Why your channel and campaign data is wrong — and how to fix UTMs, referral exclusions, payment processor hijacking, and traffic source configuration.
A large (Unassigned) row in your Acquisition reports isn't a quirk — it's a symptom of broken configuration. Non-standard UTMs, payment processor redirects, and missing channel rules.
Attribution · ConfigurationIn GA4, Email and email are not the same channel. Mixed UTM casing silently splits your attribution data across duplicate channels — making every channel look less effective than it is.
When a customer returns from PayPal or Stripe, GA4 treats it as a new referral session. The campaign that drove the sale loses credit entirely.
Configuration · E-commerce · ShopifyStripe, PayPal, and Shopify Payments appearing as traffic sources means every purchase is misattributed. The complete domain exclusion list for Shopify stores and step-by-step fix instructions.
The Rakuten affiliate pixel has more moving parts than most implementations. The full setup, the dependency chain, and how to troubleshoot when conversions aren't registering.