{"id":8855,"date":"2017-10-04T16:54:28","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T14:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/news\/eliminare-traffico-spam-google-analytics\/"},"modified":"2023-08-09T10:34:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T08:34:45","slug":"eliminate-spam-traffic-google-analytics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/web-analytics\/eliminate-spam-traffic-google-analytics\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Eliminate Spam Traffic in Google Analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google Analytics is undoubtedly a fundamental tool for analyzing traffic to our website and obtaining essential information such as acquisition channels and user behavior. Despite the latest version of Google Analytics (GA4) automatically filtering out a good portion of traffic generated by known bots and spiders, it can happen that your account still records visits from spam referrals, which are &#8220;fake&#8221; visits from automated systems and not from real users. Ignoring this issue can lead us to <strong>base our decisions on completely unreliable data<\/strong> that can harm our business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let&#8217;s see how to identify spam traffic and remove it from our Analytics reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the types of spam in Google Analytics and how to recognize spam referrals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spam traffic in Google Analytics can be generated by both &#8220;ghost referrals&#8221; and spam crawlers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<strong>ghost referrals<\/strong>,&#8221; which constitute the majority of spam, never visit the site or interact with it, but they send fictitious data directly to Google Analytics;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>spam crawlers<\/strong>, on the other hand, are software programs that navigate our site, altering the data in the reports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How can we tell if our Google Analytics is recording spam visits? The best solution is to analyze the list of referrals in the acquisition channels (<em>Report<\/em> &gt; <em>Acquisition <\/em>&gt; <em>Traffic Acquisition<\/em>): to view it, simply change the main dimension of the table to &#8220;<strong>Source \/ Medium<\/strong>&#8221; and filter the table by &#8220;<strong>referral<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"311\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/elenco-referral-google-analytics-4-ga4.png\" alt=\"referral google analytics 4 ga4\" class=\"wp-image-8848\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/elenco-referral-google-analytics-4-ga4.png 311w, https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/elenco-referral-google-analytics-4-ga4-214x300.png 214w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you have the list, pay special attention to the following information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h3 wp-block-paragraph\">1. Source Name<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first glance, it&#8217;s easy to identify spam referrals with &#8220;suspicious&#8221; names like &#8220;<em>buttons-for-your-website.com<\/em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>election.interferencer.ru<\/em>&#8221; or &#8220;<em>free-share-buttons-eee.xyz<\/em>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h3 wp-block-paragraph\">2. Behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Equally important is analyzing metrics related to behavior, as most ghost referral visits are characterized by a 100% bounce rate, 1 page view per session, and an average session duration of zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h3 wp-block-paragraph\">3. Hostname<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, by adding Hostname as a secondary dimension, we can easily identify which referrals link to hosts that are not related to our site in any way or that are &#8220;not set.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the analysis of referrals leads us to identify spam traffic, we&#8217;ll need to <strong>create a filter to exclude these sources of traffic. <\/strong>Let&#8217;s see how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>\n:root{\n    --primary:      #008B95;\n    --secondary:    #363534;\n    --grey:         #F9F9F9;\n    --gr-dark:      #B6B6B5;\n    --anta-grey:    #6D6C6B;\n}\n\n\n\n\/************   Cf7 **************************+*\/\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog.sfondo-a-righe {\n    background-image: linear-gradient(135deg,#e9e9e9 10%,#fff 10%,#fff 50%,#e9e9e9 50%,#e9e9e9 60%,#fff 60%,#fff 100%);\n    background-size: 7.07px 7.07px;\n    border: 1px solid #e9e9e9;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .titolo-cta {\n    font-family: var(--font-fam-body);\n    color: var(--bs-primary);\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form p.h4 {\n    display: none;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form .row  {\n    margin-top: 1.5rem;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]{\n    margin-bottom: 0;\n    margin-top:0;\n\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 label {\n    margin-top: 0;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 p.h4{\n    color:var(--anta-grey);\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form [type=checkbox]+.wpcf7-list-item-label::before {\n    background-color: white;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"] {\n    background-color: white !important;\n    font-size: calc(var(--fsz-p) * 1.15);\n    \/* content: 'per 1.15 mantiene fluidit\u00e0 e arriva a 24px che \u00e8 il risultato desiderato su desktop'; *\/\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]:autofill,\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]:-webkit-autofill {\n    background-color: white !important;\n    box-shadow: 0 0 0 40px white inset!important;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit {\n    background-color: white;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]::placeholder{\n    color:var(--gr-dark);\n    font-weight: 300;\n    font-size: var(--fsz-h5);\n    padding-left: 0.5rem;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-spinner{\n    position: absolute;\n    bottom: 5rem;\n    right: 3rem;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit:hover{\n    border: 2px solid var(--primary);\n    background-color: var(--primary);\n    color: white;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit:disabled{\n    opacity: 1;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 form.sent .wpcf7-response-output{\n    border-color: var(--primary);\n}\n@media screen and (max-width:575px){\n    .blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit{\n        position: absolute;\n        bottom: 0rem;\n    }\n}\n@media screen and (min-width:1400px){\n\n\n    .blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-acceptance label{\n        margin-top:0;\n    }\n}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div  class=\"anta-block blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog sfondo-a-righe py-4 mt-5\">\n\n    <div class=\"container-fluid\">\n        <div class=\"row\">\n            <div class=\"col-12\">\n                <p class=\"h2 mb-3 mt-0 titolo-cta\"><span class=\"green\">Subscribe to our newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"row align-items-start\">\n            <div class=\"col-12\">\n                <p class=\"p-lg\">And receive news, tips, and strategies to enhance your online presence.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"col-12 position-relative\">\n                \n<div class=\"wpcf7 no-js\" id=\"wpcf7-f12032-o1\" lang=\"en-US\" dir=\"ltr\" data-wpcf7-id=\"12032\">\n<div class=\"screen-reader-response\"><p role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\"><\/p> <ul><\/ul><\/div>\n<form action=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8855#wpcf7-f12032-o1\" method=\"post\" class=\"wpcf7-form init\" aria-label=\"Contact form\" novalidate=\"novalidate\" data-status=\"init\">\n<fieldset class=\"hidden-fields-container\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7\" value=\"12032\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_version\" value=\"6.1.5\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_locale\" value=\"en_US\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_unit_tag\" value=\"wpcf7-f12032-o1\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_container_post\" value=\"0\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_posted_data_hash\" value=\"\" \/>\n<\/fieldset>\n<div class=\"wpcf7-turnstile cf-turnstile\" data-sitekey=\"0x4AAAAAADKz9X03-_9CBiDr\" data-response-field-name=\"_wpcf7_turnstile_response\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row align-items-end\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-9 pe-sm-0\">\n<label for=\"your-email-blog\" class=\"mb-0\">\n<h4 class=\"h4\">Enter your email address:<\/h4>\n\n    <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-email-blog\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-email wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-email\" id=\"your-email-blog\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"yourmail@mail.ext\" value=\"\" type=\"email\" name=\"your-email-blog\" \/><\/span><\/label>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-3 ps-sm-0\">\n<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Send\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"privacy d-flex mt-3\">\n <fieldset class=\"m-0 p-0 border-0\">\n      <legend class=\"visually-hidden\">Consenso al trattamento dei dati personali<\/legend>\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"acceptance-516\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-acceptance\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item\"><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"acceptance-516\" value=\"1\" class=\"acceptance\" aria-invalid=\"false\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">I consent to the processing of my data in accordance with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iubenda.com\/privacy-policy\/82033330\" class=\"iubenda-nostyle no-brand iubenda-embed \" title=\"Privacy Policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">privacy policy<\/a><span class=\"ms-1\">*<\/span><\/span><\/label><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n  <legend class=\"visually-hidden\">Newsletter subscription<\/legend>\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"checkbox-newsletter\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item first last\"><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"checkbox-newsletter[]\" value=\"I would like to subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on Digital Marketing\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">I would like to subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on Digital Marketing<\/span><\/label><\/span><\/span><\/span> \n<\/fieldset>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"spacing-l d-sm-none\"><\/div><div class=\"wpcf7-response-output\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div><!