Spam using Hostname so filter not working
-
Hello, on one of our sites, we have filtered via the hostname. We have done this on other sites quite happily but on this particular new website, when we add in the hostname filter, we still get loads of direct and referral traffic which is junk - and the hostname of these junk referrals are the website's domain. So it seems that this filter is not working or the spam are now using the hostname?
Not sure what is going on or how to solve this?
-
Thanks Paul, it is a real pain. What do they get out of this? Am I being naive?
-
This is likely to be bot spam - bot crawlers that are actually visiting the site, so their visits record the genuine hostname.
The only way around these clowns is to block the visits in .htaccess and/or use Google Analytics filters to remove the data.
Because they're constantly morphing, it's a bit of an arms race to keep up with them. If your site uses WordPress, there are a number of solid plugins that use crowdsourcing to frequently update in order to block these. There are also a few folks providing prebuilt GA filters that are also keep up to date by crowdsourcing - but still a manual process to update The filters in GA.
Hope that helps?
Paul
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Has Google Analytics Funnel Visualisation changed / stopped working?
Yesterday my funnel visualisation tab in the updated GA interface was showing data flow. However today there is nothing showing in the graphical element despite showing some goal completion figures as a headline. Have they stopped doing up to the minute visualisation in favour of delayed results? Anyone else experiencing similar? Thanks in advance Tim
Reporting & Analytics | | TimHolmes0 -
How many ways to use Event in Google Tag Manager for Event Tracking?
Hello Experts, How many ways to use Event in Google Tag Manager for Event Tracking? As per me there are 5 ways given below are they correct? 2nd thing if yes can you please please tell me procedure of using all or which is the best one to use? HTML 5 Data Attributes Classic Google Analytics Example: _gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/downloads/pdfs/corporateBrief.pdf']);
Reporting & Analytics | | bkmitesh
3) Universal Analytics Example: ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’, ‘page path’); query string? or is it possible without any coding on website we can configure id's in google tag manager? Thanks! BK Mitesh0 -
Is there a problem with using same gmail account for multiple site analytics and GWMT?
Hi, Is there a problem or a general recommendation about using the same gmail account for two different sites (both in Google Analytics and Webmaster tools)? Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | BeytzNet0 -
Google Analytics Goal Tracking Not Working
I am trying to install goal tracking for a client to measure leads from SEO, and I'm running into problems with the Google Analytics goal tracking not working. The only thing that I can think of that is preventing goal tracking from working is that the URL confirming page request URI looks like "contact/#contact-form-4475" and perhaps the hashtag is causing problems. I wanted to ask the community if any of you have run into basic conversion tracking problems like this, where you need to track form fills on a website via a confirmation URL/destination URL goal, and what you did to solve it? I appreciate any input on how to get data on conversions either by fixing the goal in GA or using a different tracking tool. Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | williammarlow0 -
Does anyone know of a way to do a profile level filter to exclude all traffic if it enters the site via certain landing pages?
Does anyone know of a way to do a profile level filter to exclude all traffic if it enters the site via certain landing pages? The problem I have is that we have several pages that are served to visitors of numerous other domains but are also served to visitors of our site. We end up with inflated Google Analytics numbers because people are viewing these pages from our partners' domains but never actually entering our site. I've made an advanced segment that serves the purpose but I'd really like to filter it at the profile level so the numbers across the board are more accurate without having to apply an advanced segment to every report. The advanced segment excludes visits that hit these pages as landing pages but includes visits where people have come from other pages on our domain. I know that you can do profile filters to exclude visits to pages or directories entirely but is there a way to filter them only if they are a landing pages? Any other creative thoughts? Thanks in advance!
Reporting & Analytics | | ATIseo0 -
Question on correctly using rel="canonical
OK I have a question for the community here. All links below are just used as examples and no relationship or real campaigns are being used with any websites named below. Lets say that my domain is abc.com/whiskey/jack-daniels-whiskey/Gentleman-Jack/ but for Google Analytics tracking purposes I gave another website a tracking link for a banner that is as follows http://abc.com/whiskey/jack-daniels-whiskey/Gentleman-Jack/?utm_source=jackdanials&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=Gentleman-Jack&utm_campaign=holiday%2Bpromotion Since the original URL to my site is http://abc.com/whiskey/jack-daniels-whiskey/Gentleman-Jack and Google will then spider the other site picking up my tracking link within the banner which also contains my original URL, can it cause issues with duplicate content and if so what is the best way to use rel="canonical in this case or would you handle this issue in a different way? Thanks in advance for all your help.
Reporting & Analytics | | DRTBA0 -
Yahoo Webmaster Tools still work?
Now that Yahoo is using Bing's search results, do we still need to monitor and use Yahoo's Webmaster's Tools - or do we stick to using the Bing Webmaster Tools?
Reporting & Analytics | | findachristianjob0 -
Unable to use Open Site Explorer
I have repeatedly tried to use Open Site Explorer on a site. I always get the same response: No Data Available for this URL The site is 4 months old. It is listed by Alexa in 1.3 million page category. The site ranks well on numerous key terms for the industry it covers. OSE offers 4 reasons for not having data: 1. Recency of page creation. In the explanation offered 45-60 days is the longest estimate it should take. The site has been live close to 120 days. 2. Deep down in the web. The tool doesn't even have any data for the site's home page. 3. Blocked pages. The site is listed in Google and these pages are not blocked. 4. No links. There are plenty of links. Site url is www.terapvp.com What can I do to fix this issue and get data?
Reporting & Analytics | | RyanKent0