---
title: "Sources Report"
description: "Analyze traffic sources by channel, source, medium, campaign, term, content and referrer, with revenue and conversions per source — including e-commerce use cases for online stores."
canonical_url: "https://docs.sealmetrics.com/reports/sources"
lang: "en"
date_generated: "2026-09-21T07:18:17.820Z"
source_hash: "a1014a793a0dadba7a1a7157c2894a29be026e090c1b32258e73069e3dbd6c3c"
content_type: "documentation"
owner: "docs"
llm_priority: "useful"
source_file: "reports/sources.mdx"
publisher: "Sealmetrics"
---

# Sources Report

Canonical page: https://docs.sealmetrics.com/reports/sources

The Sources report provides complete analysis of traffic sources using channel grouping, UTM parameters, and referrers. Every row shows traffic (Entrances, Page Views, Bounce Rate) next to outcomes (Events, Conversions, Conversion Rate, Revenue), so you can compare sources by what they deliver, not only by volume.

![Traffic Sources report on the Channels tab, with traffic volume by channel and the channel distribution donut chart](/img/screenshots/sources-channels.png)

## Accessing the Report

1. Select a site from the site selector
2. Click **Sources** in the sidebar

**URL pattern:** `/sites/{site_id}/sources`

## Tabs

The report has 7 tabs for different levels of analysis. **Channels** is the first tab and is selected by default.

All seven tables share the same metric columns:

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Entrances** | Sessions that started from this row's source |
| **Page Views** | Total page views |
| **Bounce Rate** | Single-page session percentage |
| **Events** | Microconversions (all microconversion types added together) |
| **Conv.** | Completed conversions (all conversion types added together) |
| **Conv. Rate** | Conversions / Entrances × 100 |
| **Revenue** | Sum of conversion amounts |

Metric definitions are in the [Metrics Reference](/reports/definitions). Attribution is **last click per session**: each conversion is credited to the source of the session it happened in.

Every table also has:

- A **search box** — server-side and case-insensitive, so it searches all rows, not only the ones loaded on screen
- A **Filters** button with a dimension-only filter builder (see [Filtering](#filtering))
- An **Export** button (see [Export](#export))
- A **Total** row, calculated over all rows that match your filters
- **Comparison values** on Entrances, Page Views, Events, Conv. and Revenue when [comparison mode](/reports/date-range#comparison-mode) is on in the date picker (Bounce Rate and Conv. Rate show no comparison)

### 1. Channels Tab

The default tab. Shows traffic grouped into high-level **channels** (GA4-style channel grouping). Instead of looking at raw source/medium values one by one, traffic is bucketed into marketing channels such as Paid Search, Organic Social, or Email.

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Channel** | Channel name (e.g., "Paid Search"). Unmatched traffic shows as **Unassigned** |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

**Charts included:** Traffic Volume by Channel, Channel Distribution, and Engagement by Channel (see [Charts](#charts)).

Channels are not clickable — there is no drill-down from this tab.

#### How channel grouping works

Each session is assigned to a channel by matching its `utm_source`, `utm_medium`, and `utm_campaign` values against a set of **channel grouping rules** (`channel_group_rules`). Each rule defines:

- A **channel name** (e.g., "Paid Search")
- Optional regex patterns for source, medium, and/or campaign (an empty pattern means "match any value")
- A **priority** — higher-priority rules are evaluated first

Rules are checked in priority order and the first matching rule wins. Rules can be **global** (apply to every account) or **account-specific**; account rules are always evaluated before global rules, so a custom rule can override the defaults. Traffic that matches no rule is reported as **Unassigned**.

The channel is assigned when the visit is received, so rule changes apply to new traffic only — historical visits keep the channel they were given at the time.

You can view and customize these rules per account from the [Channel Grouping settings](/platform/settings/tracking/channel-grouping) (draft → test → publish flow, CSV import/export, and MCP tools). The API exposes them under `/channel-groups`. The built-in default rules cannot be deleted, but they can be overridden.

