AI is already driving traffic to your website, but are you tracking it?
As AI chatbots emerge as sources of website traffic, it’s important to track your website’s AI-driven traffic. And as AI emerges as a new content discovery channel, you can take steps to increase their brand visibility within them.
Luckily, this is easily done in Google Analytics. We’ll show you our favorite way to do this below.
AI Traffic Tracking with GA4 Explorations
You can easily create an Exploration in G4 to see how much traffic is coming from AI and where that traffic is going. We especially like this method because it allows you to see which platforms are sending the traffic and which pages they are sending the traffic to, as well as engagement and conversion metrics once the users are on your site.
Build the report by following these steps:
- Create a new exploration and give it a name, such as “Traffic from AI.”
- Create a segment called “AI Traffic.”
- In the box that says Add new condition choose Page referrer.
- Click the + Add filter button and choose matches regex from the dropdown menu, and copy and paste the value below into the blank box.
^https:\/\/(www\.meta\.ai|www\.perplexity\.ai|chat\.openai\.com|claude\.ai|chat\.mistral\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|chatgpt\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com|copy\.ai|chat\.deepseek\.com|www\.deepseek\.com)(\/.*)?$|.*\.ai.*|.*\.openai.*|.*\.groq.*|.*\.metaai.*|.*\.meta\.com/ai.*|.*\.deepseek.*
- For the Dimensions of this report choose Page referrer and Landing page + query string.
- For the Metrics of this report choose Sessions, Engagement rate, and Session key event rate.
- The end result is pictured in Table form below.
A Note about Explorations Data
The default setting in Google Analytics explorations is set to retain data only for 2 months. You can change this by going to Admin>Data collection and modification>Data retention.
Unfortunately, this change is not retroactive, meaning that even after you change this setting, you still won’t be able to select a longer period than the past 2 months in the explorations tab until new data gets collected.
Get More Traffic from AI Platforms
Now let’s look at steps you can take to increase your traffic from AI platforms.
Make Sure AI is Able to Crawl Your Site.
Regularly check your robots.txt file to make sure you’re not blocking the AI platforms. Since AI crawls your website to learn about and recommend your content, blocked pages may never show up in AI-generated search results.
Make Sure Your Website Clearly Communicates Its Function and Unique Value to a User.
A visitor should be easily able to identify what you do, who you serve, and what makes your business special as soon as they land on your website.
Create Content That Establishes and Reinforces Your Business as an Industry Leader.
Publishing well-researched blogs and guides is a great way to do this. In addition to publishing on your own website, write guest blogs for related businesses' websites and include backlinks to your site. Show off your client testimonials, reviews, and industry awards by displaying them prominently on your site. Update the achievements and certifications of team members on your About page as they come in.
Confirm Your Presence in Online Directories.
Check major platforms, such as Google My Business, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, as well as local directories or community listings. Many small towns have a guide to local businesses, such as this one from Manchester, VT. Find the ones that are relevant to your business and get yourself listed.
Optimize Your Site for Mobile.
Many users are browsing on a mobile device and AI platforms take this into consideration. There are plenty of options if you’d like to test your site and make sure it’s mobile friendly – Sitechecker will run one free test per day.
Pay Attention to Your Page Loading Times.
Both AI and search engines value the user experience, and a speedy website is of utmost importance. Optimize your page loading speed by compressing images, minimizing JavaScript and CSS wherever possible, and leveraging browser caching.
Strike a Conversational Tone in Your Content.
Write in a natural and friendly way to align with the voice of AI and improve your business’s visibility on AI platforms. AI prioritizes human-written content, so writing as though you were speaking with a friend or colleague is sure to resonate.
Build (or Beef Up) Your Video Content Collection.
AI is mirroring a general gravitation towards video content, and the AI platforms are increasingly providing video content in response to user queries. Make some short videos highlighting important aspects of your business. You can host them on YouTube, which is another great channel for reaching your audience.
Monitor Your AI Traffic (Using the AI Traffic Report We Just Created in Analytics).
Adjust your content strategy accordingly.
Why is it Important to Adapt Early to AI Search?
AI-driven search tools are growing exponentially. Optimizing for these platforms early means that you’ll be able to capture this emerging audience while your competitors are still struggling to adapt.
The earlier you establish your presence in AI Search, the more visible your brand, making it easier to build authority and become a trusted source for AI. Once you’re recognized as a credible source for AI, it’s harder for competitors to overtake your position.
Getting in early means you won’t have to catch up later. If your site is AI-friendly now, you can grow with the technology instead of doing a rushed overhaul somewhere down the line because you have to in order for your business to survive.
Ready to meet the moment and optimize your website for AI Search? Get in touch today and let’s get started!