-- end row -->\n    <\/div><!-- end container-fluid -->\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1 &#8211; Identify spam traffic sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, you need to tell Google Analytics <strong>which traffic sources to consider spam.<\/strong> To do this, access the Administration panel and go to <em>Events<\/em> &gt; <em><strong>Edit Event<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>in the &#8220;<strong>Match Conditions<\/strong>&#8221; section, add the &#8220;<strong>source<\/strong>&#8221; parameter, select the &#8220;contains&#8221; operator, and indicate the identified spam traffic source as the value, such as &#8220;trafficbot4free.xyz&#8221;,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>in the &#8220;<em>Edit Parameters<\/em>&#8221; section, add the &#8220;<strong>traffic_type<\/strong>&#8221; parameter and set &#8220;<strong>spam<\/strong>&#8221; as the new value;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you can name the edit &#8220;Spam Domains&#8221; or any other name that helps you identify what you&#8217;ve done.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"958\" height=\"617\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/modifica-evento-google-analytics-ga4-spam.png\" alt=\"modifiy event google analytics 4 ga4 spam sources\" class=\"wp-image-8850\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/modifica-evento-google-analytics-ga4-spam.png 958w, https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/modifica-evento-google-analytics-ga4-spam-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/modifica-evento-google-analytics-ga4-spam-768x495.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 958px) 100vw, 958px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>An overview of the &#8220;Edit event&#8221; tool in Google Analytics 4<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have <strong>a list of spam sources, not just one,<\/strong> you&#8217;ll need to create a new event edit <strong>for each individual source.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alternatively, in the &#8220;Match Conditions&#8221; section, you can use the &#8220;matches regex&#8221; operator and set a <strong>regular expression<\/strong> value that includes all the sources you want to exclude. Remember to update the regular expression if your Analytics records visits from new spam sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To <strong>create a regular expression<\/strong>, keep in mind that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>you need to add <strong>a backslash (\\) <\/strong>before the dot or other metacharacters like hyphen or asterisk to ensure they are interpreted literally;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you need to separate the various domains with a <strong>vertical bar (|) <\/strong>to create an OR match (Note: Do NOT add a vertical bar at the end of the regular expression, or all sources will be excluded!).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, if you want to exclude the domains <em>seo-button.com<\/em> and <em>free-fb-traffic.com<\/em>, you should use the following regular expression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>seo\\-button\\.com|free\\-fb\\-traffic\\.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/1034324\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Refer to the Google Guide<\/a> for more information on regular expressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2 &#8211; Create a filter to exclude visits from spam sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, you need to create a filter that tells Google Analytics to <strong>exclude traffic<\/strong> from the sources you&#8217;ve identified as <strong>spam. <\/strong>To do this, access the Administration panel and go to <em>Data Settings<\/em> &gt; <em>Data Filters<\/em> &gt; <em>Create Filter<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>select the filter type &#8220;<strong>Internal Traffic<\/strong>&#8220;;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>choose &#8220;<strong>Exclude<\/strong>&#8221; as the filter operation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>in the &#8220;Filter events with this parameter value&#8221; section, select the <strong>&#8220;traffic_type&#8221; parameter<\/strong> and enter &#8220;<strong>spam<\/strong>&#8221; as the value;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>set the filter status to &#8220;<strong>Active<\/strong>&#8220;;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>rename the filter &#8220;Spam&#8221; (or any other name that helps you identify it).