Contents
- What are traffic sources
- Main traffic channels
- Additional traffic sources
- How to track traffic sources
What are traffic sources
Traffic sources are various websites, platforms, and applications that direct users to your site through active links. The main traffic sources include search engines such as Google and Yandex, social networks like Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as email newsletters and many other platforms. These sources are grouped into so-called traffic channels, which allow for organizing and analyzing the different paths through which users access your resource.
For example, Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki are separate traffic sources, but together they form a common channel — social networks. The division into channels helps to manage marketing strategies more effectively and analyze data.
Main traffic channels
Direct traffic
Direct traffic occurs when a user enters the URL of your site directly into the browser's address bar. This type of traffic also includes bookmarked pages and addresses that are easy to remember. Companies strive to create short and memorable domain names, such as ozon.ru or yandex.ru, to increase direct traffic volume.
Organic Search
Organic search is one of the most significant traffic channels, involving users who visit your site through search results in search engines like Google, Yandex, and Bing. When someone searches for information, the search engine provides results with links to pages where the needed information can be found. For example, when searching for information about a "media plan," users may see results with links to various resources.
Paid Search
Paid search advertising in search engines is another key source of traffic. Services like Yandex Direct and Google Ads allow companies to place ads, helping them attract their target audience. Commercial queries are often accompanied by the display of ads, increasing the company's visibility.
Referral traffic
Referral traffic is generated when users come to your site from other resources. For example, if you sell smartphones and users visit your site after reading reviews on specialized platforms, this would be referral traffic.
Social traffic
Social traffic can come from posts on official brand pages, paid advertising, and collaborations with bloggers. Social networks like Vkontakte provide opportunities to promote products through organic and paid promotion.
Additional traffic sources
In addition to the main channels, companies can gain additional traffic from various sources, depending on their field of activity. For example, online stores can benefit from:
- Review sites: Platforms where users share opinions about products and services.
- Online magazine reviews: Articles written by journalists or users that can lead to increased traffic.
- Price comparison systems: Websites that collect pricing information from various online stores.
- Sponsored articles: Paid publications in media read by the target audience.
- Coupon sites: Resources that feature discounts on products for which companies pay to attract customers.
How to track traffic sources
Tracking traffic sources is done using web analytics systems, such as Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica. These tools provide detailed information about the number of users, their actions on the site, and the channels through which they arrived. Some channels are tracked automatically, while others require the use of special tags, such as UTM tags, to get accurate information about transitions.
An example of a UTM tag: https://www.example.com/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=spring_sale. By using such tags, it is possible to effectively analyze the performance of advertising campaigns and promotion strategies, which will help in further improving marketing efforts.