Hi folks,
“Came From” Stats
Your StatCounter “Came From” stats provide you with information about how people are coming to your site.
In your “Came From” stats you will see a list of sites via which visitors come to your site. These sites which refer visitors to your site might be forums, blogs, search engines, directories or websites of any kind that provide links to your site. You may also see entries for “No Referring Link” – we’ll explain what this means in this post.
Indirect and Direct Visitors
Visitors to your website can arrive in two distinct ways. For example:
A Vistor Can Arrive at your site INDIRECTLY by:
- Clicking though to your website from a Search Engine
- Following a link to your site on a blog
- Clicking a link in a forum where someone recommends your site
OR a Visitor Can Arrive at your site DIRECTLY by:
- Typing your web address directly into their browser address bar
- Clicking a bookmarked link to your site in their browser
Indirect Visitors
If a visitor arrives at your site via a search engine, the visitor has been referred to your site by the search engine therefore you will see a referring link from the search engine in your stats.
In other words, you will only see a referring link in your stats, if a visitor has been referred to your site by another website, blog, forum or search engine.
Direct Visitors
If a visitor arrives at your site by typing your website address directly into their browser, the visitor has NOT been referred to your site by any other site, therefore you will see a “No Referring Link” entry in your StatCounter stats.
In other words, if a vistor comes to your site directly (i.e. without being referred to your site by any other site), then there is no referring link for that visitor.
No Referring Link – what’s the significance?
There are a number of reasons why you could have a high proportion of “No Referring Link” entries in your stats. For example:
- People may get to know your web address offline (e.g. in flyers or newspapers) so they simply go directly to your site rather than looking for your site in a search engine.
- You may have a lot of returning visitors who have bookmarked your site so that they can quickly revisit it.
As usual, comments, questions and suggestions welcome!
UPDATE: To ensure that all referring links are captured, you should make sure that you have StatCounter code installed on all pages of your site. It is not sufficient to have StatCounter installed on your homepage only. This is because visitors may enter your site at any page not just your homepage.
Hi,
I have been using statcounter for a year or so, (and re-installed it twice). Everything works great except that I NEVER got any referencing sites. I haven’t installed the html only version (I think???), i have java script enabled… any ideas what’s going on?
thanks a lot!
thanks super
I love the idear of the no refering link, because it will help others to be able to bookmark my site. thanks
Thanks this post.
hi
I just created your tool for my website http:///www.checkandlearn.com .It shows good statistics.But my hosting account shows another statistics.Why i am not getting more statistics using this tool.you are awsome.I recommned this to every one
@ClayVessel: Use a blocking cookie to keep your own computer out of the statcounter log.
hey guys, quick question… I just started running an ad campaign with a new site and i want to see how many people have clicked through to my site total. i know the came from shows how many came from that domain in a small time period but is there a way i can make it show me the total amount of traffic ive gotten from that domain?
thanks!
Aaaaaaahhh.
Makes sense now. Thanks so much for the info and the service.
Keep up the good work StatCounter Team.
Ian
Stat counter is great. I’ve been using it for awhile and would highly recommend it to anyone. Thanks for the great post.
As always, your explanation is very clear. Much appreciated.
Thanks,you so much for this great post
Thanks, I understood completely your information. You have been so clear explaining it. This quality-clarity- is hard to find while looking for meanings in the web world. Appreciate it!
Thanks for usefull information 😀
Excellent information.
nice explanation~
I’d been using statcounter for years now, and had been our day to day companion to check stats where visitor comes from and has been essential asset to us.
Great Post! Even the comments and replies are helpful! I love seeing the Bookmarks (that come from Searches)….they have the original search keywords and the page they originally entered. Gotta love Return Visitors! STATCOUNTER is sooooo Friggin’ cool!
Blessings to STATCOUNTER Owner and Crew!
Penny AKA Sweet Little Angel
Is there any way to have my own computers marked or hidden so that they don’t show up on the stat counter? I have labeled the IP addresses but there are so many…suggestions?
thansk super
Thanks for explaining referring link so clearly. Waiting for a post on exit link 🙂