Understanding User Acquisition by First User Source Platform in Google Analytics 4
Tracking how users initially discover your website or app is crucial for understanding which marketing channels are most effective at bringing in new users. By analyzing first user source platform data in Google Analytics 4, you can identify which platforms are driving the most valuable user acquisition and optimize your marketing spend accordingly. We'll show you how to create a comprehensive report in GA4 to track this important metric.Basic Report Structure
- Report Type: Free Form Exploration
- Visualization: Table format with user metrics
- Primary dimension: First user source platform
- Time comparison: Enable period-over-period comparison
- Segmentation: New users vs returning users
Steps to Create the Report
- Open GA4 and navigate to Explore section
- Click the Blank template to start a new exploration
- Under the Dimensions click the + button and search for First user source platform, check the checkbox beside it and click Confirm
- Under the Metrics click the + button and search for Total users, New users, Average engagement time, and Engaged sessions per user, check the checkboxes and click Confirm
- Drag First user source platform to the Rows section
- Drag all selected metrics to the Values section
- In the Filters section, add a filter to exclude "(not set)" values
- Set your desired date range in the report settings
- Optional: Add a comparison date range to track changes over time
Important Dimensions and Metrics
- First user source platform: Shows the original platform where users first discovered your site
- Total users: Measures the total number of users from each platform
- New users: Shows first-time visitors from each platform
- Average engagement time: Indicates how long users from each platform typically engage
- Engaged sessions per user: Shows how frequently users from each platform return
Actionable Insights
- Identify platforms with the highest user acquisition rates and increase marketing investment in these channels
- Compare engagement metrics across platforms to determine which sources bring the most valuable users
- Use the data to optimize marketing budget allocation based on platform performance
- Track changes in platform performance over time to identify trending channels
- Analyze underperforming platforms and either improve their strategy or reallocate resources
Answers Similar Questions
- How to track initial traffic sources in GA4
- View user acquisition channels in Google Analytics 4
- Track first touch attribution in GA4
- How to see where new users come from in GA4
- Google Analytics 4 first user source report setup
