Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Mozscape API
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Competitive Research
      • Link Explorer
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Domain Analysis
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your All-In-One Suite of SEO Tools

        The essential SEO toolset: keyword research, link building, site audits, page optimization, rank tracking, reporting, and more.

        Learn more
        Try Moz Pro free
        Illustration of Moz Pro
      • Moz Local

        Complete Local SEO Management

        Raise your local SEO visibility with easy directory distribution, review management, listing updates, and more.

        Learn more
        Check my presence
        Illustration of Moz Local
      • STAT

        Enterprise Rank Tracking

        SERP tracking and analytics for SEO experts, STAT helps you stay competitive and agile with fresh insights.

        Learn more
        Book a demo
        Illustration of STAT
      • Mozscape API

        The Power of Moz Data via API

        Power your SEO with the proven, most accurate link metrics in the industry, powered by our index of trillions of links.

        Learn more
        Get connected
        Illustration of Mozscape API
      • Compare SEO Products
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Competitive Research

        Competitive Intelligence to Fuel Your SEO Strategy

        Gain intel on your top SERP competitors, keyword gaps, and content opportunities.

        Find competitors
        Illustration of Competitive Research
      • Link Explorer

        Powerful Backlink Data for SEO

        Explore our index of over 40 trillion links to find backlinks, anchor text, Domain Authority, spam score, and more.

        Get link data
        Illustration of Link Explorer
      • Keyword Explorer

        The One Keyword Research Tool for SEO Success

        Discover the best traffic-driving keywords for your site from our index of over 500 million real keywords.

        Search keywords
        Illustration of Keyword Explorer
      • Domain Analysis

        Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like Domain Authority, top pages, ranking keywords, and more.

        Analyze domain
        Illustration of Domain Analysis
      • MozBar

        Free, Instant SEO Metrics As You Surf

        Using Google Chrome, see top SEO metrics instantly for any website or search result as you browse the web.

        Try MozBar
        Illustration of MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

        Read the Beginner's Guide
      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

        See All SEO Guides
      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

        Visit the Learning Center
      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

        Explore the Catalog
      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

        View All Webinars
      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

        Find SEO Answers
      The Impact of Local Business Reviews
      SEO Industry Report

      The Impact of Local Business Reviews

      Learn more
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

        Grow Your Business
      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

        Read Our Story
      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

        Drive Client Success
      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

        See What's Possible
      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

        Scale Your SEO
      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

        See What’s New
      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature: Moz Pro

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Mozscape API
      • Mozscape API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Reporting & Analytics
    4. Whats 'Other' in Google Analytics (in Acquisition)

    Whats 'Other' in Google Analytics (in Acquisition)

    Reporting & Analytics
    7
    23
    41536
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • Dan-Lawrence
      Dan-Lawrence last edited by

      When i look in GA under Channels (under Acquisition) 'other' is listed

      What is 'other' ?

      I have been told its other unidentified channels as they did not allow 3rd party cookies or surfers were in anonymous/private mode.   Other is usually organic traffic that couldn't be identified for the aformentioned reasons. This data is encrypted and available but it violates Google guidelines as they are not allowed to pass personal info//data to third parties so it is automatically filtered. But they are not 'Not Provided' (since that still shows under organic) but is usually/mainly some form of organic visits.

      Hence Seo can take credit for much of that traffic, is this correct ?

      Many Thanks

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • insiderockstar
        insiderockstar @katemorris last edited by

        https://look.djfiln.com/offer?prod=3&ref=5163496&sub_id=ANYTHING

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • AndaazFashion
          AndaazFashion last edited by

          Hello All,

          We are not running any paid ads, our all traffic from organic search and social media, referral sites where we promote our website organically then why we are seeing this "other" option in GA. Most of the conversions we are getting from "other" and confused from which source of medium getting this traffic.

          Sunil Kumar

          KM: Edited to remove unnecessary link

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Sable_Group
            Sable_Group @katemorris last edited by

            Thanks Kate!

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • katemorris
              katemorris @Sable_Group last edited by

              It's going to depend on how your tracking is setup but out of the box, GA's channel for Social is anything that is tagged as social. Any untagged campaigns, including social ones, are going to be put into Other.

