Strange increase in Direct traffic in Google analytics

[InformMedia]

For past 2 weeks, several of our sites have strange increase in direct traffic in Google Analytics. we also have another tracking code, and in this account we don't have any big changes, so this is very strange what is happening. We didn't changed any codes, and none of the changes were done to application.

Any ideas why this is happening?

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[KeriMorgret]

In Google Analytics, I'd also look at the network properties and service providers. I had a similar situation once, and found that an uptime monitoring service was using javascript and triggering Google Analytics. The service was easily identified by the service provider.

You might also look at the Intelligence feature in GA and see if it dives deep enough to give you a clue as to what else shifted during that time other than just the direct visits.

[InformMedia]

Thank you Ryan,

I checked nothing strange on that part, but I don't think this is the case, I suspect some technical issues, as the increase is only in visitors and visits, PI are decreasing, and bounce rate increase from 24% to 85%, time on site decrease from 5 min to 1 min.

So my guess that there is somewhere a code or something that is generating this kind of data. Any other ideas ?

Thank you,

Irina

[RyanKent]

The question you are asking is why has traffic increased to your site. The answer would be take a closer look at Google Analytics for the answer.

Under Map Overlay you can click View Report to get a better idea of where these users are coming from. You can click on the country such as United States, then drill down to the state level such as California, then drill down to the city level. This step can help you identify if the traffic is real.

If you run a site that would normally attract traffic from all over the word, and you see 1000 hits from a certain city, either you published an article which is of great interest to that city "Where to find the best deal in Dallas", or someone is generating traffic on your site by some means in that local area.

GA can help you view your activity from many angles ranging from the above, to the user's monitor size. Take a closer look and then you will gain a better understanding as to why that is happening.