Where direct traffic comes from
- Typing the URL, or using a bookmark or the browser history
- Links in apps, PDFs, documents and some email programs that don’t pass on where the visitor came from
- Links from secure (HTTPS) sites to non-secure (HTTP) sites
- Links shared in messages, such as WhatsApp or Slack
- Campaign links without UTM tags, and tracking that is set up wrongly
How to reduce “unknown” direct traffic
Add UTM parameters to links in emails, social posts, ads and QR codes, so those visits are credited to the right channel. A sudden jump in direct traffic is often a sign of a tracking problem or bot traffic rather than real interest in your brand.
Direct traffic example
A company sees direct traffic double in one week and assumes people suddenly know the brand. A check shows that a newsletter changed to a new email tool, and its links lost their UTM tags. The visits were really email. After adding tags, the report shows email traffic back at its normal level and direct traffic unchanged.
How to clean up your direct traffic report
- Add UTM parameters to every link in emails, social posts, ads, PDFs and QR codes.
- Check that your site uses HTTPS everywhere, so referral data are not dropped on redirects.
- Look at which landing pages receive direct traffic. A deep page that nobody would type by hand is probably not truly direct.
- Check for tracking code missing on some pages or after a redirect.
- Filter internal and bot traffic in your analytics.
Direct traffic mistakes
- Treating all direct traffic as brand strength.
- Ignoring a sudden spike and its cause.
- Forgetting that dark social, such as messaging apps, often shows up as direct.
Direct traffic FAQs
Is direct traffic good?
Part of it is people who know you, which is a good sign. The rest is unattributed traffic. See UTM tracking codes.
How does it differ from referral and organic traffic?
See referral traffic and organic search traffic.