Property settings selected attribution model<\/a>applied. Here you can evaluate which channel (or campaign, source, medium, etc.) the conversion was generated according to the selected attribution model.<\/p>\nPrefix “Session”<\/strong>or “Session”: These acquisition dimensions show which channel (or campaign, source, medium, etc.) each individual session was generated through.<\/p>\nPrefix “First user”<\/strong>or “First user interaction”: This reports which channel (or campaign, source, medium, etc.) the user came to our website for the first time. If the user visits the website again at a later time via a different channel, the value in this dimension will still remain the same.<\/p>\nBut what does the whole thing look like in reporting?<\/p>\n
Acquisition in the standard reports<\/h2>\n
Under the sectionReports → Acquisition<\/em>There is an overview report “Acquisition overview” as well as two detailed reports “User acquisition” and “Traffic acquisition”. The two detailed reports look very similar, but have significant differences in data interpretation.<\/p>\n![\"Akquisition](\"https:\/\/e-dialog.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/blogartikel-ga4-akquisitionsberichte-screenshot-1v2.png\")
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The “User acquisition” report<\/strong>or in German “User acquisition report<\/strong>” shows which channel new users came to our website or app. Therefore, the first key figure is “New Users”. The first dimension can be changed by clicking on the arrow, so that, for example, not the channel grouping but campaigns through which new users were generated.<\/p>\nSecondary dimensions can also be added by clicking on the plus. Care should be taken to ensure that these have the same basis, i.e. user reference. For example, a combination of “First user source” and “First user medium”.<\/p>\n
TheTraffic acquisition report<\/strong>or in German “Newly generated traffic<\/strong>” focuses on the sessions. That is, which channel was used to generate the individual sessions. The events (interactions) and conversions are also linked to the respective channel through which the session was triggered.<\/p>\nIn this report too, the first dimension can be changed and a secondary dimension can be added.<\/p>\n
An example to clarify<\/h3>\n
I visited our website e-dialog.group through several channels:<\/p>\n
\n- Visit: Paid Search<\/li>\n
- Visit: Direct<\/li>\n
- Visit: Organic Search<\/li>\n
- Visit: Direct<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
How are my visits reported in the different reports in Google Analytics 4?<\/p>\n
User Acquisition Report<\/strong>:
My first website visit is recorded here via the paid search channel.
All events, conversions, engaged sessions that take place in my first and the 3 subsequent sessions are also recorded here under the “Paid Search” channel.<\/p>\nThe reason for this is that the acquisition dimension used to report here is user-related and therefore all interactions are linked to the channel of my first visit.<\/p>\n
Traffic Acquisition Report<\/strong>:
This report uses session-related acquisition dimensions. The following values are recorded here for my visits: 1 session via paid search, 2 sessions via direct and 1 session via organic search.<\/p>\nThe interactions and conversions I generated in these sessions are attributed to the respective channels that generated the session.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
At first glance, these three different acquisition types can be confusing. Therefore, when interpreting the reports, careful attention should be paid to which dimension it is and what reference it has (user, session or event).<\/p>\n
If problems arise in the interpretation, we are happy to provide our expertise.<\/p>\n
![\"Channel](\"https:\/\/e-dialog.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/screenshot-2022-12-30-11-26-26.png\")
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