Tracking the Traffic Battle: Google Search vs. ChatGPT Referrals

Ahrefs just rolled out a new public dashboard that tracks referral traffic from two big players: Google Search and ChatGPT. It shows how much traffic websites get from each, updated every month. The first look covers three full months and over 44,000 sites using Ahrefs’ free Web Analytics tool.

Here’s the scoop on July stats: Google still brings in the vast majority of traffic at 41.9%, while ChatGPT trails with 0.19%. But the growth rates tell an exciting story! ChatGPT’s referral traffic jumped by 5.3% that month, compared to Google's 1.4%. While Google’s traffic remains dominant, ChatGPT is growing roughly 3.8 times faster than Google right now.

Ahrefs emphasizes that ChatGPT is creating a whole new traffic channel that didn’t even exist two years ago. That means digital marketing teams and small businesses can start paying attention to this fresh source as it evolves.

The tracker focuses on sites that stayed consistent across all months, so the growth numbers are reliable. However, bear in mind that some AI systems or browsers block referral info, which might cause some AI-driven visits, like from ChatGPT, to slip under the radar.

Bottom line: Google Search still leads by a wide margin, but ChatGPT is carving out a place to bring visitors to websites. This new dashboard lets you keep an eye on both players over time so you can spot trends and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Whether you're running a digital marketing agency or managing a small business, this tracker gives you a handy tool to monitor where your traffic comes from and figure out the impact of AI-powered search traffic. It's a fresh way to understand the evolving landscape of web traffic sources and where opportunities might be headed next. 🚀📊

Happy tracking and adapting!

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