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# DNI: testing visits (Google Ads, direct, organic)

Before going live, it's worth testing that your swap groups behave correctly for each traffic source you're tracking. 
Because Nimbata only swaps a number when the session matches the source assigned to a swap group, you need to simulate each source type to verify it independently.

### How to test a Google Ads visit

Nimbata detects paid search sessions by reading the `gclid` parameter that Google appends to ad click URLs when auto-tagging is enabled. 
To simulate this without clicking a real ad:

* Open a new browser tab.
* Navigate to your website URL and append `?gclid=test` 
* E.g.: `https://www.yoursite.com/?gclid=test`
* The number assigned to your Google Ads swap group should replace your regular number on the page.

| If this works but real Google Ads clicks don't swap, the issue is likely that `gclid` is being stripped by a redirect. See the troubleshooting checklist for details.

* If auto-tagging is disabled in Google Ads, `gclid` will never be appended to real ad clicks. 
* Go to **Google Ads > Admin > Account settings > Auto-tagging.** 
* Make sure the checkbox is enabled.

### How to test a direct visit

A direct session is one with no referrer and no UTM parameters; a visitor who typed your URL or used a bookmark.

* Open a **new incognito or private window** (this clears any existing session cookies).
* Navigate directly to your website URL with no parameters.
* The number assigned to your **Direct** swap group should appear.

| Use incognito to avoid your own existing session cookie being picked up, which could cause Nimbata to show a number from a previous visit rather than a fresh direct session.

### How to test an organic visit

An organic session arrives from a search engine with a referrer header but no paid click identifier.

* Open a **new incognito or private window**.
* Go to Google (or another search engine) and search for your business by name.
* Click through to your site from the organic search results.
* The number assigned to your **Organic** swap group should appear.

Alternatively, you can simulate the referrer manually by navigating from `https://www.google.com` to your site in the same browser tab, which passes Google as the referrer.

### How to test a custom UTM source

If you have a swap group assigned to a custom parameter source (e.g. a specific campaign):

* Open a new incognito window.
* Navigate to your website URL with the UTM parameters that match your swap group configuration; e.g.: `https://www.yoursite.com/?utm_source=facebook_ads&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=spring-promo`
* The number assigned to that swap group should appear.

### Confirming visits in Nimbata

After each test visit, check [Analytics > Visit Stats](https://app.nimbata.com/analytics/visit-stats) to confirm Nimbata recorded the session under the correct channel. 
The **Visitors** row should increment for the channel you just tested.
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Troubleshooting: [**DNI: troubleshooting checklist (numbers not swapping)**](#) 
Detailed guide: [**DNI script 101: how to install and configure it**](https://help.nimbata.com/en/article/dni-script-101-how-to-install-and-configure-it-1l7zt51/) 
Detailed guide: [**How to set up swap groups**](https://help.nimbata.com/en/article/how-to-set-up-swap-groups-1kng9t9/)