Google Analytics monitors referral traffic using its own algorithms. Bots can be also displayed in the referral traffic reports. It is unwanted to block bots, since Google won’t be able to index pages. As a result, the website won’t be able to get good search positions. A webmaster must be concerned in providing bots the ability to scan website pages. You can solve the problem with your referral traffic distortion by changing the display mode in Google Analytics reports.
Semalt in Google Analytics referral reports: how to remove bots from statistics reports
What types of traffic is important for website promotion:
- search
- direct
- referral
- social
- commercial
Though social traffic does not belong to referrals, they started to single it out lately. Visits from other websites and robots are also considered a part of referral traffic. It is recommended to install Google Analytics filters to get maximal accurate statistical reports.
For example, if you see Semalt in Google Analytics as a unique user, you should change the report settings. Open the tab Administrator – All filters. Create a new filter. You need to type the domain semalt.com and the system will automatically define the subdomains. Filter type: exclude. Bots will not stop scanning your website but they will not be displayed in your analytics reports anymore.
