> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://doc.extole.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understanding the “Direct” Promotion Source

> Use this guide to understand the Promotions section of your Program Dashboard

# Overview

From the **Promotions** section of your **Program Dashboard**, you can track the performance of different Calls-to-Action (CTAs).

If you see a large portion of shares attributed to **Direct**, this usually means your CTAs are not using promotion links correctly. Without promotion links, you lose valuable tracking data about how your program is performing.

# What is the “Direct” Source?

**Direct** includes any clicks, shares, or events where an Advocate navigates straight to the share.companyname.com page. This could mean a customer found the URL and went directly to the page, but more often means that you have CTAs that are implemented without a promotion link, thus Extole doesn't know where it came from.

![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/syy27wia/1690501108/1a29cd02c33bb0fa2dcf63704529/AD_4nXffibQ5MsBbmR0utNpiwyWDNhb9Dcglq7jNBa60N97N0PGaWkVbgpONhru0t-VHiEfDQcS1cGN49dITUD0a1lESPipEGZU3j2okBENllxtkpAQSTY5JNmIn6oZVEp45ruUhbqVbzg?expires=1778306400\&signature=c42274beab7945cf6671ba5f19c8e17d34dda9e9b3c9492474d9c5d8567fa905\&req=dSYuFsx%2BnIBfUfMW3nq%2BgUWW4VL%2F3OFEmGj8PBvqpB4mU2ueqdKv8RPYN5HU%0Aa2BLIXAwXvkGlAh0iMbv1xAG06E%3D%0A)

# How to Reduce the “Direct” Attribution

In order to get full tracking of how your CTAs perform, do an audit of your onsite and outbound CTAs to ensure they are using a promotion link. All promotion links have identifiers like /email, /banner, or /olb after the [share.companyname.com](http://share.companyname.com).

![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/syy27wia/1690501107/c25411bee8ad52d5b9373f5db050/AD_4nXcUA7z0OBNc9DaUswivWEJq_gZVleb_s8g8FTj62nT2LYJkYaWxO6nKdKUCKojpYNBDs3knSytcykxIFTP9g12YisO2oytL5b7zs3_pCm4F_jsmQp5mDwnfsfnbLfuJbrlF8szhaQ?expires=1778306400\&signature=276a3b5cf82f140ce1f6ffdd64388a7b8b4833648cc83eb12fb526c05d5d2b7d\&req=dSYuFsx%2BnIBfXvMW3nq%2BgTosEzs4oMC2HQmEINlJ3w148bzhId%2F1tOHSREkt%0Am7ZfheZVemEDNWz3MlhOQ5qSA%2Bg%3D%0A)

>

> Once you’ve found the CTA(s) that are going direct to the share experience, follow this guide to **[Create a Promotion Link](/guides/getting-help/implementing-your-referral-program/creating-ctas/how-to-create-a-promo-link)** and add these links to your site. This will start tracking any clicks and shares to the correct placement moving forward.

>