Why this matters
You post on LinkedIn twice a week, keep your Google Business Profile up to date and send a monthly newsletter. Each takes hours, but you can't say which one actually brings people to your website, so they all get the same time and nothing gets better.
Google Analytics 4 already has the answer. In this module you read the Reports snapshot for the headline numbers, then the Traffic acquisition report to see which channel brings visitors and how engaged they are, and drill into the exact sites with Session source / medium.
What you’ll build
You can read the four snapshot numbers (Active users, New users, Average engagement time, Event count) for any date range.
You can say which channel (Organic Search, Direct, Organic Social, Referral, Email…) brings the most sessions and the most engaged ones, and which exact sites sit behind it.
What you need
- Nothing to start the practiceThe practice is built from real GA4 screens with every number blurred and does not touch any account.
- Access to a GA4 property, to do it for realThe Viewer role is enough. No property yet? Google offers a free demo account (Google Merchandise Store).
Concepts
2 ideas you’ll use in the practice.
Users, sessions and events
A user is one person (one browser), a session is one visit, and an event is anything they do: a page view, a scroll, a click, a form sent.
An engaged session lasted more than 10 seconds, viewed two or more pages, or included a key event. Engagement rate is engaged sessions divided by all sessions.
Channels, then source / medium
Traffic acquisition groups sessions by Session primary channel group: Organic Search, Direct, Organic Social, Referral, Email, Paid and Unassigned.
Switch the table dimension to Session source / medium for the exact origin, such as google / organic or linkedin.com / referral. Untagged newsletter and social links often end up in Direct or Unassigned; UTM tags fix that.
Practice
Do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool. It checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on.
Do it for real
Now repeat it in your own account. Tick each step as you go.
Quick check
3 questions to check you’ve got it.
1. Which report shows which channel brings visitors?
- Acquisition > Traffic acquisition
- Engagement > Events
- Admin > Data streams
Show the answer
Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. Traffic acquisition groups every session by its channel.
2. A channel brings fewer sessions but a much higher engagement rate. What does that suggest?
- Its visitors are more interested, so it may be worth more
- It is broken
- It should be ignored
Show the answer
Its visitors are more interested, so it may be worth more. Engagement rate shows visit quality, not just quantity.
3. Does changing the date range or table dimension change your GA4 settings?
- No, it only changes your view of the report
- Yes, for every user
- Yes, it deletes old data
Show the answer
No, it only changes your view of the report. Report controls are views; settings live under Admin.