Why do I see "unassigned" traffic acquisition in GA4?

Why the traffic acquisition in GA4 is being reported as "unassigned" since I implemented a cookie banner?

Nelson
Written by NelsonLast update 1 day ago

If you see a lot of "unassigned" traffic in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) after implementing a cookie banner, this is due to cookie consent requirements. It indicates that your CMP is functioning correctly in a privacy-compliant manner, and you're respecting user consent by not tracking visitors unless they give explicit consent.

A CookieScript CMP complies with privacy regulations like the GDPR. When a visitor lands on your site, CookieScript blocks by default all website cookies and trackers used by Google Analytics. This leads to the following result:

  • GA4 cannot set or read tracking cookies until the visitor explicitly consents to analytics cookies.

  • Without these identifiers, GA4 cannot correctly attribute the traffic source.

  • As a result, traffic acquisition in GA4 reports appears as "unassigned" because no source data is available.

If you want to reduce "unassigned" traffic, use these advices:

  • Create a user-friendly consent banner and clearly explain the benefits of enabling analytics.

  • Consider triggering analytics only after you get explicit consent using tools like Google Tag Manager and Google Consent Mode.

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