As a marketer, you may not consider the case of Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road as newsworthy, or necessarily pertinent to how it can help further your position in the industry. You probably recognize the important role that the dark web/ dark social plays in online activity, but you're not exactly sure what that has to do with your bottom line.
Ulbricht's ultimate sentence of life with no chance of parole has brought unprecedented visibility to the consequences and complexities of anonymous online activity. As marketers, we need to take note of the potential impacts of dark web browsing, and the dark social sharing taking place off of the traceable map.
As a break down, dark web activity occurs via software like the Tor browser (including Facebook's own Tor address). While typically associated with unlawful or illegal activity, we need to consider users who are simply looking to maintain their privacy during online browsing sessions. Let's face it, the internet is a scary place when it comes to audience data and monitoring.
Conversely, dark social refers to the sharing of content that happens in private communication channels. Dark social is associated with copying and pasting URLS through email, instant messengers, and some mobile applications. It's made accurately tracking referral sources quite difficult.
Are my content analytics really being affected by dark social?
We rely on data to inform our decisions. We've set up intricate reporting systems through tools like Google Analytics to help us track and pinpoint data so we can better understand how to optimize our content. That includes things like:
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User demographics
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Behavior flow
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Content engagement
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Conversion goals
And all of these data points eventually lead you back to... source!
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Where did the user come from?
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Were they attached to a specific campaign?
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Was there intent to search the content?
There's a problem when we aren't able to account for, or identify the traffic sources we're using to inform our decisions. With dark social, we lack the ability to define important attributions that we are turning around and using to spearhead our marketing and growth initiatives. This directly affects content business goals.
What can I do to correctly identify dark social traffic?
It's reported that dark social gets lumped in with your direct traffic data. These users, without referral info, appear for a few reasons Users arrive at your site from a link not containing UTM parameters (from the sources we discussed above), or they've copied, pasted and shared a URL with a UTM tag, producing inaccurate attribution data as sharing spreads.
Here's how you can more accurately report the organic sharing taking place:
Segment dark social traffic and set up stronger UTM tags
1) Set up an advanced segment in Google Analytics for dark social traffic
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Set your criteria by traffic sources
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Identify all users who came to your website via direct traffic but didn't go through the homepage
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Determine patterns or any inconsistencies
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Create additional custom segments for different campaigns you are tracking with UTM parameters
2) Use the Google Analytics URL Builder / (Chrome Extension)
Examples for each parameter:
Campaign Source (utm_source) |
Required. Use utm_source to identify a search engine, newsletter name, or other source. Example: utm_source=google |
Campaign Medium (utm_medium) |
Required. Use utm_medium to identify a medium such as email or cost-per- click. Example: utm_medium=cpc |
Campaign Term (utm_term) |
Used for paid search. Use utm_term to note the keywords for this ad. Example: utm_term=running+shoes |
Campaign Content (utm_content) |
Used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to the same URL. Examples: utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink |
Campaign Name (utm_campaign) |
Used for keyword analysis. Use utm_campaign to identify a specific product promotion or strategic campaign. Example: utm_campaign=spring_sale |
3) Use copy and paste tools to track dark social shares
Different services:
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Tynt - allows you to attach meta-data to the text any user copies from your blog with a URL
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GetSocial - tracks social media in SMS, chat or copy & paste URL
How can I manage activity taking place on the dark web?
With online audiences seeking software like the Tor browser, and tools like DuckDuckGo to keep user data from being tracked, it's clear the shift for more secure web browsing is in motion. While we can improve our systems of data reporting until we're blue in the face, the only way to manage dark web activity is through a fundamental change in user privacy online, with education to support that.
Here are some things we should all be doing to deter users from dark web browsing:
1) Offer a transparent and easy to understand privacy policy
2) Use double opt-in features whenever necessary
3) Ensure that user information is safe and protected by secure data technology
4) Develop risk management programs to resolve / minimize data breach
5) Educate audiences about the utility and value of certain data tracking systems
6) Use the dark web and social information to your advantage
In the field of digital, things are always changing. That's why when opportunities for acceleration arise, we jump on them. That's not to say that we haven't missed hidden leads and opportunities buried under the surface (under poor data). There's an abundance of information waiting to be capitalized on, and it's already sitting in Google Analytics.
Keep in mind that growth in the marketplace is becoming more dependent on our position as thought-leaders. Get in front of the lack of proper education and mistrust surrounding topics of internet privacy, and advocate for data protection and safety. As these issues continue to inflate, you'll be recognized in your industry for respectable security and privacy practices.