ad |
| Google Sheets Lookup | Do the same in a Google Sheet |
| BigQuery Lookup | Do the same in a BigQuery table |
| Source | Reuse an attribute under a new name |
In a Google Sheets Lookup:
- Case does not matter.
- The top matching row wins.
%stands for any text:%brand%matches every value that contains “brand”. Without%, a row must match the whole value.
Your changes show the next morning, for past days too. To have us change them, ask in Slack or at support@adtribute.io.
What is Catch All? The usual last rule of a channel group: it takes every channel no other rule names, such as a new UTM source.
Why can a channel group have a conversion rate over 100 %? Conversions without a touchpoint have no visit. A group with many of them, often Direct / None, can have more conversions than visits.
Is traffic from ChatGPT organic? Yes. ChatGPT ads count under OpenAI Ads.