Configure Campaigns for Multiple Traffic Sources

Overview

When setting up campaigns in VWO, it’s important to understand how different traffic sources are attributed to ensure accurate targeting. VWO uses a traffic attribution hierarchy, which prioritizes certain sources over others. Misconfiguring your segments, especially when combining multiple sources, can lead to unexpected behavior and missed targeting opportunities.

Traffic Attribution Heirarchy in VWO

VWO prioritizes traffic sources and applies segmentation logic accordingly. It classifies incoming traffic using a fixed priority order:

1. Social
2. Paid using the gclid query string parameter
3. Email
4. Paid using the UTM query string parameter
5. Organic
6. Referral
7. Direct

Based on this traffic attribution hierarchy, VWO attributes traffic to the highest-ranking applicable source. For example, if a user lands on a site via a social platform (e.g., Facebook) but has UTM parameters like cpc or ppc, VWO will still classify them as Social, not Paid, because Social takes priority. The same logic applies even if only the Paid segment is used; social traffic with paid UTMs will still be excluded.

Let’s take a common scenario, targeting Paid Social traffic, to understand how misconfiguring traffic sources can lead to ineffective segmentation.

Example: Targeting Paid Social Traffic

When running campaigns targeting Paid Social traffic (e.g., Facebook or Instagram ads), you must apply segmentation with precision. The assumption that combining the Social and Paid segments will capture Paid Social visitors is incorrect.

Why “Social + Paid” Doesn’t Work

Using both Social and Paid in the same segment is ineffective; they cancel each other out. Due to the attribution order, traffic identified as Social will be excluded from the Paid segment.

Target Paid Social Traffic the Right Way

To accurately target Paid Social traffic:

1. Create a Custom Segment. For more information, see Defining Custom Visitor Segments in VWO.
2. Set the Traffic Source as Social.
3. Select the UTM Parameter as Medium and set it to cpc or ppc. For more information, see Creating Segments Using Query Parameters in VWO.
   

This combination ensures you're capturing social traffic that originates from paid campaigns without violating VWO’s attribution logic.

When combining traffic sources in a campaign, always consider VWO’s attribution logic to combine two or more traffic sources in a segment correctly.

Need more help?

For further assistance or more information, contact VWO Support.