fight referral spam in google analytics

Fight spam in Google

Analytics4 ways to get rid of referral spam

Problem

• Google Analytics is the main data source

• Data quality is essential

• So how do we get rid of the spam?

FILTER BY HOSTNAME

#1

Hostname filter

Spammers send traffic to hostnames like

lumb.co, apple.com, semalt.com (not your site)

Setup hostname filter

Create a new Filter on your View. Predefines, Include

only traffic to hostname. Add your own domain

FILTER CAMPAIGN SOURCE

#2

Campaign source filter

Spammers will use the campaign source tag to send their

domain name.

Setup campaign source filter

Create a new Filter on your View. Settings: Exclude, Filter field to Campaign

source & enter the spam domains. (List of 38 spam domains)

EXCLUDE BOTS

#3

Exclude known botsVery easy. Just check the box on the View level

in Google Analytics.

CUSTOM SEGMENT FOR ANALYSIS

#4

Create a custom segment

Adjusted settings like filters don’t work backwards.

For an view on your data (without spam), you can create a custom segment excluding spam via campaign source data.

Download a pre-made segment here.

To see the list of 38 spam domainsVisit our website

Thanks!