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/filtro-traffico-spam-google-analytics-ga4.png\" alt=\"spam traffic filter google analytics 4 ga4\" class=\"wp-image-8852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/filtro-traffico-spam-google-analytics-ga4.png 706w, https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/filtro-traffico-spam-google-analytics-ga4-270x300.png 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>An overview of the filter creation tool<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about historical data?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have now activated filters that, while eliminating future spam traffic, cannot &#8220;clean up&#8221; historical data. If you want to analyze the data from various Analytics reports while excluding spam traffic, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>access the report you&#8217;re interested in, such as &#8220;Traffic Acquisition,&#8221; and click on &#8220;Add a Comparison&#8221; at the top,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>choose &#8220;Exclude&#8221; as the condition,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>select the dimension &#8220;Source\/Medium&#8221;,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>add a checkmark next to the sources of spam traffic (e.g., &#8220;trafficbot4free.xyz&#8221;),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>click &#8220;Apply.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you&#8217;ve saved the comparison, you can view the report data without the spam traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>\n:root{\n    --primary:      #008B95;\n    --secondary:    #363534;\n    --grey:         #F9F9F9;\n    --gr-dark:      #B6B6B5;\n    --anta-grey:    #6D6C6B;\n}\n\n\n\n\/************   Cf7 **************************+*\/\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog.sfondo-a-righe {\n    background-image: linear-gradient(135deg,#e9e9e9 10%,#fff 10%,#fff 50%,#e9e9e9 50%,#e9e9e9 60%,#fff 60%,#fff 100%);\n    background-size: 7.07px 7.07px;\n    border: 1px solid #e9e9e9;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .titolo-cta {\n    font-family: var(--font-fam-body);\n    color: var(--bs-primary);\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form p.h4 {\n    display: none;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form .row  {\n    margin-top: 1.5rem;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]{\n    margin-bottom: 0;\n    margin-top:0;\n\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 label {\n    margin-top: 0;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 p.h4{\n    color:var(--anta-grey);\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog form [type=checkbox]+.wpcf7-list-item-label::before {\n    background-color: white;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"] {\n    background-color: white !important;\n    font-size: calc(var(--fsz-p) * 1.15);\n    \/* content: 'per 1.15 mantiene fluidit\u00e0 e arriva a 24px che \u00e8 il risultato desiderato su desktop'; *\/\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]:autofill,\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]:-webkit-autofill {\n    background-color: white !important;\n    box-shadow: 0 0 0 40px white inset!important;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit {\n    background-color: white;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 input[type=\"email\"]::placeholder{\n    color:var(--gr-dark);\n    font-weight: 300;\n    font-size: var(--fsz-h5);\n    padding-left: 0.5rem;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-spinner{\n    position: absolute;\n    bottom: 5rem;\n    right: 3rem;\n}\n\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit:hover{\n    border: 2px solid var(--primary);\n    background-color: var(--primary);\n    color: white;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit:disabled{\n    opacity: 1;\n}\n.blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 form.sent .wpcf7-response-output{\n    border-color: var(--primary);\n}\n@media screen and (max-width:575px){\n    .blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-submit{\n        position: absolute;\n        bottom: 0rem;\n    }\n}\n@media screen and (min-width:1400px){\n\n\n    .blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog .wpcf7 .wpcf7-acceptance label{\n        margin-top:0;\n    }\n}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div  class=\"anta-block blocco-newsletter-articoli-blog sfondo-a-righe py-4 mt-5\">\n\n    <div class=\"container-fluid\">\n        <div class=\"row\">\n            <div class=\"col-12\">\n                <p class=\"h2 mb-3 mt-0 titolo-cta\"><span class=\"green\">Subscribe to our newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"row align-items-start\">\n            <div class=\"col-12\">\n                <p class=\"p-lg\">And receive news, tips, and strategies to enhance your online presence.