Google Analytics is a great tool for website owners looking to measure and analyze their digital presence, but it can be confusing. It’s important to note that Google Analytics does not, by default, consider all traffic sources as valid sources of data. This can lead to data being excluded from reports, or inaccurate reporting. Here, we'll discuss what traffic sources are not considered by Google Analytics by default.
One of the most common sources not recognized by Google Analytics by default is Social Media traffic. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have their own tracking codes, so GA can’t detect this traffic and include it in analytics reports. If you’d like to track this traffic, you’ll need to use a third-party analytics tool, or use UTM parameters.
Another source of traffic not identified by Google Analytics is direct traffic. Direct traffic can include users who navigate directly to your website, or those who navigate to certain pages via bookmarks. This traffic is hard to identify as it doesn’t come from any other source. Direct traffic is still valid, however, and should be tracked separately.
Google Analytics also does not register search engine traffic that has been manually excluded in the optimization settings. This means if you’ve set up a filter to exclude certain kinds of search engine traffic, this traffic won’t be tracked in your analytics. As with direct traffic, it’s still valid and should be taken into account.
Finally, GA doesn’t consider traffic from internal sources. If a visitor navigates from one of your pages to another, the original source will not be identified in GA. This can skew results in some cases, as the traffic from internal sources is largely valid. In this case, it’s best to consider using event tracking, or another method of tracking internal sources.
In conclusion, Google Analytics does have its limitations in regards to traffic sources. It’s important to understand what traffic sources are not considered by GA by default so you can make sure you’re tracking all valid sources of traffic. This includes Social Media traffic, direct traffic, manually excluded search engine traffic, and traffic from internal sources. Tracking these sources gives you a better idea of your website’s performance and visitors, and helps you optimize your marketing strategy.