What does ‘Keyword not defined’ mean in the Referrers > Search Engines keywords report?“
Keyword not defined” means the search engine did not pass to your website the keyword used by your visitors — Search engines hide the keyword for privacy reasons. This started in early 2012 but now in 2017 there is now a powerful solution to get back your search keywords reports in Matomo (see below!).Some search engines may not specify the keyword used to reach your website (for example Google, DuckDuckGo, Firefox latest version now also removes keywords, etc.). Matomo will by default report the search keyword as “Keyword not defined”. It means that Matomo has detected that the visitor came from a search engine, but the keyword was not provided in the Referrer URL. Matomo addressed this limitation in 2017 and developed a solution that makes it possible to view the keywords visitors used to find your site.How to access your Search Keywordscheck mark icon The Search Engine Keywords Performance premium feature is included in Matomo Cloud plans. On-Premise users can purchase the premium feature on the Matomo Marketplace.
How do I measure marketing campaigns performance? (emails, ads, paid search, social media)
Matomo provides you the tools to track your website performance and goal conversions, and measure your marketing campaigns on multiple channels.
To get started we recommend to:
Create Goals for all important actions you want your users to take to measure conversions on your website.
Use the URL builder to generate links for landing pages for your email links, paid ads landing pages.
Use the Campaigns report to understand how campaigns perform overall, how each campaign generates conversions, and which campaigns help you grow.
Use the multi channel attribution report to understand how each channel contributes to your goals and how they impact conversions, when you get visits from many channels at once (SEO, campaigns, social, other websites…).
Measure the performance of each email you send easily and measure people who click in links in newsletters.
Use the Advertising Conversion Export so you no longer need to put the tracking code for third party ad networks into your site. Your Matomo goal conversion data will be sent back to Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising or Yandex Ads.
What are Referrers?
Cloud On-Premise
Referrers are the sources that lead visitors to your website. They show where a visitor was immediately before arriving on your site. For example:
When someone clicks a link to your site in a news article, the news website is recorded as the referrer.
If a visitor discovers your site through a Google search, Google is the referrer.
A visitor arrives at your site by clicking a link in a Facebook post, Facebook becomes the referrer.
When someone types your URL into the address bar or uses a bookmark, no external source is recorded, and the visit is categorised as a direct entry.
When a visitor reaches your site by following a recommendation from an AI tool such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, or Claude, the traffic is grouped under the AI Assistants channel type. (Available in Matomo On-Premise from version 5.5.0 – coming soon).
Identifying which pages frequently receive referral traffic helps you optimise high-performing entry points and improve underperforming channels to increase engagement and conversions.
Referrer Types in Matomo
Open Matomo > Acquisition > All Channels to view the Referrers reports.
Referrers are automatically categorised into the following channel types with details of each referrer.
1. Search Engines
Visits that originate from organic searches in search engines such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Yahoo.
2. Campaigns
Traffic from links that include tracking parameters, such as mtm_ tags used in email campaigns, paid ads, or banners. These override the default referrer and attribute the visit to a named campaign. Read more about Campaign Tracking.
3. Websites
Visitors who arrive after clicking a link on another site, such as a blog, directory, or affiliate site.
4. Social Networks
Traffic coming from social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or LinkedIn.
5. Direct Entry
Visits with no recorded referrer. This includes people who type your URL directly into their browser,click a saved bookmark, or open a link in a desktop app or untrackable source (e.g. email clients or PDF files).
Why Referrers Matter
Referrer data is essential in web analytics as it reveals where your visitors are coming from.
It helps you understand how users arrive at your site, so you can evaluate the performance of your traffic sources.
Identify which sources consistently drive visits such as search engines, partner websites, or social media platforms. This information supports the management and development of valuable referral relationships.
Use referrer insights to focus on your most effective channels and discover new channels.
Optimise content placement, refine ad creations, or prioritise partnerships based on performance.
Track which campaigns generate the most traffic and evaluate the success of your acquisition strategies.
