Impact of no-referrer policy on Adobe Analytics Data

[AmanGupta21]

Hello Members,

Wishing you all a very happy New Year !

I would like to take assistance on one case I am facing in my project wherein the application team has implemented the no-referrer policy in Request Headers for the pages. After researching I found that it is going to impact below features in Adobe Analytics :- 

a) Dropping of Search Engine related data
b) Dropping of UTM Parameters
c) Dropping of All Query String Parameters
d) Incorrect Marketing Channel reports

I would like to know in what all other ways this no-referrer policy can impact Adobe Analytics Data and how can we fix the issue keeping the policy as no-referrer ?

[DanIMS1]

Hi @AmanGupta21,

A strict no-referrer policy will have a material impact on Adobe Analytics data quality, and the effects will go beyond the four points you have already identified.
Here are some more points of impact:

1. Loss of External Referrer Attribution (Beyond Search Engines)
   With no-referrer, all inbound traffic loses its referring URL, not just search engines.
   It impacts:
   .Social media traffic appears as Direct
   .Email clicks (non-tagged) appear as Direct
   .Affiliate and partner referrals are lost
   .Display traffic without explicit campaign parameters is misclassified
   
   This results in Direct traffic inflation, which then cascades into inaccurate attribution and conversion reporting.
   
   
2. Breakdown of Attribution Models
   Any attribution model that relies on referrer or campaign persistence is affected.
   This affects:
   .Conversion Funnels
   .Assisted Conversions
   .Attribution IQ / Attribution panels
3. Marketing Channel Processing Rule Failures
   Marketing Channels rely on ordered logic, so with no-referrer:
   .Rules evaluating Referring Domain never match
   .Channels such as Natural Search, Social, Referral, Affiliates fail
   .Traffic falls through to fallback rules (usually Direct or Internal)
   
   
4. Entry Page & Landing Page Analysis Degradation
   While the landing page itself is still captured, context is lost as you now have the inability to understand why a user landed on a page.
   
   
5. Cross-Domain & Ecosystem Tracking Issues
   If your ecosystem spans multiple domains referrer suppression prevents Analytics from identifying external domain transitions. This is especially problematic for payment gateways.
   
   

Since the policy cannot be changed, all acquisition context will need to be made explicit. You will need to enforce the following:

1. Mandatory Campaign Tagging
   All inbound links must carry campaign parameters, not just paid media.
   Best practice is to use utm_* or Adobe campaign variables (cid).
   
   Enforce tagging via:
   .Media agencies
   .CRM / Email tools
   .Social publishing platforms
   .Affiliate links
   
   Without this, traffic attribution is impossible under no-referrer.
   
   
2. Rely on Explicit Channel Identifiers
   Instead of referrer-based logic, redesign Marketing Channel rules to prioritise:
   .Campaign ID presence
   .Dedicated channel parameters (e.g. channel=social)
   .Paid media identifiers (gclid, fbclid, msclkid)

[AmanGupta21]

Thanks @DanIMS1 ! We have cid setup currently. Will need to ask all the agencies to pass cid QSP on Landing page URL.

[Jennifer_Dungan]

CID will sort of help you... at least on specifically linked content by you or your partners (assuming that people don't intentionally remove the values from the links via copy and paste, modify, then enter, etc), or that internal redirects or "supposed" protection from browsers / plugins don't strip those values....

But your specifically linked content is usually a smaller part of the whole...  losing access to understanding all your organic traffic...