#### Default channels

Sealmetrics ships with the following default channels, listed here from highest to lowest priority (the order in which they are matched):

| Channel | Matches (simplified) |
|---------|----------------------|
| **Paid Search** | Search engines (google, bing, yahoo, etc.) with a paid medium (cpc, ppc, paid, paidsearch, sem) |
| **Paid Social** | Social networks (facebook, instagram, x, linkedin, tiktok, pinterest, etc.) with a paid medium (cpc, ppc, paid, paid-social) |
| **Paid Video** | Video platforms (youtube, vimeo, twitch, dailymotion) with a paid/video medium (cpc, ppc, paid, video, trueview) |
| **Display** | Display mediums (display, banner, cpm, interstitial, expandable, rich media), any source |
| **Paid Shopping** | google/bing with a shopping medium (shopping, pla, product listing) |
| **Organic Search** | Search engines with `organic` medium |
| **Organic Social** | Social networks with a social/organic-social medium, or no medium |
| **Organic Video** | Video platforms with a video/organic medium, or no medium |
| **Organic Shopping** | Shopping comparison sites (google shopping, idealo, kelkoo, pricerunner, shopzilla) |
| **AI** | Traffic from AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, etc.): medium `ai`, or an AI assistant as source with no medium |
| **Email** | Email mediums (email, newsletter, mailchimp, sendgrid, klaviyo) |
| **Affiliates** | Affiliate mediums (affiliate, partner, aff, cpa) |
| **SMS** | SMS mediums (sms, text, mms) |
| **Push** | Push mediums (push, notification, web push, mobile push) |
| **Audio** | Audio sources (spotify, apple podcasts, soundcloud, audible, etc.) |
| **Referral** | medium matches `referral` or `referrer` |
| **Direct** | source `(direct)` |
| **Unassigned** | Catch-all for traffic that matches no other rule |

### 2. Sources Tab

Shows traffic grouped by UTM Source and Medium combination.

**Info:**
Since July 21, 2026, visits arriving from an untagged external link are shown in this tab as their **referring domain** with medium `referrer` (e.g. `reddit.com / referrer`), GA4-style — including historical data. To analyze the referring pages, use the [Referrers tab](#7-referrers-tab).

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Source / Medium** | Combined source and medium (e.g., "google / cpc"). Direct traffic shows as `(direct) / (none)` |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

**Drill-down:** each Source / Medium is clickable — click it to open the **Campaigns** tab filtered to that source and medium, then click a campaign to open the **Terms** tab filtered to that campaign. A breadcrumb above the tabs shows the path; click any step to go back, or **All Sources** to clear the drill-down and return to the Channels tab.

**Charts included:** Traffic Volume by Source, Source Distribution, and Engagement by Source. The charts label each bar with the source name only.

### 3. Mediums Tab

Shows traffic grouped by UTM Medium only. Common values:

| Medium | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| organic | Search engine organic traffic |
| cpc | Cost-per-click paid traffic (when your ad links are tagged with it) |
| social | Social media organic traffic |
| email | Email marketing traffic (when your email links are tagged with it) |
| ai | Referrals from AI assistants |
| referrer | Untagged links from other websites |
| referral | Links tagged as referral, and some recognized sites (e.g. Google News) |
| (none) | Direct traffic |

Same columns and charts as the Sources tab (the first column is **Medium** instead of Source / Medium). Each medium is clickable and opens the **Campaigns** tab filtered to that medium.

### 4. Campaigns Tab

Shows traffic grouped by UTM Campaign.

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Campaign** | Campaign name (the associated source / medium is shown underneath). Traffic without a campaign shows as `(not set)` |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

Includes the same three charts as the Sources tab. Click a campaign name to open the **Terms** tab filtered to that campaign, source and medium.

Useful for:
- Comparing ad campaigns
- Tracking email campaigns
- Measuring promotional campaigns

### 5. Terms Tab

Shows traffic grouped by UTM Term (typically search keywords).

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Term** | Search term or keyword (the associated source / campaign is shown underneath) |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

This tab shows a table only (no charts). Useful for:
- Paid search keyword analysis
- Understanding search intent
- Identifying high-value keywords

See [What Is a TERM in Sealmetrics?](/reports/insights/what-is-a-term) for what ends up in this field.

### 6. Content Tab

Shows traffic grouped by UTM Content (for A/B testing ads).

