Here is a Facebook post with a link

[sharminakter]

A reference link in the blog above to "Mellow Mushroom".
The URL does not include any special parameters, but Google Analytics traffic rules will recognize it as a referral.

Google Analytics classifies traffic into the Referral channel when the traffic medium matches "referral" or "link" or "app".

If you have a large number of inbound links pointing to your domain, you have the potential to see large amounts of referral traffic.

Organic Social
Organic social traffic comes to your site through unpaid links on social platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and more.


Marco's Pizza Facebook post with a link to "Marcos.com/giftcard"
The URL has no special parameters, but Google Analytics traffic rules will chinese overseas europe data recognize it as organic social because the traffic source matches a known social site.

Google Analytics classifies traffic into the Organic Social channel when one of two possible conditions is met:

The traffic source is a list of well-known social media sites.
Traffic medium exactly matches "social", "social-network", "social-media", "sm", "social network" or "social media"
Paid promotion on social networks4
Paid social traffic comes to your site through paid ads on Instagram, Facebook, and other social sites.