Direct vs Organic Traffic Sources - Know the Difference!
Hey, I am Lula.
How to classify traffic?
Like Google Analytics, web analytics platforms utilize an algorithm and flow chart based on referring sites or URL parameters determining the source of traffic.
Direct, as the referrer or origin is unknown.
Email marketing traffic appropriately tagged with an email parameter
Organic traffic from search engines, results that are earned, not paid
Paid from search engines that result from paid advertising via Google AdWords or another paid media platform.
Referral when a user finds our site other than search engines.
Social traffic from social media platforms.
"Other" is traffic that does not fit into another source.
Direct traffic is people inputting a direct URL into the browser.
How's it derived?
Internal employees are visiting their company site and not having their IP filtered from web analytics.
Customers are logging into a customer portal on site.
Actual direct traffic, folks who know your brand, enter URL directly into their browser or have URL bookmarked.
Email clicks from email service providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook to not pass on referring information.
Click from mobile apps or desktop software, programs such a Skype
Traffic from a secure (HTTPS) site to non-secure (HTTP) will not pass referral information.
Organic traffic is visitors landing on our site's pages from search engines.
Like Google and Bing. Our sites are driven by SEO; the better we rank for low competition keywords, the more organic traffic will result. Updating the blog with 2 - 3 posts a week consistently and optimized for search will see a steady increase in traffic and improved positioning in SERPs. It is also essential to track keywords and high-ranking pages to identify SEO opportunities to leverage. Using data, we can track results and correlate efforts to actual ROI.
Apologies if anything isn't correct; please advise.
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Recent Comments
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We must work a lot properly on our site to attract organic traffic. It is the best and most willing to leave in our pockets money.
Thank you Lula!
Lula please don't die, we will work with you when we have resources to the same. You just enlightened me and I say thank you so much!
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1. Direct Traffic:
1.1 Referrer or origin is unknown.
1.2 Users input a direct URL into their browser.
Sources of Direct Traffic:
1.3 Internal employees visiting their company’s site without having their IP filtered from web analytics.
1.4 Customers logging into a customer portal on the site.
1.5 Actual direct visitors who know the brand, enter the URL directly, or have it bookmarked.
1.6 Email clicks from services like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook (no referring information passed).
1.7 Clicks from mobile apps or desktop software (e.g., Skype).
1.8 Traffic from secure (HTTPS) sites to non-secure (HTTP) sites (referral information not passed).
2. Email Marketing Traffic:
2.1 Tagged appropriately with an email parameter for identification.
3. Organic Traffic:
3.1 Visitors land on the site's pages via search engines like Google and Bing.
3.2 This traffic is earned, not paid.
3.3 SEO-driven traffic increases as the site ranks better for low competition keywords.
3.4 Regular blog updates (2-3 posts per week) optimized for search can lead to consistent organic traffic growth.
3.5 Tracking keywords and high-ranking pages helps identify SEO opportunities.
3.6 Data tracking allows correlation of efforts to actual ROI.
4. Paid Traffic:
4.1 Visitors coming from paid advertising, such as Google AdWords or other paid media platforms.
5. Referral Traffic:
5.1 Traffic from external websites, excluding search engines.
6. Social Traffic:
6.1 Traffic from social media platforms.
7. Other Traffic:
7.1 Any traffic that does not fit into another specific source category.