As experts in search engine optimization (SEOs) as a team, we share a common goal: improve the amount of organic traffic we can get for our clients. We improve the signals that rise the popularity to our customers’ (or ourselves’) websites, so that more people will are able to find them and visit them.
But what happens if a portion or all of it (or perhaps many it) isn’t correctly attributed and you’re not receiving recognition for the work?
It’s a mystery Watson!
However, Google My Business (GMB) clicks suffer from an issue with attribution. We’ve encountered cases in which hundreds, or even thousands in monthly GMB clicks are wrongly classified to “direct” in Google Analytics.
If someone clicks on the Google My Business link from an mobile device, it’s likely to show as direct and not organic. As mobile searches continue to increase it is an issue that won’t be solved.
It’s not necessary to wear your detective hat to find proof that you’re getting higher organic visitors that Google Analytics is showing; you only need to modify the URL of your site.
By adding to your site an Urchin tracking module (UTM) to make the site to be branded the source as “organic” lets you take the credit for the work you’ve put into. You can add an UTM number to your customized URL, and track the promotion of content and the outcome will be displayed the outcome in Google Analytics and report where the searchers originated from.
Simply include:
?utm_source=GMBlisting&utm_medium=organic
until the point where you have finished the link on to the end of your website link in your Google My Business account You’re ready to go! Each click that you make to the GMB link will appear it as a natural click on Google Analytics.
The mystery continues to unfold there.
Google recently launched Google Posts which has caused the issue of click attribution is now affecting Google Posts as well. If you’re together or experimenting with Google Posts, keep an watchful eye on the data for clicks because, based on my observation, it does not seem to be correlated.
There is a suspicion it is possible that clicks from organic sources are considered direct traffic. It functions exactly the same way as the web link on Google My Business: You need to include UTM tracking if you wish to be certain that the traffic is accurately attributed as organic.
The excellent option is to utilize the “utm_campaign” variable to give each Google Post a unique link and set the source as “GooglePost” and the medium remaining being set as “organic.”
The latest Google Search Console provides more information
Everybody has access to the latest version Google Search Console. It lets you filter clicks and only show clicks on websites with UTM parameters. Go to the Search Traffic tab, then Search Analytics and then click the radio beside “Pages” and enter “UTM” into the box. The graph of clicks will be calibrated and display all clicks, for any topic including UTM hyperlinks.
Now you’re aware that you’re receiving your share of the rewards for each your organic visits. And the two Google Analytics and Search Console are sharing that data. You’ll appear impressive to your customers (or even your employer) and it’s easier to show the value for your work.
