The internet is evolving, not only how we use it but also the information that we can get from it. Like web traffic, it is becoming ever more important to branch out to as many areas as possible to reach customers. Traffic is no longer one dimensional; it is about getting traffic and therefore potential customers from multiple sources and understanding how different sources of traffic interact with your website. Simply looking at bottom line traffic volume from various sources of traffic in Google Analytics (GA) is not enough. Numbers don’t lie, but they don’t always paint the most accurate picture either.

If you have a presence in social media, you probably do not see much traffic in your GA data. Does this mean you should abandon your efforts to build your online social media presence? Well, No! Considering that 18% of website visitors acknowledge being influenced by social media to visit a site. In fact, it is closely in line with how people use social media – they are there for social interaction but can still be influenced by companies with solid social media marketing strategies. When it is time for those visitors to find a company, their previous exposure to your company in social media influences their decision to visit your site. They may do a search on Google to find you, and in the raw GA data, Google organic gets credit for the site visit, but it was your social media presence that truly drove that visitor to your site.

The value of website visitors varies between sources of traffic. Establishing a presence across all aspects of the web provides companies with the ability to reach out to all types of visitors. It is important to understand the symbiotic relationship between the different sources of traffic to your website. Keep that in mind the next time you are reviewing traffic sources and matching that up to your external web presence. Overall visits from your social media channels are most likely lower than other sources of traffic, but can be greater in terms of value to your bottom line.