SearchLeeds - Helen pollitt - Discovering the truth in dark traffic

•

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Discovering the truth in dark traffic What it’s about: Google Analytics should bring clarity to your campaigns, but search marketers are increasingly being tricked. Organic traffic masquerading as direct, internal UTM codes corrupting sources and referral channels getting far too much credit; dark traffic is a problem. Helen’s SearchLeeds talk gives you the tools to find the truth from your Google Analytics data, ensuring your insights are based on fact and drive measurable improvements to your campaigns.

Marketing

Helen Pollitt – Head of Digital
DISCOVERING THE TRUTH IN
DARK DATA
@helenpollitt1
Impact from insight

Dark traffic
website visitors
mis-categorised by programs
like Google Analytics
@helenpollitt1

Organic
Traffic through a
search engine but
not from clicking on
a paid
advertisement

Paid
Traffic through a
paid placement or
PPC ad
@helenpollitt1

Referral
Traffic has visited
from an external
link
@helenpollitt1

Other
The “everything else”
bucket
@helenpollitt1

Direct
Traffic has landed on
the page without going
elsewhere first
@helenpollitt1

Visit from a HTTPS website
to your HTTP website
@helenpollitt1

2,644
34,153
Landed on the Homepage or a page 1
folder deep
Landed on a page over 1 folder deep
A lot of people with a
photographic memory
“Direct” traffic to a website
in February 2019
=
@helenpollitt1

Using the
“Google search
bar” on mobile
Should be
“organic” traffic

Using one phone
– traffic counted
as “direct”

Using another
phone – traffic
counted as
“organic”

https://www.avenuedigital.com/en/blog/android-as-direct
@helenpollitt1

@helenpollitt1
EVEN REFERRAL DATA IS
WRONG?

msn.com
uk.search.yahoo.com
ecosia.org
search.bt.com
r.search.aol.com
cn.bing.com
yandex.ru
com.google.android.gm
@helenpollitt1

Email,
940 Organic,
738
Paid, 113
Social, 13
Referral,
9041
“Referral” traffic to a
website in February 2019
17% could be reattributed

35,957 sessions in February
were misattributed out of
288,389
12.47%

Use UTM codes on external
links to your website

Google My Business is
no longer tracked as
direct – but you still
need a UTM code

Mark it in your
Google
Analytics
@helenpollitt1

Comparison data
will be skewed
Your data won’t
compare @helenpollitt1

Impact from insight
FIND OUT MORE
@helenpollitt1
helen.pollitt@avenuedigital.com
avenuedigital.com

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SearchLeeds - Helen pollitt - Discovering the truth in dark traffic

1. Helen Pollitt – Head of Digital DISCOVERING THE TRUTH IN DARK DATA @helenpollitt1 Impact from insight

2. @helenpollitt1

4. Dark traffic website visitors mis-categorised by programs like Google Analytics @helenpollitt1

5. Organic Traffic through a search engine but not from clicking on a paid advertisement

6. Paid Traffic through a paid placement or PPC ad @helenpollitt1

7. Referral Traffic has visited from an external link @helenpollitt1

8. Other The “everything else” bucket @helenpollitt1

9. Direct Traffic has landed on the page without going elsewhere first @helenpollitt1

10. DIRECT IS A LIE! @helenpollitt1

11. Google Analytics isn’t @helenpollitt1

12. Visit from a HTTPS website to your HTTP website @helenpollitt1

13. Encrypted social @helenpollitt1

14. Non-web documents @helenpollitt1

15. Google Home app

16. @helenpollitt1 THE PROBLEM OF DIRECT

17. 2,644 34,153 Landed on the Homepage or a page 1 folder deep Landed on a page over 1 folder deep A lot of people with a photographic memory “Direct” traffic to a website in February 2019 = @helenpollitt1

18. Using the “Google search bar” on mobile Should be “organic” traffic

19.

20.

21. Using one phone – traffic counted as “direct”

22. Using another phone – traffic counted as “organic”

23. https://www.avenuedigital.com/en/blog/android-as-direct @helenpollitt1

24. Credit goes to the wrong

25. Good luck @helenpollitt1

26. @helenpollitt1 EVEN REFERRAL DATA IS WRONG?

27. … misattribution in Google Analytics

28. Common referral sources

29.