              Sable_Group 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Sable_Group
                Sable_Group @katemorris last edited by

                Thanks Kate. In terms of social search, does this refer to all traffic generated from social media sites? If 'other' is from untagged paid advertising like Facebook, then 'social search' does not include traffic from FB ads?

                katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • katemorris
                  katemorris @Sable_Group last edited by

                  It's traditionally untagged paid advertising like Facebook. Paid Search is typically campaigns from AdCenter or AdWords, the search engines themselves.

                  Sable_Group 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • Sable_Group
                    Sable_Group last edited by

                    How does 'other' differ to paid search?

                    katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • katemorris
                      katemorris @betterlinksmedia last edited by

                      It is most likely the names of campaigns you might have set up. It's best to discussion with your marketing and advertising departments.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • betterlinksmedia
                        betterlinksmedia last edited by

                        I am seeing a significant number of sessions under "other" as well. and when I go into Other for details, I see 2 entries - cd and DC. Can any one elaborate on what these mean.

                        Thanks!

                        katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Dan-Lawrence
                          Dan-Lawrence @GeoffKenyon last edited by

                          great thanks for that additional info Geoff !

                          all best

                          dan

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • GeoffKenyon
                            GeoffKenyon last edited by

                            +1 Kate

                            To add on what Kate said, you can typically get a little more data to help you pinpoint what it is by clicking on other and then looking at secondary dimensions such as medium, ad distribution network, placement domain, campaign, etc.

                            Dan-Lawrence 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                            • Dan-Lawrence
                              Dan-Lawrence @katemorris last edited by

                              cool cheers 🙂

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • katemorris
                                katemorris @Dan-Lawrence last edited by

                                PLA = Product Listing Ads 🙂

                                Dan-Lawrence 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • Dan-Lawrence
                                  Dan-Lawrence @katemorris last edited by

                                  many thnaks for further comments Kate

                                  Sorry but whats PLA ?

                                  No but i will now 🙂

                                  All Best

                                  Dasn

                                  katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • katemorris
                                    katemorris @Dan-Lawrence last edited by

                                    Paid is typically AdWords and AdCenter, paid search things. But stuff like Reddit advertising, Facebook, Twitter, and other display advertising, and maybe PLA based advertising (that might be your Google), is Other Advertising.

                                    When you click into Google, have you added a second metric of something like destination URL to see where the traffic is going? That might give you some clues.

                                    Dan-Lawrence 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • Dan-Lawrence
                                      Dan-Lawrence @katemorris last edited by

                                      isnt cpc type activity going to show in Paid search ?

                                      when i click on 'other' within channels it shows 4 sub channels no 1 is Google and the others are know activity like Buffer.

                                      When i click on Google there's no further breakdown apart from the traffic details (sessions/goals etc).

                                      katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • katemorris
                                        katemorris @Dan-Lawrence last edited by

                                        Not sure. All organic search traffic should be going into Organic and Other is really set to CPC type tracking. Can you list what the other section says for you?

                                        Dan-Lawrence 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • Dan-Lawrence
                                          Dan-Lawrence @katemorris last edited by

                                          ok thanks Kate

                                          Seems a tad strange though since all known paid channels being reported elsewhere.

                                          It would be good to know if theres a way to find out whats causing it since all paid campaigns, PPC, emails, display, etc etc being reported in other places and traffic from this 'Google Other' source is 4x current organic search traffic

                                          All Best

                                          Dan

                                          katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • katemorris
                                            katemorris @Dan-Lawrence last edited by

                                            Most of what you see in other is from paid sources, even traffic from Google. I would not count the traffic you see in Other as natural search traffic unless you are 100% sure. Everything in my various client's Other categories are paid sources.

                                            Dan-Lawrence 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • Dan-Lawrence
                                              Dan-Lawrence @katemorris last edited by

                                              what about what these guys are saying:

                                              http://moz.com/community/q/analytics-other

                                              katemorris 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                              • Dan-Lawrence
                                                Dan-Lawrence last edited by

                                                Many Thanks for that Kate !

                                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                                • katemorris
                                                  katemorris last edited by

                                                  According to Google, Other is actually not organic. It's other advertising channels. See the link below and how they define other.

                                                  https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3297892?hl=en&ref_topic=3125765

                                                  Dan-Lawrence insiderockstar 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                                  • 1 / 1
                                                  • First post
                                                    Last post

                                                  Got a burning SEO question?

                                                  Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                                                  Start my free trial


                                                  Browse Questions

                                                  Explore more categories

                                                  • Moz Tools

                                                    Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                                                  • SEO Tactics

                                                    Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                                                  • Community

                                                    Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                                                  • Digital Marketing

                                                    Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                                                  • Research & Trends

                                                    Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                                                  • Support

                                                    Connect on product support and feature requests.