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Content** | Ad variant identifier (the associated source / campaign is shown underneath) |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

This tab shows a table only (no charts). Useful for:
- A/B testing ad creatives
- Differentiating links pointing to same URL
- Tracking banner variations

### 7. Referrers Tab

Shows untagged traffic from referring websites — the visits reported with medium `referrer` — **one row per referring page**. This is where you see exactly which page linked to you. (The domain-level view lives in the [Sources tab](#2-sources-tab), where referral traffic is grouped as `domain / referrer`.)

Search engines, social networks, AI assistants and other sites Sealmetrics recognizes are classified into their own source and medium (for example `google / organic`), so they do not appear in this tab.

| Column | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Referrer Domain** | The referring page as host + path, without the query string (e.g. `reddit.com/r/analytics/comments/...`) |
| **Entrances** … **Revenue** | The shared metric columns above |

This tab shows a table only (no charts). Useful for:
- Identifying backlink traffic
- Finding partnership opportunities
- Monitoring press mentions

## Charts

The **Channels**, **Sources**, **Mediums**, and **Campaigns** tabs each include three charts (the Terms, Content, and Referrers tabs show a table only). Charts always show the rows with the most **Entrances**, regardless of how the table is sorted:

### Stacked Bar Chart

Traffic volume ("Traffic Volume by …"):
- Horizontal bars for the top 8 rows by entrances
- Each bar shows Entrances and Conversions
- Quick visual of volume vs conversion balance

### Pie Chart

Distribution ("… Distribution"):
- Share of entrances for the top 4 rows, with the rest of the top 8 grouped as "Others"
- Percentage labels

### Dual Axis Chart

Efficiency comparison ("Engagement by …"), for the top 6 rows by entrances:
- Bars: Conversion Rate
- Line: Bounce Rate
- Identifies sources with good conversion but high bounce

Charts respect global filters, the drill-down, and the table's filter builder, but **not** the table search box or the table sort.

## Filtering

The Sources report is affected by three layers of filtering.

### Global filters (Segment)

The global filters from the **Segment** panel apply to every tab of this report — tables, totals and charts:

| Global filter | Applies to Sources |
|---------------|--------------------|
| Country | Yes |
| Device Type | Yes |
| Browser | Yes |
| Operating System | Yes |

The date range and comparison mode from the date picker also apply. See [Filters](/reports/filters) for how global filters and segments work.

### Table filters (filter builder)

Each tab has its own filter builder (the **Filters** button above the table). Filters in the Sources report are **dimension-only** — you filter by what the traffic *is* (channel, source, medium, campaign, term, content, referrer), not by metric values. The fields available depend on the tab:

| Tab | Filter fields |
|-----|---------------|
| Channels | Channel |
| Sources | Source, Medium |
| Mediums | Medium |
| Campaigns | Campaign, Source, Medium |
| Terms | Term, Campaign, Source, Medium |
| Content | Content, Campaign, Source, Medium |
| Referrers | Domain (the referring page, as shown in the table) |

Operators: **equals**, **does not equal**, **contains**, **does not contain**, **starts with**, **ends with**, **is empty**, **is not empty**.

Things to know:

- **All conditions are combined with AND.** The builder shows AND/OR selectors, but in this report every condition is applied as AND.
- **Matching is case-sensitive** (`Google` does not match `google`). Only the search box ignores case.
- **A value containing a comma is ignored** — that condition is not applied.
- Filters are **per tab**: a filter on the Campaigns tab does not affect the Sources tab.
- Filters are resolved on the server, so they apply to all rows, the Total row and the charts.

| Example | Tab | Use Case |
|---------|-----|----------|
| Channel equals "Paid Search" | Channels | One channel only |
| Source contains "google" | Sources | All Google traffic |
| Medium equals "cpc" | Sources, Campaigns | Paid traffic only |
| Campaign contains "spring" | Campaigns | One campaign family |

To spot high- or low-performing rows by metric (conversions, bounce rate…), **sort by the metric column** instead — every column is sortable. Entrances, Page Views, Events, Conv. and Revenue are sorted on the server across all rows. Bounce Rate, Conv. Rate and the name columns are sorted only within the rows already loaded (the top 100 by the current server-side sort), so sort by Entrances or Revenue first when you need a complete picture.

