Traffic terms in Google Analytics

According to Google Analytics, traffic is the collective word for users or visits that arrive at your website from different sources. This broad phrase refers to the actions people take to visit your website and the journey they take to get there.

Google Analytics recognizes five categories of website traffic, including:

Direct Traffic

These are visitors who likely already know your website because they came to you directly.

Organic Traffic

These are people who come to your website through Search Engine search results (SERP). They use keywords that are relevant to your website content, then your website appears in Google search results.

Generally, to increase the amount of organic traffic in Google Analytics, you need to use SEO services to optimize your company website

Paid Traffic

Paid traffic will only come to your website if you use Google Ads advertising services, such as Google Search Ads, Google Display Ads and other types of Google Ads advertising.

Referral Traffic

These are visits that come from other websites, namely if you are listed in an online directory, or have published a guest post on another site. Referral traffic is basically important for SEO service rankings because it can verify the relevance and prominence of your business for the field. For example, if other credible and relevant websites link to you, Google Algorithms can confirm that you are a reliable source of information for your specific topic, and therefore happily increase your ranking in search results.

Social Traffic

Similar to Referral Traffic, but includes those who have found your website through links on social media platforms. Social Traffic shows the effectiveness of your social media presence. All efforts, whether sharing via social media or using social media ads services, are considered Social Traffic in Google Analytics.