Huge difference in direct traffic between Matomo and Google Analytics

Hello,

We've been experiencing a huge difference in the direct traffic reported by Matomo and Google Analytics. The one from Matomo is almost 3-4x bigger than the one reported by GA.

We've been trying to figure out why is that and how both platforms measure direct traffic.
Has anyone else experienced this and what's been the outcome?

Would love to hear any suggestions/ advice on how to proceed further/ what else to check on.

 

waooo , always thought that GA works well , interesting....

 

It is "normal". All tools have different ways of measuring traffic, along with using different metrics. Maybe in your case since the gap is so huge I'd suggest there may be any implementation issue.

 

Differences in session timeout or campaign timeout settings between GA and Matomo can affect how direct traffic is reported. If Matomo's session timeout is longer, it might continue to count as direct traffic sessions that GA would start attributing to a new source.
Also, ensure both GA and Matomo tracking codes are implemented correctly and uniformly across your site. Discrepancies in implementation can lead to variations in traffic reporting.

 

Verify the tracking implementation on both platforms to ensure accuracy.
Check if there are any filters or discrepancies that could be causing the discrepancy.

 

There are a couple of reasons why you might see a big difference in direct traffic between Matomo and Google Analytics:

Different Traffic Buckets: Matomo might label some visits as "direct" that Google Analytics assigns to a previous marketing campaign (lasting up to 6 months). Essentially, Matomo might be stricter in classifying traffic as "direct" with no prior source.
Setup Discrepancies: Double-check if both platforms are configured identically. Any inconsistencies in capturing referral traffic can skew the numbers.