You can block referer spam In Google Analytics. Although blocking them in google analytics will not keep them off your site, you need to block them in your htaccess file or with plugins to do that, but it will clean up your analytics. In fact the only way to stop Ghost Spam Referers is in your Google Analytics. Ghost Spamers use fake hostnames and never reach your site anyways. The truth is that this type of Spam usually comes and goes, some just show up for a few days and disappear and sometimes they come back after few weeks.
2 Ways to Block Referer Spam In Google Analytics
Use the Google Analytics ‘Bot filtering’ feature
You can simply select a checkbox option included in the view level of the management user interface of your analytics account. Selecting this option will exclude all hits that come from bots and spiders on the IAB know bots and spiders list. This list is updated monthly. Although you can’t see the list unless you are a member, you don’t need to. Google does that for you.
To get to this check box go into the admin area in your analytics and click on the view settings tab. Towards the bottom of the screen you’ll see the Bot Filtering button. Just check the button click save and you’re done! You have now excluded all hits from known bots and spiders from the IAB list.
Block Referer Spam with Filters
A second way is to block just the referer spam that is affecting your site. This method is more cumbersome and takes more work to keep up. It does a great job of blocking the referer spam and keep your analytics clean and accurate. To do this method, go to the admin area and click on filters. Type in a name for the filter, click predefined and select “exclude”, “traffic from the ISP domain” and “that contain”. Add the domain name of the spam referer you are going to exclude, highlight “All Web Site Data” and click on add. Click on save and your done! You have to add them one at a time. When your done you’ll see a list of all the filters and domains that you have excluded from your Google Analytics.
