When any person or the client reach up to you, you talked up the value of Google Analytics and the traffic on websites. You give special importance or value to where your website traffic was coming from. You went on and on about how Google Analytics can show traffic sources to pinpoint whether people came from search, social media or a specific site referral, and how valuable this data was.
One of the most common questions I faced from the clients’ side after seeing the monthly report for the first time is that “What is Direct Traffic and Organic Search Traffic ?”. It sometimes sounds like a very simple and we can give straightforward answers. But it is actually much more complicated than that.
DIRECT TRAFFIC
The most common answer you heard from people is that direct traffic refers to any visitor that came directly to your website either by typing your domain address in the browser or coming from the bookmarks. The user doesn’t click any link or search the keyword for your site. But we cannot say the answer is complete what you asked about direct traffic. Yes, this straight to your site traffic will count as direct. in fact, we can say that its a small portion of traffic which we can say that direct traffic.
We can see the traffic source by selecting the Google Analytics settings. You can find your Direct Traffic by going to Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels. This will give you an idea of traffic source, behavior, and conversions from all available channels (organic, paid, referral, direct, social, email, etc.).
WHAT DIRECT TRAFFIC REALLY IS
We can simply say that the direct traffic doesn’t have any referral sites or any other source of referral links which passed towards your website. That doesn’t mean the visitor didn’t click a link or come from another site. It simply means that the traffic didn’t get recorded in the google by organic traffic.
Why wouldn’t Analytics have this information? Doesn’t it record everything about direct traffic?
Here are some examples its referrals as the direct traffic.
- HTTPS to HTTP: If someone comes to your website by just clicking a link from an HTTPS site, that referral will not pass to your non-HTTPS website.
- Links included in email marketing and social medias campaigns that aren’t properly tagged
- Session refreshes by a visitors
- QR Codes
- “Dark Social traffic ” links (such as links in chat or email marketing )
- Search and social referrers traffic that fail to pass the proper referral string
Anytime your google Analytics program doesn’t understand the referral string—or if there isn’t one—then it will lump your traffic in with direct traffic. With mobile (search, device, apps).
Minimizing direct traffic
Here are the few steps you can take to minimize the level direct traffic towards your website:- Migrate to HTTPS:
- Manage your use of redirects:
- Get really good at campaign tagging:
- Conduct an Analytics audit:
Is direct traffic good or bad for SEO?
SOLVING THE DIRECT MYSTERY
So however are you able to verify that visits are literally direct traffic and that isn’t? Well, there is no foolproof way to get it on, however, you’ll gain some insight. One resolution is to appear at the landing pages for your direct traffic. If new guests are landing on pages apart from your home page, then it’s pretty unlikely they came there directly. however, usually, does one kind www.sitename.com/products/widgets/cool-widgets/cool-blue-widgets.html to urge to a page you’ve got never visited before? you’ve got most likely never done it. And neither has anyone else. thus, however, did they get there? this is often an issue you will never be able to discover, and therefore the quantity of labor it might desire gain even some insight might not be worthwhile.
Direct traffic source might be impossible to track down, but it’s still valuable in a google search. Spikes in your website direct traffic can indicate your search engine marketing efforts are working effectively towards the website. At the same time, few drops in direct traffic don’t necessarily mean your brand is fizzling out or somebody do not like your brand. It could just mean people are finding you using other means( like keyword search etc)—means your analytics program is capable of detecting the traffic. we need to remember that google analytics reports give us data about the traffic, not answers. Give us a call today and be connected with our Web Design company Trivandrum.