<b>Q: Why did my '(direct)/(none)' traffic suddenly spike in GA4?</b>

<b>Q: Why did my '(direct)/(none)' traffic suddenly spike in GA4?</b>

A: Direct is GA4's fallback bucket — a spike usually means lost referrer data, not real direct visits.
— Missing UTM tags on a campaign push that traffic to Direct. Tag every paid/email/social link with <code>utm_source</code> and <code>utm_medium</code>.
— HTTPS→HTTP hops, app webviews, and link shorteners strip the referrer.
— A new redirect or consent banner that blocks the tag until acceptance loses the original source.

Check <code>Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition</code> and segment by landing page to spot which pages feed Direct.

TL;DR: Direct is a catch-all for lost referrers — fix tagging and redirects first.

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