In internet terms, “traffic” simply means website visitors. For example, if people view your newsletter through a Facebook post, that’s considered Facebook traffic.
The “source” refers to how each visitor found your newsletter. In other words: Where did this visitor come from?
Visitors can arrive from many different sources, such as:
- Facebook posts
- Links on other websites
- Google search results
- Your email campaigns
- And more
In Smore Analytics, we categorize each visitor based on their entry point and assign them to one of the sources listed under Incoming.
Click on View Analytics, and then select Traffic Sources.
Types of Traffic Sources
Smore defines 6 main source types that show where your visitors are coming from:
1. Website: Visitors arrive from a link on another website.
Example: If a blog links to your newsletter and someone clicks it, their source will show as Website. These are sometimes referred to as referrals or referral traffic.
2. Email: Visitors who open your Smore newsletter directly from an email.
This is only counted if you used the Share with Email tool. Once the newsletter is opened from the recipient’s email app, the view is recorded as an Email source.
3. Direct: Visitors who type your newsletter’s URL directly into their browser.
Example: Typing abc.com into the browser and pressing Enter will count as a Direct visit. In some cases, apps (like social networks or email apps) may mask their referral information for privacy reasons; visiting appears as Direct.
4. Smore: Visits that come from within the Smore network of newsletters are classified as Smore visits.
5. Facebook / 6. Twitter: When you share your newsletter on Facebook or Twitter, any clicks from those posts will be tracked as Facebook or Twitter sources.
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