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"col-12 position-relative\">\n                \n<div class=\"wpcf7 no-js\" id=\"wpcf7-f12032-o2\" lang=\"en-US\" dir=\"ltr\" data-wpcf7-id=\"12032\">\n<div class=\"screen-reader-response\"><p role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\"><\/p> <ul><\/ul><\/div>\n<form action=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8855#wpcf7-f12032-o2\" method=\"post\" class=\"wpcf7-form init\" aria-label=\"Contact form\" novalidate=\"novalidate\" data-status=\"init\">\n<fieldset class=\"hidden-fields-container\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7\" value=\"12032\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_version\" value=\"6.1.5\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_locale\" value=\"en_US\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_unit_tag\" value=\"wpcf7-f12032-o2\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_container_post\" value=\"0\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_posted_data_hash\" value=\"\" \/>\n<\/fieldset>\n<div class=\"wpcf7-turnstile cf-turnstile\" data-sitekey=\"0x4AAAAAADKz9X03-_9CBiDr\" data-response-field-name=\"_wpcf7_turnstile_response\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row align-items-end\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-9 pe-sm-0\">\n<label for=\"your-email-blog\" class=\"mb-0\">\n<h4 class=\"h4\">Enter your email address:<\/h4>\n\n    <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-email-blog\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-email wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-email\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"yourmail@mail.ext\" value=\"\" type=\"email\" name=\"your-email-blog\" \/><\/span><\/label>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-3 ps-sm-0\">\n<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Send\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"privacy d-flex mt-3\">\n <fieldset class=\"m-0 p-0 border-0\">\n      <legend class=\"visually-hidden\">Consenso al trattamento dei dati personali<\/legend>\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"acceptance-516\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-acceptance\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item\"><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"acceptance-516\" value=\"1\" class=\"acceptance\" aria-invalid=\"false\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">I consent to the processing of my data in accordance with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iubenda.com\/privacy-policy\/82033330\" class=\"iubenda-nostyle no-brand iubenda-embed \" title=\"Privacy Policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">privacy policy<\/a><span class=\"ms-1\">*<\/span><\/span><\/label><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n  <legend class=\"visually-hidden\">Newsletter subscription<\/legend>\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"checkbox-newsletter\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item first last\"><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"checkbox-newsletter[]\" value=\"I would like to subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on Digital Marketing\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">I would like to subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on Digital Marketing<\/span><\/label><\/span><\/span><\/span> \n<\/fieldset>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"spacing-l d-sm-none\"><\/div><div class=\"wpcf7-response-output\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div><!-- end row -->\n    <\/div><!-- end container-fluid -->\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common mistakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h3 wp-block-paragraph\">1. Using the unwanted referral exclusion<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To remove spam traffic from Google Analytics, you should use filters, <strong>not the unwanted referral exclusion,<\/strong> which serves a different purpose: spam visits would still be counted and attributed to direct traffic instead of referral traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h3 wp-block-paragraph\">2. Using the .htaccess file to exclude ghost referrals<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>.htaccess file<\/strong> can be used to block some crawler spam but <strong>not ghost referrals<\/strong> since, as explained at the beginning of the article, they send fictitious data directly to Analytics without visiting our site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Useful links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below are some useful links. Remember that before excluding suspicious traffic sources, it&#8217;s necessary to ensure they are indeed spam!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.limelightdigital.co.uk\/ultimate-analytics-referral-spam-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">List of spam referrals (constantly updated)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/carloseo.com\/good-referrals-mistaken-for-spam-google-analytics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">List of referrals that are mistaken for spam<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to identify spam traffic in Google Analytics: follow our guide to remove ghost referrals and spam crawlers from your reports.  <span class=\"excerpt-link\"><a class=\"ms-1 understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/web-analytics\/eliminate-spam-traffic-google-analytics\/\">Read more &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> from How to Eliminate Spam Traffic in Google Analytics<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[222,184,223],"class_list":["post-8855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web-analytics","tag-ghostreferral-en","tag-googleanalytics-en","tag-trafficospam-en"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"AntaUser3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antartika.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}