Notifications
You currently have no notifications!
Search
Menu
Close Menu

How can we help you?

Tell us more about your query, we'd be happy to help.
Reference:
How did you hear about us?:
 *
 *
 *
Open
Menu
IRP Ecommerce Fundamentals (9)
Open
IRP Ecommerce Financial Secrets (5)
Open
Build, Manage & Grow (3)
Open
Marketing & Acquisition (9)
Close
Conversion & Retention (13)
Open
IRP Analytics & Reporting (1)
Open
IRP Research (13)
Open
IRP White Papers (4)
Open
Inspiration & Opinion (12)
Open
The IRP Platform (2)
Open
Growth in direct traffic is a healthy sign

Direct Traffic

Direct traffic grows as general web traffic grows and it can form a large percentage of total traffic and sales. The importance of the direct channel lies in the fact that it is an unallocated source of traffic.
Author
4 min read

The direct channel in ecommerce is often explained in terms of someone entering the domain name of a website in a web browser in order to arrive at the site.

For example, if I open a browser, type in ‘www.amazon.com’ and subsequently make a sale, the sale will be allocated to a direct sale in analytics.

Types of direct traffic

Direct traffic can also be explained in terms of someone avoiding all marketing channels that can be tracked.

Therefore the direct channel covers a few more scenarios than that described above. For example, direct traffic can mean that:

  • A visitor clicked a link to your website inside a PDF.
  • A visitor clicked a link to your website in an email footer.
  • A visitor clicked a link inside an email (unless it was from one of your analytics-integrated email marketing service provider campaigns).
  • A visitor clicked on a shortened URL (sometimes).
  • A visitor has your site bookmarked.
  • Some unusual code-based linking has occurred (some meta refresh and JavaScript style forwarding).
  • Certain browser security configurations may have made it appear that traffic is direct.

Despite these other types, we should consider that the majority of direct traffic comes from someone typing in the website’s domain name, using a bookmark or coming from an untrackable source such as an email client.

As traffic is marked as direct in Google Analytics, it is easy to get the appropriate numbers for this channel.

The importance of the direct channel

The importance of the direct channel lies in the fact that it is an unallocated source of traffic. The consumer has evidently found the website through some other means, otherwise how could they type in the URL or use a bookmark?

Direct traffic grows as general web traffic grows and it can form a large percentage of total traffic and sales.

Growth in direct traffic is a healthy sign. It can be safely assumed that if a company has carried out little offline marketing (advertising outside of online sources such as TV, billboard, brochures, leafleting and so forth), 99% of the direct traffic has come from one of the other traffic channels.

Statistically it can be useful to view direct traffic as sales that need to be reallocated to other online marketing channels and it will reduce the CPA of other online marketing that a company is doing.

Summary

  • Direct traffic is traffic that cannot be allocated or that has come directly to the site.
  • Growth in direct traffic is a healthy sign for a business.
  • It may be useful to view direct traffic sales as sales that need to be reallocated to other online marketing channels.

In the IRP World, we record the sales against this channel. These sales have a cost of zero.

- ADDITIONAL READING
- COMMENTS
You must be logged in to comment on this article. Click here to Login to the IRP World
- MORE ARTICLES
Live Market Data
Today v Yesterday 0.05%
November 2024 v November 2023 11.50%
YTD 2024 v 2023 8.48%
Arts and Crafts 0.20%
Baby & Child 0.55%
Cars and Motorcycling 0.05%
Electrical & Commercial Equipment 1.39%
Fashion Clothing & Accessories 0.16%
Food & Drink 0.26%
Health and Wellbeing 0.24%
Kitchen & Home Appliances 0.00%
Pet Care 0.04%
Sports and Recreation 0.11%
Toys, Games & Collectables 0.20%

Copyright © 2024 IRP Commerce. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of the IRP World Acceptable Use Policy, IRP World Terms of Use, IRP Privacy Policy and IRP Cookie Policy

IRP Commerce Limited, Concourse 3, Catalyst, BT3 9DT, UK. Company Number: NI 041856. VAT Number: GB 888249658
A Deloitte Fast 50 Company eight times: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 & 2020