# Traffic sources: what it is and how it works · Zorraquino
> Traffic sources are the routes by which visits reach a website: search engines, external links, social media, campaigns or direct access.
URL: https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/internet/traffic-sources.html

# Traffic sources

Traffic sources are the routes by which visits reach a website, such as search engines, links from other sites, social media, campaigns or direct access

What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.

[The whole glossary](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary)

## What it is and how it works

Analysing them shows which channels bring visitors and how those visitors behave once on the site. Google Analytics 4 works with dimensions such as source, medium and campaign, and with default channel groupings such as organic search, paid search, organic social, referral, email and direct.

The classification depends on the information available for each visit: if referral data is missing, for example when a link is opened from an app without UTM parameters, the visit may be counted as direct. Campaigns therefore need consistent tagging before conclusions are drawn.

Also known as

acquisition channels, traffic channels

Topics

[Technology and data](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/category/tecnologia-y-datos)

## Related concepts

- [Direct traffic](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/internet/direct-traffic.html)
- [Referral traffic](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/internet/referral-traffic.html)
- [Organic traffic](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/digital-marketing/organic-traffic.html)