{"id":122,"date":"2019-07-27T02:22:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T02:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickiong.com\/simplesprout\/?p=122"},"modified":"2021-08-02T13:24:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T13:24:39","slug":"how-to-block-spam-referrals-from-your-google-analytics-data-an-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickiong.com\/simplesprout\/2019\/07\/27\/how-to-block-spam-referrals-from-your-google-analytics-data-an-update\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Block Spam Referrals From Your Google Analytics Data [An Update]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Referral spam is a frustrating reality web owners must deal with when it comes to using Google Analytics. Referral spam is defined by the spiders visiting websites to count as traffic and entice web owners to click on the sites from their Analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, over recent years, referral spam has become much more prominent. While it isn\u2019t dangerous to your website (as long as you don\u2019t click on links), it will skew traffic significantly, so it\u2019s important to block it from your traffic data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last time we talked about referral spam<\/a>, we walked through a great option for blocking it for the non-developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only problem with it? <\/strong>You have to constantly update the websites you block; because if spam is nothing else, it\u2019s resilient. There will forever be a new website that\u2019s going to try to convince you that you have more traffic than you really do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So this updated method can be done by non-developers and marketers alike and won\u2019t force you to have to continuously log in to block new referral spam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that, let\u2019s get to the steps of how to block spam referrals from your Google Analytics data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Determine your hostname(s).<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start by checking the hostname that your website uses outside of the spam referrals sent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check your hostname for your site by going to Audience > Technology > Network, then choose Hostname instead of Service Provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here, you may find that you\u2019ll have several hostnames sending visitors to your site. Typically, only a few will be legitimate. They may be www and non-www variations of your website and could also include other websites you own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Create a filter.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Next we\u2019re going to block anything other<\/em> than the legitimate hostnames we want using a filter. So go to Admin > (View) > Filters > +Add Filter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Block spam hostnames.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Enter your filter name. Typically, I\u2019ll always call my filter \u201cHostname\u201d. Then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n