Tricks On How To Block Referral Spam From Your Google Analytics – Semalt Advice

For a couple of years, website referral spam has been a significant problem. Spammy referral sources may make you think that there have been so many visits in your Google Analytics account due to a spike in referral traffic and overrated reports.

Referral spam such as darodar, buttons for the website, and simple share buttons are among the search engine optimization tools that have been jeopardizing the functioning of e-commerce websites. Google Analytics is one of the essential tools that help companies and e-commerce business owners to analyze and track down the path followed by their visitors.

Here are few tricks described by Max Bell, the Customer Success Manager of Semalt, that will help you block referral spam from affecting your website's performance.

Using .htaccess File

Blocking spam referral traffic is efficiently dealt with through a .htaccess. The configuration file is used to run your server. The method prevents your website from overloading and also blocks referral spams domains from your site. Blocking spam referral through .htaccess is so effective since the file can be instructed to block spammy visits by domain or IP address.

A good number of marketing pros and website owners prefers on using .htaccess to block referral spam from affecting the performance of their online businesses. This hypertext access not only blocks removes referral spam and website spiders from your GA but also prevents the malicious domain from their servers.

Inputting the right kind of command when excluding and blocking referral spam is advocated for to avoid losing necessary information about your website. Did you know that double spacing a character when executing a command prompt can downfall your B2B business? Before blocking referral spam using a command prompt, consider consulting a website developer or download a WordPress plugin.

Some questions have been arising seeking clarification on the difference between robots and .htaccess file. According to website designers, robots file works on helping search engine bots and web spiders to drive traffic to a website whereas .htaccess helps online marketers to set command prompts to block referral spam, a range of IP addresses, and fake traffic.

The take of GA filters on referral spam

When it comes to blocking referral spam in the Google Analytics account, Google Analytics filters are highly recommended. GA filters allow online marketers and web developers to analyze data and reports in the Google Analytics. As a marketer, you can use GA to exclude internal traffic generated from your working place, block referral spam, and rule out a number of IP addresses and malicious domains from your website.

You can use Google Analytics filters to exclude malicious domains and darodar from your site. Here are few tricks to go about it.

• Start your GA account and log in.
• Click 'Admin Settings' icon and select 'All Filters'.
• Create a new filter and generate a new name that you can easily remember.
• Click the 'Filter Types' icon and select the 'Predefined Filter' type.
• Click through and tap the 'Exclude,' 'IP addresses' and 'equal to' icons in the boxes provided on your Google Analytics account.
• Fill in the IP addresses to be excluded, and click 'Save.'

When excluding IP addresses and referral spam from your Google Analytics account, it is advisable to note that the filters do not work on past reports. To achieve sustainable and efficient results, consider blocking spammy domains using both Google Analytics and .htaccess file. Don't wait until spammy domains overload your server. Install Google Analytics on your website and block referral spam, webspiders, bot traffic, and internal traffic.