Introduction
What is Referral Traffic?
What is Referrer Spam?
How to Know if your Website has Spam Referral traffic?
Types of Google Analytics Referral Spam
Ways to Block Referral Spam:
1. Remove Referrer Spam using Sucuri
2. Manually Remove Referrer Spam with the Help of a Plugin
3. Remove Unwanted Google Analytics Referral Traffic with .htaccess
4. Block Ghost Referral using Filter
- Study Google’s Filter Guide
- Keep backup of an unfiltered profile because you cannot reverse the effects of filters
- Never apply filters on your primary profile before testing it on sandbox profiles
Follow The Below Steps to Set Up Campaign Source Exclusion:
- Enlist valid hostnames and segregate each hostname with a pipe character.
- Select Admin on the Google Analytics account
- Choose view and select ‘Filters.’
- Enter a Filter Name and select Campaign source under Filter Field.
- Type your code in the ‘Field Pattern’
- Use Filter Verification to test your new Filter and save the changes.
Filter in Google Analytics Crawler Spam
- Open Google Analytics Account
- Choose Filters under the ‘Admin’ option and choose Add Filter
- Enter your filter name, select ‘Custom’ under Filter Type and then click exclude.
- Choose Campaign source from the field and enter one domain into the box.
- Save the changes.
Remove Spam Referrals in Google Analytics 4
- Log in to your Google Analytics account and select Admin view.
- Choose Data Stream Option under the Property Column.
- Go to the Advanced Setting Section and select the ‘More Tagging Settings’ tab.
- After reaching the configuration screen, choose ‘Referral domain Contains’ from Match Type.
- Add the domain name you wish to remove or block, and with the help of the Add Condition button, you can add another domain also.
- Save the changes after finishing all the above steps.
Remove Spam Referrals in Google Analytics Older Version
- Select Admin view under your Google Analytics Account.
- Choose the Filter option from View Column
- After the Filter screen appears, click on the Add Filter button.
- Now you can customise your Filter settings using Custom Filter Type.
- Choose the Campaign Source option from Filter Field.
- Finally, add the domain name you wish to block.
Few Things to Consider While Writing a Domain Name:
- Always use backlash and a dot in the domain name.
- Separate each domain name with a pipe sign.
- Put a dot and asterisk(.*) before the last domain name.
- Store your settings with the save button.
Block Unwanted Referral Traffic Google Analytics Using Third Party Tool:
Things you Should Not Use to Filter in Google Analytics
1)Referral Exclusions
2)Filter using Hostnames
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Final Words
FAQs
Referral spam in Google Analytics is fake traffic generated by spammers and sent to websites to manipulate the data in Google Analytics and make it appear as if the website is receiving more traffic than it actually is. This can lead to inflated or misleading data in the analytics reports and make it difficult for website owners to track the performance of their website accurately.
There are several ways to stop referral spam in Google Analytics, including:
- Filtering out known spam domains in the view settings
- Using the referral exclusion list in the property settings
- Implementing server-side filtering to block spam traffic before it reaches Google Analytics
- Using a plugin or extension to block referral spam
While it is impossible to eliminate referral spam in Google Analytics completely, the steps outlined above can significantly reduce the amount of spam traffic and help to improve the accuracy of the analytics data. However, it is essential to regularly check for and remove referral spam, as new spam domains may emerge over time.
To identify referral spam in your Google Analytics reports, you can look for unusual spikes in traffic from specific referral sources or for referral sources that do not align with your target audience or marketing efforts. You can also check for inconsistencies or anomalies in the data, such as a high bounce rate or low average session duration.
If you do not stop referral spam in Google Analytics, your analytics data may be inflated or misleading, making it difficult to track the performance of your website accurately. This can impact your decision-making and strategy and lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities.