Direct Traffic

Direct traffic refers to visitors who land on your website by typing the URL directly into their browser or using a saved bookmark. These users bypass search engines and referral links, meaning there is no referrer host or UTM data to identify another marketing source.

What causes direct traffic?

• Repeat visitors - As brand awareness grows, it’s common to see an increase in direct traffic. Saved URLs or bookmarks
• Offline or impression-based marketing - Users may see an advert offline and later search for your brand directly.
• Email marketing - Even when emails contain tracked links, users may read the email and later visit your website directly, bypassing attribution.
• Cross-device browsing - Users visiting your website across multiple devices can break the original tracking path and result in direct attribution.

How to reduce incorrect direct attribution?

• Ensure your tracking tag fires immediately when a user lands on your website so referrer data and URL parameters are captured correctly.
• Use UTM parameters consistently across all marketing campaigns to improve attribution accuracy.

📘

It's worth noting that in your initial setup your direct traffic may be higher than usual due to Ruler not capturing all first click journeys of users, we expect direct traffic to reduce gradually, but it is common to expect a certain level of direct traffic.

If you have any questions or concerns with your Direct traffic reporting, please reach out to a member of the team.