Glenn GabeNov 10, 2022

I've been digging Mastodon, but I noticed something strange when tracking visits from the growing social network. Mastodon is using rel noreferrer on outbound links, so visits will show up as Direct Traffic in GA!

I hope that changes. You can read more in my post on Search Engine Roundtable today: https://www.seroundtable.com/mastodon-rel-noferrer-tracking-34391.html?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-noreferrer&utm_id=34391

#google #analytics #social #seo #data #googleanalytics

Mastodon Is Using Rel Noreferrer On Outbound Links Causing Visits To Appear As Direct Traffic In Google Analytics

With all of the Twitter chaos over the past few weeks, many have been flocking to Mastodon. I signed up last week and many other SEOs have signed up as well. Although there’s a bit of a learning cur

Search Engine Roundtable
Show threadJohn MuellerNov 10, 2022

@glenngabe What would you like it to be, is "origin" the right level? File an issue -- I would love to see more SEOs involved in shaping the platform :).

More on referrer policies, fwiw: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Referrer-Policy#integration_with_html

Referrer-Policy - HTTP | MDN

The HTTP Referrer-Policy response header controls how much referrer information (sent with the Referer header) should be included with requests. Aside from the HTTP header, you can set this policy in HTML.

MDN Web Docs
Show threadDanielle Rohe Nov 10, 2022
@johnmu @glenngabe marketers are going to have to get over tracking everything and everyone. Attribution is somewhat meaningless anyway. But Gen Z are leading the charge on these "dark social" platforms that are smaller and more hidden and going to impact direct traffic, too. https://hbr.org/2020/02/the-era-of-antisocial-social-media
The Era of Antisocial Social Media

When you look at who is — and more importantly, who is not — driving the growth and popularity of social platforms, a key demographic appears to be somewhat in retreat: young people. They’re craving privacy, safety, and a respite from the throngs of people on social platforms (throngs that now usually include their parents), and gravitating toward more intimate destinations. The author has dubbed these “digital campfires.” She outlines three kinds of campfires, including the characteristics of each, as well as how brands are successfully reaching these audiences.

Harvard Business Review
Show threadDanielle Rohe Nov 10, 2022
@johnmu @glenngabe Glenn, what are your thoughts on Discover traffic showing up as Direct?
Show threadJohn MuellerNov 10, 2022
@danielle_r @glenngabe It should be showing as Google Search, it has the generic Google referrer (or rather, should have it :-)).
Show threadDanielle Rohe Mar 22, 2023
@johnmu @glenngabe hi John, again seeing a Discover spike that can't all be bucketed into Google organic traffic. Do the different ways it gets surfaced cause it to get set to a different or no referrer possibly?
Show threadGlenn GabeMar 23, 2023
@danielle_r @johnmu I've seen Discover show up several ways... so very hard to track outside of GSC. e.g. Direct, Googlequicksearchbox, Google Organic, etc.
Show threadDanielle Rohe Mar 23, 2023
@glenngabe @johnmu glad to know it isn't just me. Having an enterprise come down on you for why you can't explain the traffic referral is not fun lol.
Show threadDanielle Rohe Mar 23, 2023
@glenngabe @johnmu basically pointed them to an old article about how there is no specific referrer for Discover and reiterated it surfaces in many ways so that could affect it
Show threadJohn MuellerMar 23, 2023
@danielle_r @glenngabe Yeah, the best way to track this is in Search Console. Maybe connecting the SC BigQuery bulk data export with your analytics would be an option?
Show threadDanielle Rohe 
@johnmu @glenngabe thanks for your response. Unfortunately enterprise protocol/tooling not able to use BQ 😟
Mar 23, 2023 at 6:47pmWeb