Referrer spam is when bots impersonate a referral link to make their domain show up in a website’s analytics. This results in inaccurate reporting and can overload servers. There are three ways to block this spam traffic: through a website’s .htaccess file, applying filters to a Google Analytics account, or through the hosting cPanel.
Through Website .HTACCESS
Blocking spam referral traffic through a website’s .htaccess file is the most effective method. This file can be instructed to block spammy visits by domain or IP address. For example, the following code can be added to the .htaccess file to exclude Semalt and buttons-for-website.com spam traffic:
##SITE REFERRER BANNING
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} semalt.com [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} buttons-for-website.com [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} seoanalyses.com [NC]
RewriteRule .* – [F]
Apply Filters in Google Analytics
Applying filters to a Google Analytics account is another way to block spammy referral traffic. This method is useful for reporting purposes, but it will not prevent spam bots from visiting the website. To apply filters, follow these steps:
- Login to your Google Analytics account
- Click Admin
- Click All Filters
- Give the filter a name
- Select Predefined
- Select ‘Exclude’, ‘traffic from IP addresses’ and ‘that are equal to’ in the boxes below
- Enter the IP Address that you wish to exclude, and then click Save.
- Blocking spam referral sites through the hosting cPanel is the third method. To do this, follow these steps:
- Login into your hosting cPanel
- Go to the Security section and click on the IP Deny Manager
- Enter the IP address or domain name that you want to block
- Click on Add
That’s it! You can now check your Google Analytics to make sure the spam traffic has been blocked. If you don’t have the time or know-how to block spam traffic yourself, you can contact Mode Web Hosting for assistance.
Cpanel Method
Blocking spam referral sites through the hosting cPanel is a method that can be used to prevent spam traffic from appearing in your website’s analytics. To do this, follow these steps:
- Login into your hosting cPanel
- Go to the Security section and click on the IP Deny Manager
- Enter the IP address or domain name that you want to block
- Click on Add
That’s it! You can now check your Google Analytics to make sure the spam traffic has been blocked. If you don’t have the time or know-how to block spam traffic yourself, you can reach out to us for assistance if you are a customer.
Why you Should be concerned about spam referral traffic
Spam referral traffic is a problem because it results in inaccurate reporting of website data. This can cause problems for website owners because they may make decisions based on incorrect information.
For example, if a website owner sees a spike in referral traffic in their Google Analytics account, they may conclude that more people are visiting their website. However, if that spike is actually the result of spam traffic, it can lead to incorrect assumptions about the effectiveness of the website.
Spam referral traffic can cause the overloading of servers, which can slow down or even crash a website. For these reasons, it’s important to be aware of and block spam referral traffic.
Any Effect on your SEO?
Spam referral traffic does not directly affect a website’s SEO.
However, it can still be a problem because it can lead to inaccurate reporting of website data. This can cause problems for website owners because they may make decisions based on incorrect information.
SEO is a method of improving the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results pages. It is based on factors such as the quality and relevance of a website’s content, the number and quality of links pointing to the website, and the website’s technical performance. Spam referral traffic does not directly affect these factors.
However, spam referral traffic can indirectly affect SEO if it causes a website owner to make incorrect assumptions about the effectiveness of their website. For example, if a website owner sees a spike in referral traffic in their Google Analytics account, they may conclude that their SEO efforts are paying off and that they don’t need to make any changes.
However, if that spike is actually the result of spam traffic, it could lead the website owner to make incorrect decisions about their SEO strategy. In this way, spam referral traffic can indirectly affect SEO.
