← DictionaryTraffic Source
also called source, channel report
Where a visit originated from.
Where the visitor came from.
What It Is
Traffic Source belongs to Measurement, specifically the Attribution part of it. In practice it means this: where a visit originated from.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Used with that meaning, it stays a working tool rather than a talking point.
How It's Used
You will usually meet Traffic Source in reporting, analytics reviews and the arguments about what the numbers mean. It rarely travels alone — expect it next to Organic Traffic, Direct Traffic and Referral Traffic. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Traffic Source is cheap to get right early and awkward to fix late. When it is unclear, reporting becomes a matter of opinion. The businesses that treat it seriously spend less time redoing work.
It is a label people agree on so they stop describing the same thing five different ways. Where the visitor came from.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
In agency and in-house rooms, Traffic Source means exactly where a visit originated from.
In plain conversation it comes out as where the visitor came from.
The Bottom Line
The practical takeaway on Traffic Source: where the visitor came from. Judge it by that, not by how it sounds.