Measurement is not carried out with your own analytics tool. Under Article 61(6) of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements online news sites are obliged to use BİK Analitik and to take the measures necessary for it to function. Your figures in Google Analytics or any other tool are not taken as the basis for official announcements.
The price of blocking the tool: traffic treated as zero
The same paragraph attaches a severe consequence: the traffic data of online news sites that fail to take the measures necessary for BİK Analitik to function, or fail to cease their obstructing activities, are treated as zero, and proceedings are instituted under the relevant legislation.
Verifying regularly that BİK Analitik is working should therefore become a technical maintenance item. Whenever a theme is updated, a security plugin installed or a CDN configuration changed, check that measurement still runs.
What is measured?
Measurement covers not only the raw visitor count but every criterion in Article 61:
| Criterion | Basis | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Daily unique visitors | Art. 61(1) | 1,500 – 250,000 depending on category |
| Daily page views | Art. 61(1) | Three times unique visitors |
| Share of direct visitors | Art. 61(2) | At least 10% |
| Average time on page | Art. 61(3) | At least 30 seconds; one minute in the General Category |
| Geographic origin of traffic | Art. 61(4) | Domestic is the basis; 10% of foreign traffic included in the General Category |
The fourth row is particularly important: foreign-sourced traffic is not taken into account outside the General Category. A site with high traffic from abroad cannot meet its category threshold with that traffic.
The measurement itself is audited
Article 61(8) subjects the reliability of the measurement system to a separate audit. The conformity of BİK Analitik’s measurement operations with the article is audited at least once every three years, at the Agency’s request, in accordance with the relevant Turkish Auditing Standards, through an organisation determined by the Board of Directors from among independent audit organisations authorised by the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority. Following the audit the independent audit organisation prepares a report and submits it to the Agency.
Paragraph nine provides that where the conditions of measurement change, the Agency will have a further audit carried out.
How is falling below the threshold assessed?
Under paragraph ten, suspension and resumption operations relating to the minimum visitor traffic condition are conducted on the basis of the minimum visitor traffic figures determined by category not being met for at least seven consecutive days, or intermittently within a month.
Conclusion
The only measurement valid for official announcements is BİK Analitik’s. Blocking the tool — whether deliberately or through technical negligence — results in traffic being treated as zero. Measurement covers unique visitors, page views, the direct traffic share, the time on page and geographic origin together; the system itself is independently audited at least once every three years.
The full thresholds are in the traffic guide and the sanction for manipulation in the fake traffic guide.