Google Analytics Question

talk random
1

Hellooo Kirupans,

It’s been a while since my last post, but since you guys are always so helpful, I came right back! I’m having an issue with a client requesting information about their Google Analytics stats.

[SIZE=2]The Setup[/SIZE]
Let’s call the client Widgets, Inc. They have two locations and each location is served from a different URL. Widgets**.com** takes you to the Los Angeles store, and Widgets**.net** takes you to their Santa Monica store (both relatively close in proximity).

[SIZE=3][SIZE=2]The Landing Page[/SIZE][/SIZE]
Widgets**.com** starts with a landing page that displays map of the two locations. Clicking on the Los Angeles store takes you further into the .com site and clicking the Santa Monica store links you directly to Widgets**.net**.
[SIZE=3]**
[SIZE=2]The Advertising[/SIZE]**[/SIZE]
All of the advertising for these stores is blasting the .com URL. There is absolutely no mention of the .net URL in any of the client’s collateral.

[SIZE=2]The Problem[/SIZE]
Now lets say that Widgets**.com gets 3,000 unique visitors in a month.
That same month, Widgets.net** gets 900 unique visitors.

The problem is that Google Analytics tells me that over 90% of the traffic on Widgets**.net** is Direct Traffic. Now, as far as I know, direct traffic means someone directly typed the URL into their address bar and hit enter, or followed it from an old bookmark.

This is one I just can’t seem to explain. Not only is the traffic marked as direct, but I can’t find mention of Widgets**.com** anywhere in the referrals section!

The Final Questions
Should I actually believe that almost all of the traffic to Widgets**.net** is direct, even though we don’t actually use it in our advertising?

Does the 3,000 unique visitors recorded for Widgets**.com** site also include the 900 unique visitors recorded for Widgets**.net**?

Sorry I know this sounds like a lot, and it is a bit complex, but I thank you in advance for your help!

Cheers,
Chris.

2

Now, I could be off base here, but depending on the type of product or service, is it possible that it could be that the traffic is not coming from the campaign, but rather individuals sending around the .net url?

Another consideration is how Google Analytics determines who a unique visitor is. Do they plant a cookie? Do they guess based on user credentials? Depending on this factor, it could be individuals returning to the site from bookmarks and such, after their cookies have been cleared.

3

Well, it’s highly doubtful (simply based on the product) that people would send the URL to friends or family much.

After posting this and thinking about it some more, could it be that Google’s actually doing its job here? Perhaps I’m just not giving them credit…

Is it possible that Google is chalking up the people that transfer to the .net side to the bounce rate? If that’s the case, it sure would explain a lot. It would tell me that the numbers for the .com side are not artificially inflated and would also explain the logic behind not showing any referrals coming from the .com site.

4

That’s probably what it is. Have you considered getting in touch with the Google Analytics team to see if they can explain the situation further?

5

No, not really, but I figured they get a ton of those kinda inquiries…

Heck, I’ll give it a shot and let you know if I get anything back.