This is an accepted version of this page Web traffic is the data sent and received by visitors to a website.
There are many ways to monitor this traffic, and the gathered data is used to help structure sites, highlight security problems or indicate a potential lack of bandwidth.
Some companies offer advertising schemes that, in return for increased web traffic (visitors), pay for screen space on the site.
In a commercial context, it especially refers to the measurement of which aspects of the website work towards the business objectives of Internet marketing initiatives; for example, which landing pages encourage people to make a purchase.
It is sometimes important to protect some parts of a site by password, allowing only authorized people to visit particular sections or pages.
[citation needed] Millions of people use search engines every day to research various topics, buy products, and go about their daily surfing activities.
A news item in the media, a quickly propagating email, or a link from a popular site may cause such a boost in visitors (sometimes called a flash crowd or the Slashdot effect).
Interactive Advertising Bureau estimated in 2014 that around one third of Web traffic is generated by Internet bots and malware.