### Combining Filters

Example: isolate paid Google traffic for one campaign, on the **Campaigns** tab:
1. Source contains "google"
2. AND Medium equals "cpc"
3. AND Campaign contains "spring-sale"

### Drill-down

Clicking a row in the Sources, Mediums or Campaigns tab adds an exact-match filter for that row and opens the next tab (see [Sources Tab](#2-sources-tab)). Drill-down filters apply to the Sources, Campaigns and Terms tables, on top of any filter-builder conditions.

## UTM Parameter Reference

| Parameter | URL Format | Example |
|-----------|------------|---------|
| Source | `utm_source=` | google, facebook, newsletter |
| Medium | `utm_medium=` | cpc, organic, email |
| Campaign | `utm_campaign=` | spring-sale, brand-2025 |
| Term | `utm_term=` | running+shoes |
| Content | `utm_content=` | banner-a, text-link |

### Example URL

```
https://example.com/landing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=spring-sale&utm_term=running+shoes&utm_content=banner-a
```

## Use Cases

### Evaluating Ad Spend

1. Go to **Sources** tab
2. Filter: Medium equals "cpc"
3. Compare:
   - Google vs Facebook vs LinkedIn
   - Cost per conversion (external ad spend data + Conv.)
   - Conversion rates

### Comparing Campaigns

1. Go to **Campaigns** tab
2. Sort by Revenue (descending)
3. Identify:
   - Best performing campaigns
   - Campaigns to scale
   - Campaigns to pause

### Finding High-Value Referrers

1. Go to **Referrers** tab
2. Sort by Conv. (descending)
3. Look for:
   - Unexpected high-performing referrers
   - Partnership opportunities
   - Guest posting targets

### Analyzing Email Performance

1. Go to **Mediums** tab
2. Filter: Medium equals "email" (or the medium your email links are tagged with)
3. Click the medium to see its campaigns, and compare Entrances, Conv. and Revenue per send

Sealmetrics sees the visit that follows a click; email opens and clicks stay in your email platform.

### Keyword Analysis

1. Go to **Terms** tab
2. Sort by Conv.
3. Identify:
   - Converting keywords
   - High-traffic low-conversion keywords (optimize landing pages)
   - Long-tail opportunities

## E-commerce use cases

These cases assume your store sends a **purchase conversion with the order amount** (`sealmetrics.conv('purchase', amount)`), so that Conv. and Revenue reflect sales. See [Conversions](/implementation/tracker/conversions) and the [E-commerce Setup Guide](/implementation/ecommerce-conversion-tracking/ecommerce-setup-guide), or the [e-commerce integrations](/integrations/ecommerce/shopify) for your platform.

Two things to keep in mind when reading the numbers:

- **Conv. and Events add up all types.** If you also send other conversions (a newsletter sign-up, a lead form), they are counted in Conv. and Conv. Rate next to purchases. Revenue only includes conversion amounts.
- **Attribution is last click per session.** A sale is credited to the source of the session in which it happened; earlier visits from other sources are not credited.

### Which channels bring buyers, not just visits?

1. Open the **Channels** tab and sort by **Revenue** (descending).
2. For each channel, compare its **Entrances** with its **Conv.** and **Revenue**. Revenue ÷ Entrances gives you [revenue per entrance](/reports/definitions#revenue-per-entrance), which you calculate yourself from the two columns.
3. Check the **Engagement by Channel** chart for channels with a high bounce rate and a low conversion rate.

How to read it: a channel with a large share of entrances but little revenue is bringing visitors who don't buy — review targeting or the pages that traffic lands on. A channel with few entrances but high revenue per entrance is a candidate for more budget. Turn on comparison in the date picker to see whether a channel's revenue moved against the previous period.

### Which campaigns bring buyers, not just visits?

1. Open the **Campaigns** tab.
2. Filter: Medium equals "cpc" (or the mediums your paid campaigns use).
3. Sort by **Revenue**, then by **Conv.**
4. Click a campaign to open the **Terms** tab for that campaign and see which keywords brought the sales (only if your ad URLs pass `utm_term` — see [How to Track Google Ads Campaigns](/reports/insights/how-to-track-google-ads-campaigns)).