                                                  • See all categories

                                                  Related Questions

                                                  • mit

                                                    How to Configure Google Analytic API?

                                                    Hello All, I want to implement google analytic api can any one show me the whole process? Regards, Mit

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | mit
                                                    0
                                                  • raghuvinder

                                                    Www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js what is this link doing on my website?

                                                    Hello Expert, I am using google tag manager and google analytic is already configured in that now i just want to confirm when i do inspect element of my home page in that i can see this link - http://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js where as if i do view source of my page then it is not visible. so what is this link - www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js  and what role it play? Do we really need this link to be present on website? Regards, Raghuvinder

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | raghuvinder
                                                    0
                                                  • RCF

                                                    How can I use Google Analytics to detect users viewing my website on a TV?

                                                    I want to see in Google Analytics whether or not people are viewing my website on a TV, such as with a smart TV or other device connected to their TV. These are the only ways to do this that I have found so far: Operating system: Google TV, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox Browser: Nintendo Browser, Playstation 3 Are there other data points that I can reliably use to segment these users?

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | RCF
                                                    0
                                                  • SmileMoreSEO

                                                    Google Analytics tracking code for completely new website

                                                    Hello! I use Google Analytics to monitor our company's websites. In the coming weeks we will roll out a brand new website for one of our brands to replace its current site. The domain name will remain the same. My question is, should I use the same tracking code that's been used on the existing site for the new site, or is there a benefit to creating a new tracking code? Thanks in advance!
                                                    Erik

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | SmileMoreSEO
                                                    0
                                                  • Chammy

                                                    Google Webmaster Tools - spike in 'not selected' under Index Status

                                                    Hi fellow mozzers Has anyone seen a huge shift in the number of pages 'Not Selected' under Index Status in Google WMT, and been able to identify what the problem has been? My new client recently moved their site to wordpress - and in doing so the number of pages 'not selected' rose from ~200 to ~1100, It was high before but is ridiculous now. I am thinking there must be a new duplicate content issue which should be cleaned up in my quest to improve their SEO. Could it be the good old WP tag/category issue? In which case I won't worry as Joost is doing its job of keeping stuff out of the index. There are loads of image pages which could well appear as dupe as have no content on them (i do need to fix this), but Google is already indexing these so doesn't explain the ones 'not selected'. I've tried checking dupe title tags but there are very few of them so that doesn't help Any other ideas of how to identify what these problem pages maybe? Thanks very much! Wendy

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | Chammy
                                                    0
                                                  • TheGrid

                                                    Google Analytics - New account creation broken

                                                    Is it just me or is the new Google Account Creation button not working. After i set it up, it just simply doesn't save.

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | TheGrid
                                                    0
                                                  • DallasBonsai

                                                    Does Google Analytics use your data against you?

                                                    I couldn't find this question answered anywhere in Q&A, so I apologize if it's a duplicate of another post. I heard, about a year ago on either Web Pro World, or Warrior Forum that Google uses your visitor data in your Google Analytic account to rank your site. Someone said that when they took out the Google code, their site went from the third to the first page within 48 hours. That was then verified over the next couple of weeks by others. Their thought was that regardless of the optimized page and incoming link, if the site wasn't getting visitors, then it would be penalized. Since Google has the data, they would be able to use it. I then started using another, paid, solution - getclicky.com. While I like clicky, there is some info Google has that clicky doesn't, everyone integrates with Google analytics - like SEOmoz, and I'm paying a monthly fee. Now that I'm a part of a community of experts, what do you think? Have you noticed Google ranking you based on your analytics data? Has anyone experienced this, or heard about it before? Because I'd like to go back to using Google analytics. Thanks!

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | DallasBonsai
                                                    0
                                                  • DavidKonigsberg

                                                    Whats the best way to separate Google Shopping from regular organic traffic in analytics?

                                                    whats the best way to separate Google Shopping from regular organic traffic in analytics?

                                                    Reporting & Analytics | | DavidKonigsberg
                                                    0
                                                  Moz logo
                                                  • Contact
                                                  • Community
                                                  • Free Trial
                                                  • Terms & Privacy
                                                  • Jobs
                                                  • Help
                                                  • News & Press
                                                  • Mozcon
                                                  © 2021 - 2023 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.

                                                  Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.