What to change
Treat the platform label as a classification with limitations. Review known unlabelled entry sources such as shared documents, messages and printed materials, then improve future link labelling where it serves a useful purpose. Do not retroactively allocate unknown visits based on intuition. The report should distinguish what the system observed from the analyst's hypothesis, especially when budget decisions depend on whether a campaign contributed to the apparent increase.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative test: A manager can identify which claims come from recorded labels and which remain uncertain. A rise in direct traffic may coincide with an unlabelled PDF circulated outside the website. That is a plausible explanation, not a measured allocation of every unknown visit. The analyst audits the distributed link and improves future labelling where useful. The management report retains the distinction between observed classification and hypothesis, so a budget discussion does not treat an appealing story as established evidence of the PDF's contribution.
What this means for your practice
Direct is a reporting classification, not proof that someone typed your domain into a browser. Unlabelled links in messages, documents or printed materials can leave source information unavailable. Ask the analyst to explain what the platform observed and keep proposed explanations separate from measured facts. Review known distributed links and improve future labelling where it serves a useful reporting purpose. Do not retrospectively assign unknown visits to a favoured campaign by intuition. This distinction matters when the practice is judging where to invest effort: an honest unresolved category is more useful than a precise-sounding account of visitor behaviour that the evidence cannot establish.
How to check the result
The narrative does not equate unavailable source information with one known visitor behaviour.
A mistake to avoid
A plausible explanation is not the same as measured attribution.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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