Understanding Unassigned Traffic

What Is Unassigned Traffic?

Unassigned traffic refers to visits that have UTM parameters present on the landing page URL but no detectable referrer.

This means Ruler has identified campaign information in the URL, but cannot automatically match that information to one of its standard marketing sources.

As a result, the traffic is categorised as Unassigned rather than being attributed to a specific marketing source.

Why Does Unassigned Traffic Occur?

There are two common reasons why traffic may be categorised as Unassigned.

1. Incorrect UTM Mapping

Your UTM parameters may not be correctly mapped to Ruler's core marketing channels, such as Google or Meta.

For example, if your campaign uses a UTM source or medium that Ruler does not recognise as belonging to the appropriate marketing channel, the traffic may be classified as Unassigned.

What to do:

Review your Unassigned traffic to identify patterns in your UTM parameters. This can help determine whether your existing UTM values need to be updated or mapped correctly.

For guidance on creating consistent UTM parameters, see our URL tagging best practices.

2. Traffic From Non-Core Sources

Your traffic may come from a marketing platform or channel that Ruler does not have as a built-in marketing source.

This is particularly common with niche, industry-specific, or newer advertising and marketing platforms.

What to do:

If the traffic represents a meaningful marketing channel for your business, you can create a Custom Source in Ruler to categorise and report on it more effectively.

How to Review Unassigned Traffic in Ruler

You can use Advanced Reports to investigate which UTM values are being categorised as Unassigned.

We recommend:

1. Open Advanced Reports in Ruler.
2. Select Marketing Source > UTM Source or Marketing Source > UTM Campaign.
3. Filter or search for Marketing Source = Unassigned.
4. Review the UTM values associated with the traffic.
5. Look for patterns that indicate either an incorrect UTM mapping or a marketing source that should be configured as a Custom Source.

This can help you determine whether your UTM tagging needs to be updated or whether a Custom Source would be more appropriate.

You can also view individual Unassigned conversions within your Events Reports.

How to Create a Custom Source

Custom Sources allow you to organise traffic from non-standard marketing channels and ensure they are represented more meaningfully in your reporting.

To create a Custom Source:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Custom Sources.
3. Create a new source.
4. Add the relevant parameters to define which traffic should be assigned to the source.

For more information, see our guide to Custom Source tracking.

Once configured, traffic matching your Custom Source rules can be grouped under the appropriate marketing source rather than appearing as Unassigned.

Need Help?

If you're seeing a large amount of Unassigned traffic or are unsure how your UTM parameters should be configured, please reach out to a member of the Ruler team. We can help you identify the cause and determine the best way to organise your traffic.