How to read it: campaigns with many entrances and no Conv. are spending on visits that don't buy. Put Revenue next to the spend from your ad platform to get [ROAS](/reports/definitions#return-on-ad-spend-roas) — the Sources report has no ad-cost data. Export the table as CSV to do this in a spreadsheet.

### Do my campaigns fill carts that never reach checkout?

This case needs **microconversions** for the steps before the purchase — `add_to_cart` and `begin_checkout`. See [Microconversions](/implementation/tracker/microconversions).

1. Open the **Campaigns** (or **Sources**) tab.
2. Compare **Events** with **Conv.** for each row.
3. To narrow it to one device, apply a global filter (for example Device Type = Mobile) from the Segment panel.

How to read it: a campaign with plenty of Events but few Conv. brings shoppers who engage but don't finish — check what that audience meets at checkout (shipping costs, payment options, mobile checkout). The **Events** column adds up every microconversion type, so it can't tell `add_to_cart` from `begin_checkout`. For a per-step breakdown by source, medium and campaign, use the [Funnel by UTM table](/reports/funnel#funnel-by-utm-table) in the Funnel report.

### Is my Google Shopping / Performance Max traffic credited to the right campaign?

1. Open the **Channels** tab and check the **Paid Shopping** row. It only collects google/bing traffic with a shopping medium.
2. Open the **Sources** tab and search for `google`. Look for rows with your product feed's own medium (for example `google / product_sync`) that show conversions.
3. Open the **Campaigns** tab and look for the feed's campaign value collecting sales that belong to your paid campaigns.

How to read it: if paid Shopping clicks show up under the feed's tagging, your own parameters are being overridden by the feed's. Fix it with [UTM Mapping overrides](/platform/settings/tracking/utm-mapping#use-case-4--google-shopping--performance-max-product-feed). Mappings apply to new traffic only; earlier visits keep their original values.

### Is my payment gateway taking credit for sales?

1. Open the **Mediums** tab and look for the `payment` medium. When Sealmetrics can't link a visitor coming back from a known gateway (for example PayPal, Stripe or Redsys) to their original session, the visit is recorded with that gateway as source and `payment` as medium (e.g. `paypal / payment` in the Sources tab). No default channel matches it, so it counts as **Unassigned** in the Channels tab.
2. Open the **Referrers** tab and look for payment-provider or bank checkout pages with conversions. Gateways Sealmetrics doesn't recognize show up here and as `domain / referrer` in the Sources tab.

How to read it: conversions on these rows are sales whose real source (an ad, an email) was lost at the payment step. Register the gateway domain as a passthrough referrer — see [How to Avoid Conversions Being Attributed to "Payment"](/platform/tracking-and-attribution-settings/avoid-conversions-attributed-to-payment). The change applies to new sessions.

## Export

Each tab has its own **Export** button:
- **CSV** or **PDF** format
- Exports the current tab only
- Respects the search box, the filter builder, the drill-down and the current sort
- Exports the rows loaded in the table (up to 100), not only the page you are viewing
- Source and Medium are exported as separate columns; the Campaigns export also includes Source and Medium, and the Terms and Content exports include Campaign, Source and Medium
- Comparison values are not included

## Related documentation

- [Referral vs Direct Traffic](/reports/insights/referral-vs-direct-traffic) — How each session's source is classified
- [How Sealmetrics Calculates SEO Traffic](/reports/insights/how-sealmetrics-calculates-seo-traffic) — How organic search is detected
- [How to Track Google Ads Campaigns](/reports/insights/how-to-track-google-ads-campaigns) — UTM templates for paid campaigns
- [What Is a TERM in Sealmetrics?](/reports/insights/what-is-a-term) — What the Terms tab measures
- [Channel Grouping](/platform/settings/tracking/channel-grouping) — Customize how traffic is grouped into channels
- [Funnel Report](/reports/funnel) — Microconversion and conversion steps by source, medium and campaign
- [Filters](/reports/filters) — Global filters, segments and the filter builder
- [Overview Report](/reports/overview) — The high-level dashboard for all reports