So, you’ll see these as “direct” visits as if someone typed in a URL, rather than clicking on a link

people are following tweeted link outside of Twitter aren’t registering, because the applications don’t send any referrer information.

Absent JavaScript on the page, it can be tough to distinguish between a decode event and an actual click-through.

And if JavaScript doesn’t run, then some hosted metrics tools like Google Analytics never realize that your page was viewed.

Click on a link from a tweet in any of the application, & they load web page using their own browsers. Those browser may not run JavaScript.

One key culprit may be that a large number people view web pages using mobile Twitter applications such as Tweetie.

But as much as you think Twitter is driving traffic, it might be sending even more that you’re unable to measure.

Over the past year, I’ve seen many people report that Twitter can send tons of traffic to a web site.

How Twitter Might Send Far More Traffic Than You Think

Bit.ly seems to be overestimating views. But Google Analytics seems to be underestimating them