Referrer vs Sessions Chart
This chart shows where your traffic comes from. Each bar represents a referrer—the website or source that sent visitors to your page. Taller bars mean more sessions from that source.
The horizontal axis lists referrers (Google, Facebook, Direct, other websites). The vertical axis shows total sessions from each source.
How to read the data
Tall bars indicate your strongest traffic sources. These channels send the most visitors to your content.
"Direct" traffic means visitors typed your URL directly, used a bookmark, or came from an untracked source like email links or mobile apps.
Long-tail referrers (small bars on the right) show niche sources. Individually small, but collectively they may represent significant traffic worth understanding.
Setting your filters
Four filters shape this chart:
Domain – Choose which website to analyse if you manage multiple properties.
Pages – Select a specific page to see which sources drive traffic to that page. Select "All Pages" to see overall referrer performance.
Date Range – Choose from 7, 30, 60, or 90 days of data.
Device – View desktop, mobile, tablet, or all devices combined. Traffic sources often vary dramatically by device.
Patterns worth investigating
Single dominant source – If one referrer accounts for most traffic, you're vulnerable. Diversify your acquisition channels.
High sessions, few pages – A referrer sends lots of traffic but only to one or two pages. Explore opportunities to capture more of that audience across your site.
Internal referrers appearing – Your own domain showing as a referrer indicates visitors navigating between pages. High numbers suggest strong internal linking or compelling content paths.
Device-specific sources – Social traffic often skews mobile. Search traffic may favour desktop. Filter by device to understand these patterns.
Direct traffic dominance – High direct traffic suggests strong brand awareness or returning visitors. It may also indicate untracked campaigns—check your UTM tagging.
Taking action
Cross-reference this data with the other Page Analysis charts. A referrer sending high traffic that doesn't convert may indicate mismatched intent—visitors expect something different from what they find.
Filter by device to spot mobile-heavy referrers. These visitors may need different content formatting or faster load times to convert effectively.