Semalt – How To Exclude Your Visits From Google Analytics

Did you know that statistic programs such as Google Analytics track your activities on your website which skews your statistics?

Igor Gamanenko, the Customer Success Manager of Semalt, provides here some helpful issues in this regard.

To avoid this, you can use filters to keep out fake and unnecessary traffic from showing up on the site. When you apply the necessary filters, your stats will not show skewed data since the activities you will see on your site will be real traffic from legitimate visitors. These filters not only help to filter your visits on the site, but they also assist in identifying spam including ghost referral spam and bot referral spam on the site.

When using Google Analytics, you need to identify the IP addresses of the devices you use. Note that you need to identify all the IP addresses of all the devices you use to access the site. In addition, keep in mind that IP addresses change with time, so you need to monitor the IP addresses regularly and update the filters when necessary.

So, how to do identify the IP address to exclude your visits? While there are sites such as is to type your IP address in your browser, and the address is displayed in search results.

Normally, the IP displayed in the results will look like this: 60.40.210.157. The address displayed in the above format is known as IPv4 address. In some instances, the search might return a different string of numbers displayed in the following format: 2002:0db6:75a5:0000:0000:8a4e:0180:4339. Addresses displayed in the above format are known as IPv6. These are the newer types of addresses that people are moving to. However, both IPv4 and IPv6 can be used to filter out your devices' IP addresses in Google Analytics. Once you have the IP address, copy and paste it into a text editor such as TextEdit or Notepad.

Now that you have the address in a text editor log into your Google Analytics account and select the site which you are creating the filter for. When you click on the Admin Link in the header, a set of 3 columns will open up. In the right-hand column, you will see a link labeled Filters. Click on it. Unless you had created filters previously, a list of blank filters will open up. Click on the Add Filter button.

It is recommended you name your filter since you might have several filters over time. For example, if you work on a mobile IP, you can name it Home IP Address. Under Filter Type, put it on Predefined Type. For Select Filter drop down menu, select Include Only.

Next, proceed to Select Destination or Source. This is the source of your traffic. For best results, select Traffic From The IP Addresses. Now, proceed to the final drop down box and choose That Are Equal To option. When you are done with the whole process, click the Save button. Now, you will see the new filter on the list.

To find out if you have excluded your visits from Google Analytics, go to Real Time reporting and see if your visit shows up in the stats. Keep in mind that the changes you just made may take a few minutes to take effect.

If you notice your IP address is still showing up, check your filter settings again. In particular double check to make sure the IP address has all its numbers since people commonly miss one or two digits when copy and pasting. Keep performing the real-time check every few months to find out if Google Analytics is picking up your visits on your website. If Google is still picking you up, there is a possibility that your IP has changed, so it is time to apply a new filter.