How to identify paid vs organic Facebook traffic

Summary

Use Analytics filters to separate paid and organic Facebook traffic by configuring conditions based on UTM parameters and Facebook click identifiers (fbclid).

Overview

This process allows you to distinguish between paid and organic Facebook traffic within Analytics by using filters based on UTM tagging conventions and Facebook-specific identifiers. Paid traffic is typically defined by campaign parameters included in URLs, while organic traffic comes from unpaid posts and interactions. By configuring filters correctly, you can segment and analyze performance more accurately across your Facebook traffic sources.

Steps

Tagging links with UTM parameters allows you to identify the source and type of social media traffic bringing users to your website.

Facebook uses the fbclid parameter on all outgoing links. You can identify “paid” traffic from Facebook by adding a UTM parameter on all paid traffic (e.g., utm_medium=paid)

We recommend using campaign, source, and medium parameters, therefore advert links on Facebook would look something like:

yousitename.com?utm_campaign=summer&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&fbclid=IwAR1

When you use parameters on advert links, you can then create filters in Siteimprove Analytics to identify the data as required.

Creating a Facebook filter in Siteimprove Analytics

1. Go Analytics > Analytics Settings > Filters
2. Click on the button "New Filter”,
3. Give the filter a name (e.g., Paid Facebook traffic),
4. Add Filter Element: Parameters,
5. Select the match conditions as required:
   • For the Paid traffic filter: Include all links that have the parameter type fbclid. Includeutm_medium=paid
   • For the Organic traffic filter: Include all links that have the parameter type fbclid. Excludeutm_medium=paid.
6. Click on "Add Match condition",
   Note: You can test the filter on a selected site on this configuration page using the “Test now” button above the parameter configuration section.
7. Click on “Create filter”.

You can then use these filters throughout Siteimprove Analytics to view the related visitor information.

Result

You can now distinguish between paid and organic Facebook traffic in your Analytics reports using the configured filters.

See also: Analytics: Filters, Internal Search and Behavior Maps