UTM Data in GA4: Building Your First Campaign Report
Build a custom GA4 Explore report with Session campaign, source, and medium as rows to see exactly which channels drive each campaign.
Priya Nair
Senior Marketing Analyst
Attribution & Analytics Blueprint Guide
What question should your first campaign report answer?
Before opening GA4, define the specific question your report needs to answer, for example, 'For each campaign I've run this quarter, how many sessions, conversions, and how much revenue did it generate, broken down by channel?' A clearly defined question determines which dimensions and metrics you actually need, rather than building an unfocused report and hoping it happens to answer whatever you're curious about.
Where do you build a custom campaign report in GA4?
GA4's Explore section, in the left-hand navigation, offers considerably more flexibility than the standard pre-built reports for a genuinely custom campaign view. Click Explore, then start a new blank exploration to begin.
Which dimensions and metrics belong in a campaign report?
Add Session campaign, Session source, and Session medium as dimensions, together they show performance broken down first by campaign, then further split by the specific source and medium that contributed to it. For metrics, add Sessions (raw traffic volume), Engaged sessions (a traffic quality signal), Key events (GA4's term for conversions), and Total revenue if you've set up e-commerce tracking.
How should you structure the report table?
Drag Session campaign into Rows, followed by Session source and Session medium as nested row dimensions beneath it, then drag your four chosen metrics into Values. This produces a table where each campaign is a primary row with its source and medium breakdown nested underneath, giving you both the aggregate campaign view and channel-level detail in one table.
How do you set the right date range and filter out noise?
Adjust the date range in the top-right of the exploration to match your reporting period, the full quarter for a quarterly review, or a specific campaign's actual active dates to avoid diluting the data with unrelated activity. If you run many campaigns, use the Filters section to narrow Session campaign to values containing a specific keyword, keeping the table focused rather than overwhelming.
How do you interpret the resulting table?
Scan for which campaigns generated the most total sessions, which generated the most conversions and revenue (not always the same campaigns, since traffic volume and conversion quality don't always align), and within each campaign, which source and medium combination contributed most, revealing which channels are actually doing the heavy lifting within a broader multi-channel campaign.
How do you save and extend the report over time?
Save the exploration using the save icon near the top of the interface so you can return to the same structure in future weeks or months, adjusting only the date range each time. As you get more comfortable, extend it with Session manual ad content for utm_content-level detail, or add a comparison feature to contrast two time periods side by side.
Why build a custom exploration instead of using standard reports?
GA4's pre-built reports offer a reasonable starting point, but building even one custom exploration structured around your own business's actual reporting questions deepens your understanding of how UTM data flows through the platform and gives you a genuinely reusable tool tailored to exactly the questions you need answered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What GA4 section should I use to build a UTM campaign report?
Use the Explore section rather than the standard pre-built reports, it lets you combine Session campaign, Session source, and Session medium as nested dimensions for a genuinely custom, campaign-level view.
Can I reuse a GA4 campaign report for future reporting periods?
Yes. Save the exploration once it's built, then return to the same saved report structure in future weeks or months, simply adjusting the date range instead of rebuilding it from scratch each time.
What metrics should a first GA4 campaign report include?
Sessions and Engaged sessions for volume and quality, plus Key events and Total revenue for outcomes, together these give both a traffic view and a value view of each campaign's performance.
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