Understanding Direct Traffic in Ruler

Direct traffic refers to visitors who arrive on your website without a detectable referring source.

This can happen when someone types your website address directly into their browser or uses a saved bookmark. However, a visitor can also appear as direct traffic when the original marketing source cannot be identified.

When a visit does not contain referrer information or identifiable campaign parameters, Ruler may attribute the journey as Direct.

What Causes Direct Traffic?

There are several reasons why visitors may be attributed to Direct traffic.

Repeat Visitors

As brand awareness grows, it is natural to see an increase in direct traffic. Customers who are already familiar with your brand may return to your website using a saved bookmark, browser history, or by entering your website address directly.

Offline or Impression-Based Marketing

Someone may see your brand through offline advertising, such as a billboard, TV advert, printed material, or other channels, and later visit your website directly.

Similarly, a user may see an online advert without clicking it and subsequently visit your website directly. Depending on the attribution model being used, the original advertising interaction may not be identifiable as the source of the visit.

Email Marketing

Email links can be tracked using UTM parameters, but this does not guarantee that every visit originating from an email will be attributed to the email campaign.

For example, a customer may read an email, remember your brand, and later type your website address directly into their browser.

Cross-Device Browsing

Customers often interact with businesses across multiple devices. For example, a user may first discover your business on their mobile phone but later visit your website from a desktop computer.

If the original tracking information cannot be connected across those devices, the subsequent visit may appear as Direct traffic.

Untagged Links and Other Sources

Direct attribution can also occur when links are shared without tracking parameters or when referral information is not passed between websites.

Examples can include:

• Untagged email links
• Links in PDFs or documents
• Messaging apps
• Some social or community platforms
• Redirects between websites
• Privacy or browser restrictions that prevent referrer information from being passed

How Can I Reduce Incorrect Direct Attribution?

While some Direct traffic is expected, there are steps you can take to improve attribution accuracy.

Ensure Your Ruler Tracking Tag Loads Correctly

Ensure the Ruler tracking tag is installed correctly and fires as early as possible when a visitor lands on your website.

This allows Ruler to capture available referral information and campaign parameters at the beginning of the customer's journey.

Use UTM Parameters Consistently

Use UTM parameters consistently across your marketing campaigns, particularly for channels where referral information may not be reliably passed.

For example, ensure links used in email campaigns, paid social campaigns, newsletters, and other marketing activities contain the appropriate UTM parameters.

Check Your Redirects

If your website or marketing campaigns use redirects, ensure that these are not removing UTM parameters or other referral information before the visitor reaches your website.

Create Custom Sources

Some channels may not report as an out the box channel in your Ruler reports and need to be configured as a Custom source first. See details on creating custom sources here.

Direct Traffic During Initial Setup

When you first set up Ruler, you may see a higher proportion of Direct traffic than expected.

This can occur because Ruler may not yet have captured the full history of a customer's previous marketing interactions, particularly where those interactions occurred before Ruler tracking was implemented.

As Ruler begins capturing more customer journeys, you may see Direct traffic reduce over time.

However, some level of Direct traffic is normal and should be expected. Not every customer journey will have an identifiable marketing source.

Need Help?

If you have questions or concerns about your Direct traffic reporting, please contact a member of the Ruler team. We can help review your tracking setup and investigate any unexpected changes in attribution.