Definition
Referral exclusion prevents certain domains (for example payment providers) from taking credit as a referrer in analytics.
Example
Exclude stripe.com and paypal.com so checkout traffic does not overwrite the original source.
How to use it
- Exclude payment providers and key subdomains that should be treated as internal.
- Fix root causes (cross-domain tracking) rather than relying only on exclusions.
- Re-test after domain changes or new checkout providers are added.
Common mistakes
- Excluding true partner referrals that should remain attribution sources.
- Using exclusions without fixing broken cross-domain tracking.
Why this matters
This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Referral Exclusion" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Read the related guide (e.g., UTM + GA4 attribution: practical tracking for paid ads (without lying to yourself)) for context and common pitfalls.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- Break-even CVR Calculator: Compute the CVR required to break even (and hit a target) given CPM, CTR, AOV, and contribution margin.
- Click-through Conversion Rate Calculator: Calculate click-through conversion rate (click-to-conversion CVR) and estimate required clicks for target conversions.
- ROAS Calculator: Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and estimate contribution profit after ad spend.
- Break-even ROAS Calculator: Estimate the break-even ROAS based on contribution margin assumptions.
- Target ROAS Calculator: Estimate a target ROAS to cover variable costs plus a desired margin buffer.
Guides
- UTM + GA4 attribution: practical tracking for paid ads (without lying to yourself): A practical guide to UTMs and GA4: consistent source/medium/campaign tagging, conversion deduplication, and common attribution traps.