Correctly interpret the medium of origin.
Browsers send the address of the previously visited website from which a link to the currently requested page was followed in the so-called referer header. Based on the URL contained, the source of origin is automatically classified as type-in, link/referrer, social media or SEO when the link does not contain any (etracker or UTM) campaign parameters. Based on campaign parameters, the automatic assignment can be overridden. That is, the parameter information trumps the automatic assignment.
All accesses that do not contain referrer or medium parameter information are assigned to the medium type-in. These are often referred to as direct traffic. In addition to entering the URL in the browser, type-in visits can also be caused by using bookmarks or the history. In order to prevent cross-site tracking, referer strings are increasingly shortened, removed or falsified by browsers (spoofing). Therefore, increases in type-in visits can be explained by both real direct visits and technical causes.
The allocation to SEO and social media takes place on the basis of lists that are continuously updated. SEA visits can only be distinguished from SEO visits if the ads are provided with etracker suffix information.