Google Analytics: Bot Filter Helps Clean Up Data
Data integrity is key to using Google Analytics to track the health of your site and make useful conclusions from traffic data. Google Analytics’ bot filter makes seeing legitimate site traffic simpler. Read on to learn more about this helpful tool.
What the Bot Filter Does
This filter automatically blocks all hits coming from known bots and spiders on the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) fairly extensive list of page crawlers.
When bot and spider hits aren’t being filtered out, they can cause serious data integrity issues depending on the popularity of your site. Each bot crawl being recorded as a hit or visit artificially inflates your total traffic numbers and bounce rates. These artificial, non-consumer visits can also lower average transaction volumes, time on page and other valuable metrics.
Bot Filter Benefits
Previously, you were able to block these bots through manual profile filters targeting each of their User Agents. This filter is a more efficient and holistic approach to the issue, preventing you from having to search out all known User Agents and giving you a form of access to the IAB list without having to pay for their fairly pricey membership.
As with most Analytics filters, however, this will not affect your data retroactively and will only be in effect from the day you tick that check box.
Conclusion
Google Analytics bot filter is an essential tool for maintaining the integrity of your website’s data. By automatically blocking hits from known bots and spiders, the bot filter provides a more accurate view of genuine user traffic, enabling better analysis and decision-making.
