Traffic Analysis
Analyze where site visitors come from, fix dark direct traffic, and improve channel attribution reporting.
Overview
traffic-analysis is an agent skill for the Grow phase that analyzes website traffic sources, dark traffic, and multi-channel attribution.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --skill traffic-analysisWhat is this skill?
- Covers organic, paid, social, referral, direct, and email traffic sources
- Dark traffic identification for visits labeled Direct / None
- UTM tagging and segmenting guidance for cleaner attribution
- Branded vs non-branded organic traffic comparison table
- Points to analytics-tracking skill for GA4 setup when needed
- Metadata version 1.1.1 documented in SKILL.md frontmatter
Adoption & trust: 829 installs on skills.sh; 586 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You see traffic in analytics but cannot trust which channels actually drive visits and conversions because direct and untagged campaigns hide the truth.
Who is it for?
Founders post-launch who need to interpret GA-style reports, fix UTMs, and compare organic brand vs non-brand performance.
Skip if: First-time GA4 property setup or implementation-only tracking work—use analytics-tracking for that scope instead.
When should I use this skill?
User wants traffic source analysis, dark traffic, UTM or channel attribution, or mentions traffic analysis, traffic diversification, or organic vs paid traffic.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a structured channel view, dark-traffic hypotheses, and attribution improvements you can apply in reporting and campaign tagging.
- Channel-by-channel traffic interpretation
- Dark traffic diagnosis and tagging recommendations
- Branded vs non-branded organic insights for funnel planning
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
How it compares
Use this analysis playbook instead of guessing channel mix from a single Direct traffic spike.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is traffic-analysis for?
Solo builders and marketers running content sites, SaaS, or stores who need clearer traffic source and attribution insight without a full analytics agency.
When should I use traffic-analysis?
Use it when discussing traffic sources, dark traffic, direct traffic, UTM parameters, channel attribution, traffic diversification, or organic vs paid benchmarks in the Grow analytics phase.
Is traffic-analysis safe to install?
It is guidance-only analytics methodology with no built-in credential exfiltration; review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before installing any skill from the repo.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Traffic Analysis
# Analytics: Traffic Guides website traffic analysis across all channels (organic, paid, social, referral, direct). Covers traffic source attribution, dark traffic identification, and multi-channel reporting. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Scope - **Traffic sources**: Organic, paid, social, referral, direct, email - **Dark traffic**: Unattributed visits labeled as "Direct / None" - **Attribution**: UTM tagging, segmenting, reporting accuracy ## Branded vs. Non-Branded Traffic (Organic) | Type | Characteristics | |------|-----------------| | **Branded** | Higher CTR, conversion, purchase intent; users closer to funnel bottom | | **Non-branded** | Touchpoint with future users; most sites get more non-brand traffic; competition fiercer | Brand traffic grows over time as brand awareness increases. ## Bot Traffic A large share of traffic can be **bot traffic**—RPA, search crawlers, spiders, scrapers. Exclude or segment when evaluating real user behavior; use GA4 filters or segments to isolate human traffic. ## Traffic Channels | Channel | Typical Sources | Attribution | |---------|-----------------|-------------| | **Organic** | Google, Bing, other search | Referrer preserved | | **Paid (web)** | Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc. | UTM required | | **Paid (app)** | App install ads; Google App Campaigns, Apple Search Ads | UTM; in-app events | | **Paid (TV/CTV)** | Streaming ads; Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV | UTM for QR/URL; brand lift | | **Social** | Public posts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) | Often preserved | | **Referral** | External sites, backlinks | Referrer preserved | | **Direct** | Typed URL, bookmarks | No referrer | | **Email** | Newsletters, campaigns | Often dark without UTM | ## Dark Traffic ### What It Is Traffic without clear origin--analytics tools default to "Direct" when referrer is missing. Common causes: - **Private/dark social**: WhatsApp, Messenger, Slack, Discord, TikTok shares - **Email clients**: Many strip referrer headers - **HTTPS->HTTP**: Referrer not passed - **Mobile apps**: In-app browsers often omit referrer - **Ad blockers, privacy tools**: Block tracking ### Misattribution (Research) When traffic was sent from known sources, analytics often misattributed: - **100% as direct**: TikTok, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Mastodon - **75%**: Facebook Messenger - **30%**: Instagram DMs - **14%**: LinkedIn public posts - **12%**: Pinterest ### Mitigation | Action | Purpose | |--------|---------| | **UTM parameters** | Tag links in emails, social, campaigns: `?utm_source=X&utm_medium=Y&utm_campaign=Z` | | **Block internal IPs** | Exclude company visits from reports | | **Segment direct traffic** | Split by page type to estimate dark vs. genuine direct | ### Segmenting Direct Traffic 1. **Expected direct**: Homepage, short URLs, brand pages--likely real direct 2. **Unexpected direct**: Long URLs, deep pages, product pages--likely dark traffic 3. **Report separately**: Use segments in GA4/analytics to avoid overcounting direct ## Attribution for Channel Optimization Ads, growth channels, and medium can be optimized by viewing **attribution data**. Clean UTM + conversion tracking feeds attribution models; reliable attribution drives budget allocation and channel decisions. | Use | Action | |-----|--------| | *