What does cross-network mean?
In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), "cross-network" is a default channel group that specifically groups traffic coming from Google Ads campaigns that span multiple networks. This channel group is used to categorize traffic coming from campaigns that simultaneously use different ad networks, such as the Search Network, Display Network, YouTube, Gmail, and Google Discover. It is a way to aggregate traffic that does not fit into one specific channel under one heading.
Examples of campaigns that fall under cross-network include Performance Max campaigns, Discovery campaigns and Smart Shopping campaigns. These campaigns show your ads on multiple Google platforms at the same time, grouping traffic from these campaigns under cross-network in GA4. This helps marketers track the performance of such multichannel campaigns at a glance.
In practice, using cross-network means getting a combined view of all the traffic coming in through these multifaceted campaigns. However, this can present challenges for conversion attribution because it is harder to see exactly which specific network within a campaign had the most impact. A best practice is to use additional dimensions, such as "source platform" or "campaign ID," in addition to cross-network to gain more detailed insights. This helps you further refine your marketing strategies and make optimizations based on the performance of individual networks within your campaigns.
