How to exclude Semalt.com from your Google Analytics

What is Semalt.com? Well if you’re reading this you might already know that it’s a very annoying crawler bot that distorts your analytics. And that’s all you want to know about it because you just want to get rid of it!

However if you want to find out more here are a couple of good resources:

• Semalt infecting computers to spam the web
• You Should Exclude Semalt from Google Analytics

Now, here are 3 ways you can get rid of this:

1. Create a new segment

+ Amends your historical data!
– Have to remember to add the segment each time you login

Below are the steps you can take on how to add this segment. HOWEVER, if you want to cheat, click this link to add the segment I have already setup and add it to your analytics in a couple of clicks.

But if you want to know how it’s done, here you go:

1. Go to Admin and click on ‘Segments’ under the ‘View’ column on the right
2. Click on ‘+New Segment’
3. Give your new segment a name such as ‘Semalt Exclusion Segment’
4. On the left side click on ‘Traffic Sources’
5. Select ‘Filter Sessions’
6. Then under ‘source’ in the drop-down select ‘does not contain’
7. In the text box here type in ‘semalt.com’
8. Click Save!

2. Add a filter

+ Works
+ No need to add the filter each time you login
– Does not amend historical data

Adding a filter will not alter your historical data but it should stop the problem in future. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to admin
2. When adding the filter in the admin section, you can add it to the ‘View(column on the right)’ under ‘Filters’ which means it will just affect this profile. Alternatively you can add the filter to ‘Account (column on the left)’ under ‘All Filters’ which means all the profiles under that account will be affected
3. Next click ‘+new filter’
4. Under ‘Filter name’ write Semalt Exclusion
5. For Filter type choose ‘custom’
6. Then choose the ‘Exclude’ option
7. The ‘Filter field’ needs to be ‘referral’
8. Enter the filter pattern as semalt.com (don’t worry about sub domains such as semalt.semalt.com, this will get them as well)
9. Click Save and you’re done!

3. Bot filtering

+ Easy
+ Should do anyway!
– Does not affect historical data
– May not stop the problem

Google Analytics added a Bot Filtering option in the settings, which as it says “Exclude all hits from known bots and spiders”. It’s a simple tick box and here’s how you get to it:

1. Click Admin
2. Select you account, property and view
3. Under the View column on the right click ‘View Settings’
4. Tick the Bot Filtering box

However, I have found that this may not stop the problem. You’d have thought it would have worked and maybe it will do eventually, but I found that this did not get rid of the problem. However you should tick this bot in any case to stop any other bots and spiders from distorting your Google Analytics.